A new state bill to create a tribal liaison office to build better communication between Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes and the legislature was introduced in Lansing just last month.
The office of the tribal legislative liaison would help to maintain and establish a government- to-government relationship. The liaison would also help to consult with the legislature during the development of laws that affect the federally recognized tribes in this state.
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) Tribal Chairman David Arroyo said the liaison office is a step in the right direction in order to establish a government to government relationship that is built on understanding and connection.
“It’s a step in the right direction to making sure that the government- to- government relationship is strengthened,” Arroyo said. “It may or may not be a deliberate oversight, but I think sometimes we are overlooked and not considered for our input — sometimes we’re not brought to the table in a timely fashion or maybe there’s just a lack of understanding. Hopefully this reminds people that the partnership relationship does exist, and that tribal sovereign nations should be included if it involves any issue that may directly affect tribal communities or tribal nations.”
The bill is supported by numerous state representatives from throughout the state, including Betsy Coffia of the 103rd district (Leelanau, Grand Traverse, and Benzie counties). Coffia said the office is something that the tribes have been asking the legislature to formalize for years. She added that the tribal liaison office would be an important tool to foster policy that respects partnerships between the state and the tribes, which is something very important to her as a non-tribal member whose house district overlaps with GTB ancestral and current lands.
“To me, this is about appropriate respect and good proactive communication,” Coffia said. “I believe that the people most affected by policy issues should be the ones leading on how to go about solving them, especially when you consider the tribes are sovereign nations who have been here for millenia. I’m proud that this bill has the support of all 12 federally recognized tribes and that tribal leadership was involved in the drafting of the language for this bill, from its inception to its introduction.”
According to the bill (HB No. 5600), the tribal legislative liaison office personnel will include the liaison, and two tribal legislative policy advisors who are responsible for legislative and policy work on behalf of the liaison. Liaison duties include maintaining a relationship with each federally recognized tribe in Michigan and visiting the tribes at least once a year. In addition, the liaison would provide guidance for members of the legislature and their staff during legislation development based on how it may impact tribes and tribal members.
Another liaison duty is to provide annual training to members of the legislature and staff about how to consult with the office as well as pre- senting on the current state of the tribes. An annual report would be made available to the governor, leadership of both chambers, and chairs of each committee, and the public. That report would detail concerns presented by elected tribal leaders during the development of legislation in the previous year.
“The office of the legislative liaison will serve as a centralized hub for state and tribal governments to deliberately seek consultation on matters of mutual interest, including economic development, environment stewardship, healthcare, education, public safety and more,” Coffia said. “Rep. (Carrie) Rheingans as lead sponsor is working on getting a hearing later this month, and to get money for it in the Senate budget (it’s already in the house version of budget), and working to get the Governor’s office sign off.”
Arroyo said working with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has been a “very positive” experience as they recognize tribal governments, however, there are areas that could be improved to make that communication more clear and meaningful. Whether that’s Whitmer informing the tribe ahead of time that she or her staff will be utilizing one of their resorts for an event, or consulting tribal leaders more directly, Arroyo said having that mutual respect all helps with maintaining a good government- to-government relationship.
“I know that we don’t need to be involved with every single issue or topic that she may be there for, but we are more than happy to do a welcome, or at least introduce, or if we’re needed there just to support, we’re happy to do that,” Arroyo said. “I know you have 12 tribes in the state of Michigan, and I know anyone in that position of governor would have to devote and find the time, but if you’re really serious about establishing and maintaining a partnership, then there should be (good communication) on both ends.”
Arroyo added that another concern is having the liaison understand that each tribal nation is different and has its own government, keeping in mind that the person can’t talk to one and assume it’s representative of the other 11 tribes.
“It’s moving forward with that in mind and realizing that if one tribal nation calls, you can’t expect all 11 to have the same position or needs and wants,” he said. “I’m sure that is going to be an operational consideration, and I would hope there would be no confusion there. My hope is that they realize that there’s 12 sovereign nations, and this isn’t a one size fits all type of approach.”
