Successful partnerships with Tribal nations don’t start with policy, they start with people. For Rahya Geisler, it took a missed opportunity to understand the importance of building relationships as a foundation for successful outreach to Minnesota’s Tribal nations.

Early in her state career, Geisler managed a grant to fund school bus stop arm cameras for our Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).

“You think: ‘It’s free money. Who doesn’t want free money?’” said Geisler, who is now the northeast Minnesota program coordinator for the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) program, a collaboration between the Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Department of Health.

“What I know now is that Tribal nations don’t always have the resources and the staff that city, state and county entities have. It’s not free money when you don’t have the resources to write the grant and facilitate the grant.”

One of the first things Geisler did when she started at MnDOT is take the Tribal-State Relations Training (TSRT). There, she learned each nation has its own unique approach to governing. And the best way for outsiders to navigate those unfamiliar waters successfully? Finding an internal champion who can help you make the right connections.

As TZD program coordinator, this insight paved the way for Geisler to overhaul and restart the Tribal Traffic Safety Summit to connect traffic safety leadership to Indigenous communities to produce outcomes that better serve their needs. Geisler continues to work closely with OTS on the TZD program.

This is exactly the type of success story that Mary Otto, manager of the state’s Tribal-State Relations Training (TSRT) has seen happen more frequently since the program began in 2012. 

“What we see are state employees uplifting and developing those relationships to form successful long-term partnerships with the Tribes,” said Otto. “The underlying goal of TSRT is to provide resources and tools so state employees can see the future of governments working together on common ground.”

 

Launched to improve communication and cooperation between state agencies and the 11 Tribal nations in Minnesota, the training has two primary focal points. 

1. Help state employees understand the significance of Tribal sovereignty and how they can shape their roles as public servants. That begins with a comprehensive overview of Minnesota history and federal Indian policy led by legal scholar and Professor Emeritus Tadd Johnson Esq. 

2. Introduce state employees to the Tribal leaders, administrators, staff and state Tribal liaisons who can help state employees translate these teachings into real-world action. 

“Relationships are important,” said Juliet Rudie, DPS’s Tribal relations director. 

Rudie says her top priority is to make sure Tribes are aware of the full range of resources available to them through DPS, including training and grant programs. That means more than just notifying Tribal grant managers, says Rudie. “It means showing up, asking questions and building a mutual trust and understanding every day.” 

That resonates with Geisler’s experience. At TZD, she conducts specific and targeted outreach to the Tribal nations and is starting a series of roundtable meetings to bring together Tribal and state traffic safety experts in law enforcement, engineering, emergency medicine and education. The intent is to keep the government-to-government relationships going and the information flowing. 

“We have to approach our work a little differently when working with Tribal nations. That means an investment in building solid relationships, meeting people where they are at, which empowers champions, strengthening that foundational government-to-government relationship.” Geisler said. “Sometimes a handshake over a cup of coffee makes that follow-up email a little more personal.” 

The same is true for Minnesota’s state agencies that are committed to building meaningful partnerships with Tribal nations, one Tribal-state relations training, and one employee at a time.

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