Indian Affairs Commission outlines government-to-government visits, tribal relations subcabinet

Brad Hawk, executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, told the Legislative interim committee the office has been intensifying government-to-government outreach and will coordinate tribal visits by Governor Armstrong.

Hawk said his office hosted a June government-to-government conference that draws state agency leaders and tribal leaders for free public engagement and that the governor has committed to visiting each tribal nation; visits were underway with MHA Nation, Spirit Lake and Standing Rock among planned stops. "We ask the tribe to tell us what they want to talk about and invite cabinet leaders and agency leaders to attend," Hawk said, describing facilitated topic tables intended to produce follow-on strategy items for the commission.

The commission has added staff and a communications-focused outreach coordinator, Kira Fox, to expand external communications and education. Hawk said the commission will lead a tribal relations subcabinet in the governor's office to pull cabinet expertise into focused, topic-based meetings (healthcare, law enforcement, etc.) and intends to produce newsletters, website updates and a podcast in 2026 to improve information flows.

Why it matters: The visits and subcabinet aim to increase substantive coordination between state agencies and tribal governments, align policy and educate cabinet leaders about tribal-government priorities; Hawk said agency participation has included more than 30 state agencies over the current series of visits.

Next steps: The commission will gather discussion items from the tribal visits, synthesize priorities and present a strategy document in late fall. Hawk also noted cross-state exchanges with South Dakota on best practices.

Quote: "If you're committed to working with that government, then you have to be there," Hawk said of in-person tribal visits.