Tribal and Government Relations

Tribal and Government Relations plays a vital role in maintaining respectful and effective relationships between tribal communities and government agencies.

We’re proud to work with these partners

What We Do

Our main objective is to improve the relationship between the government and federally-recognized tribal governments by working closely together. We do this in a number of ways:

Tribal Leader Coordination: We serve as the point of contact between UAII Executive Leadership and tribal leaders across the country to collaborate between tribal communities, government agencies and other organizations on the implementation of successful policies and initiatives.
Policy Engagement Coordination: We communicate and collaborate with elected officials to ensure UAII’s interest are represented in key policies, providing Insights and recommendations that help inform policy decisions.
Local Community Partnerships and Services: We develop partnerships with city, county, and state agencies to offer services and resources that address the social, economic, and environmental issues important to the AI/AN community, providing insights and recommendations regarding partnerships for healthcare, education, housing, food assistance, and other support programs.

Advocating for Tribal Sovereignty and Rights

Federally-recognized tribes possess rights that cannot be encroached upon by other sovereign entities, such as other states. These rights might be limited by certain regulations, such as treaties, acts of Congress, executive orders, federal administration agreements, and court decisions.

Tribes have the authority to form their own governments, make and enforce laws (both civil and criminal), tax their citizens, determine tribal membership (tribal citizenship), license and regulate activities within their jurisdiction, zone land, and exclude individuals from tribal land.

Under this authority, UAII remains steadfast in our commitment to
advocate and preserve AI/AN rights and our way of life.