Tribal sovereignty and the limits and potential of inter-governmental collaboration

Inter-governmental relationships involving tribes must be respectful of tribal sovereignty and native people’s rights, yet most non-Native public managers are not educated about this and thus are unprepared to engage constructively in collaboration with tribal governments. This chapter provides a basic orientation to tribal sovereignty, self-determination, reservations and ceded territories, and Public Law 280, and illuminates their relevance to nearly any policy domain, including child welfare, education, economic development, land use and planning, environmental stewardship, and law enforcement. While there are positive examples of constructive and mutually respectful synergy, unfortunately there are also many instances of antagonistic failures to collaborate, with damaging consequences for Native and non-Native communities. I illustrate these complex dynamics through a single policy issue - roadway safety in reservations - before concluding with a summary of a few key takeaways for exploring collaboration with tribal governments.