Engineering process | Planning | Tribes and Transportation
Tribes and Transportation process
Introduction
Minnesota is home to eleven federally recognized sovereign tribal nations, each of which is separate and unique. Each tribe has an independent relationship with the United States and the State of Minnesota. MnDOT recognizes the unique sovereign status of federally recognized tribes, the cultural values of American Indian tribes in Minnesota, and is committed to strengthening the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations.
When to contact tribal affairs
Coordinate with the tribes for projects on or near a reservation (reasonable commuting distance), on tribal lands, or when the work involves actual or potential actions that may affect tribal interests. To help with your project’s coordination efforts, refer to the “Indian Country Guidance” manual which provides technical guidance and information on MnDOT policy, procedures, and requirements for work that impacts Indian country. This manual ensures that you can conduct your work in a consistent and uniform manner, following MnDOT’s Tribal Nations policy.
Use the following sections to determine the appropriate contact or resource.
Construction and planning
Contact Levi Brown and Adrien Carretero and district leadership and see the Indian County Guidance for construction and planning, which includes:
- Annual construction tribal-district planning meetings
- Communication in the project development process
- Agreements impacting Indian country
- New or existing partnerships
Cultural resources
Teresa Martin in the Cultural Resources Unit can assist you with cultural resources issues. For cultural resources agreements, you can also contact Adrien Carretero. Cultural resources work may include:
- Planning with tribal nations
- Coordination
- Impacts to cultural resources and related agreements
Employment of tribal members for projects on or near a reservation
Employment of tribal members for projects on or near reservations include the Tribal Employment Rights Ordinances (TERO) and Indian preference. Please contact Adrien Carretero, the Office of Civil Rights (for TERO program and special provisions) and Mindy Heinkel for negated maintenance contracts (NMCs). Things to discuss with them include:
- Technical questions
- Communication with TERO representatives
- Special provisions
- NMCs
Contracting with native-owned businesses
There may be times when you will need to contract with a native-owned business, which can involve a NMC or other type of contract. Contact Adrien Carretero and Mindy Heinkel as appropriate. Use the Tribal MnDOT map to identify native-owned businesses for projects.
Workforce training with tribal members
There are training opportunities available in Indian Country. Trainings build capacity to hire within MnDOT and in the industry. Contact Adrien Carretero for details and to develop new trainings.
Lands and jurisdiction, permitting
Contact Levi Brown for technical permitting issues and questions about jurisdiction and coordination. You will also need to work with the Office of Land Management (OLM). The Tribal Lands webpage and Indian Country Guidance provide more information.
Indian country training for MnDOT employees
Training is available for offices, small groups online or in-person. Contact Adrien Carretero or Levi Brown for more details. Tribal Affairs provides opportunities for enrolling in Tribal State Relations Training and e-learnings.
Coordination information for project development process
Working with tribes
You must work with the tribes over the entire development, construction and maintenance of the project.
Know that tribal government road directors meet quarterly at the Advocacy for Tribes and Transportation (ACTT) board meetings with District Engineers and the FHWA.
Each District leads Annual Tribal-District Planning meetings with tribal nations to coordinate and communicate on construction related programs.
Example of coordination with tribal nations
The method of communication with tribal nations is unique and can differ from nation to nation. The project’s level of impact on tribal interests (main access to the reservation or resurfacing) may require different levels of involvement with the tribe. Cultural resources impacts represent a major risk (cutting a tree, dirt moving…).
Typically, when working with tribal governments, communication begins with District leadership, who arranges a face to face meeting. During the meeting, a thorough introduction of the issue or reason for the meeting is provided, then the Project Manager (PM) shares the technical details. After initial contact is made, the PM communicates directly with the appropriate party (usually Tribal Roads Department, Public works, Planner or Public Relations) to provide updates and follow up on previously discussed topics. If a “major” new topic needs to be discussed (different project, critical tribal interest) District leadership should bring it up to the tribe.
Also, during the public engagement process, be aware that the tribe may want a different public engagement plan. The tribe may already have a newsletter, official Facebook page, or other regular updates for the community; they may want to hold a separate open house to encourage higher participation and more honest feedback; they may want to facilitate discussions with particular tribal member who may be affected differently.
Tribal-State Relations Training is very helpful to learn about government to government coordination, working with tribal nations and tribal sovereignty.
Definitions
Indian country: Indian country includes more than just reservations. Here is a simplified version of the most commonly used definition of Indian country: reservations; allotments; and “dependent Indian communities” (i.e., land that is federally supervised and set aside for the use of Indians, this is usually found on trust land). You can find the complete – more nuanced – definition of Indian country at 18 U.S.C. § 1151.
Allotment: Land that is restricted fee land or trust land that is owned by an individual Indian.
Reservation: A reservation is land that is managed by tribes. The term “reservation” comes from tribes “reserving” land for themselves after larger portions of land were ceded (given) to the federal government through treaties. There are eleven federal reservations in Minnesota.
Dependent Indian communities: Dependent Indian communities are part of Indian country. A dependent Indian community is land that is not a reservation or allotment but that is federally supervised and set aside for the use of Indians. When deciding whether land is a dependent Indian community courts look at a number of factors including: whether the land is trust land, whether government agencies treat the area like Indian country for jurisdictional purposes, and whether the area is cohesive (e.g., there are common economic pursuits in the area, common interests, or common needs of the people who live there).
Near: Projects that are "near" an Indian reservation are defined as those within a reasonable commuting distance from the reservation. MnDOT has determined that, at a minimum, all projects within a 60-mile radius of each reservation in Minnesota are near a reservation based on this definition of "near." There may also be projects beyond the 60-mile radius that are near a reservation based on this definition of "near." This will be determined on a case-by-case basis and in coordination or consultation with impacted tribes.