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3.922 Indian affairs council.

Subdivision 1. Creation, membership. The state Indian affairs council is created to consist of the following ex officio members:

the governor or a member of the governor's official staff designated by the governor,

the commissioner of children, families, and learning,

the commissioner of human services,

the commissioner of natural resources,

the commissioner of human rights,

the commissioner of trade and economic development,

the commissioner of corrections,

the commissioner of the Minnesota housing finance agency,

the commissioner of iron range resources and rehabilitation,

the commissioner of health,

each of whom may designate a staff member to serve instead, and

three members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker, and three members of the senate appointed by its subcommittee on committees.

Voting members of the council are the elected tribal chair of:

the Fond du Lac Reservation business committee;

the Grand Portage Reservation business committee;

the Mille Lacs Reservation business committee;

the White Earth Reservation business committee;

the Bois Forte (Nett Lake) Reservation business committee;

the Leech Lake Reservation business committee;

the Red Lake tribal council;

the Upper Sioux board of trustees;

the Lower Sioux tribal council;

the Shakopee-Mdewankanton general council;

the Prairie Island tribal council; and

two members to be selected under subdivision 2.

The chairs of the Indian committees, trusts, or councils may designate in writing a member who has been elected at large to an office in the committee, trust, or council, to serve instead. Members appointed to represent the house of representatives, the senate or tribal governments shall no longer serve on the council when they are no longer members of the bodies which they represent and their offices shall be vacant. A member who is a designee of a tribal chair shall cease to be a member at the end of the term of the designating tribal chair. Ex officio members or their designees on the council shall not vote.

Subd. 2. Additional members. Two members of the council shall be elected at large by Indian residents of Minnesota who are legal members and eligible voters of a federally recognized tribe in accordance with the criteria of the tribe and are not members of any federally recognized tribe with a reservation in Minnesota. The election shall be in a manner prescribed by the secretary of state. The manner of election, certification, and contest shall, as far as reasonably possible, be consistent with procedures employed in general elections in the state to ensure a fair election and ready access to the election process by eligible voters. The voting procedure shall include voting by absentee ballot. A person is eligible to serve as an at-large member of the council if at the time of the election the person is a qualified voter within the requirements of the Minnesota Constitution, article VII and a member of a federally recognized tribe that does not have a reservation in Minnesota. The election shall be certified and regulated by the secretary of state. Elections shall be held by April 14, 1981, and by every fourth April 14 thereafter. The term of office for at-large members is four years commencing on the April 20 following the election and ending at 12:01 a.m., April 20 four years later.

Subd. 3. Compensation; expenses. Compensation of nonlegislator members is as provided in section 15.059, but, because the council performs functions that are not purely advisory, the expiration dates provided in that section do not apply. Expenses of the council must be approved by two of any three members of the council designated by the council and then be paid in the same manner as other state expenses. The executive secretary shall inform the commissioner of finance in writing of the names of the persons authorized to approve expenses.

Subd. 4. Meetings. Meetings may be called by the chair or at the written request of five members of the council. A majority of the voting members of the council is a quorum.

Subd. 5. Officers; personnel; authority. The council shall annually elect a chair and other officers as it may deem necessary. The chair may appoint subcommittees necessary to fulfill the duties of the council. It shall also employ and prescribe the duties of employees and agents as it deems necessary. The compensation of the executive director of the board is as provided by section 43A.18. All employees are in the unclassified service. The chair is an ex officio member of the state board of human rights. Appropriations and other funds of the council are subject to chapter 16B. The council may contract in its own name. Contracts must be approved by a majority of the members of the council and executed by the chair and the executive director. The council may apply for, receive, and spend in its own name, grants and gifts of money consistent with the powers and duties specified in this section. The council shall maintain its primary office in Bemidji. It shall also maintain personnel and office space in St. Paul.

Subd. 6. Duties. The primary duties of the council are to:

(1) clarify for the legislature and state agencies the nature of tribal governments and the relationship of tribal governments to the Indian people of Minnesota;

(2) assist the secretary of state in establishing an election of at-large members of the council;

(3) make recommendations to members of the legislature on desired and needed legislation to benefit the statewide Indian community and communicate to the members of the legislature when legislation has or will have an adverse effect on the statewide Indian community;

(4) provide, through the elected apparatus of the council, an effective conduit to the legislature for programs, proposals, and projects submitted by tribal governments, organizations, committees, groups, or individuals;

(5) provide a continuing dialogue with members of the tribal governments to improve their knowledge of the legislative process, state agencies, and governmental due process;

(6) assist in establishing Indian advisory councils in cooperation with state agencies that deliver services to the Indian community;

(7) assist state agencies in defining what groups, organizations, committees, councils, or individuals are eligible for delivery of their respective services;

(8) assist in providing resources, tribal and other, in the delivery of services to the statewide Indian community;

(9) act as a liaison between local, state, and national units of government in the delivery of services to the Indian population of Minnesota;

(10) assist state agencies in implementing and updating studies of services delivered to the Indian community;

(11) provide, for the benefit of all levels of state government, a continuing liaison between governmental bodies and elected tribal governments and officials;

(12) interreact with private organizations involved with Indian concerns to develop and implement programs to assist Indian people, as they affect state agencies and departments;

(13) act as an intermediary, when requested and if necessary, between Indian interests and state agencies and departments when questions, problems, or conflicts exist or arise;

(14) provide information for and direction to a program to assist Indian citizens to assume all the rights, privileges, and duties of citizenship, and to coordinate and cooperate with local, state, and national private agencies providing services to the Indian people;

(15) develop educational programs, community organization programs, leadership development programs, motivational programs, and business development programs for Indian persons who have been, are, or will be subject to prejudice and discrimination;

(16) cooperate and consult with appropriate commissioners and agencies to develop plans and programs to most effectively serve the needs of Indians; and

(17) review data provided by the commissioner of human services under section 257.072, subdivision 5, and present recommendations on the out-of-home placement of Indian children. Recommendations must be presented to the commissioner and the legislature by February 1, 1990; November 1, 1990; and November 1 of each year thereafter.

Subd. 7. State officials and departments; cooperation. In carrying out these objectives and to ascertain Indian needs, the council shall have the right to confer with state officials and other governmental units and have access to records as necessary to obtain needed information. The council also shall have the right to call upon various state departments for technical advice and service as needed to fulfill its purposes.

Subd. 8. Advisory council. An advisory council on urban Indians shall advise the board on the unique problems and concerns of Minnesota Indians who reside in urban areas of the state. The council must be appointed by the board and consist of five Indians residing in the vicinity of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth. At least one member of the council must be a resident of each city. The terms, compensation, and removal of members are as provided in section 15.059, but the expiration dates provided in that section do not apply.

Subd. 9. Repealed, 1997 c 7 art 2 s 67

HIST: 1963 c 888 s 2 subd 2-4,6-8; 1965 c 888 s 7 subd 1,3; 1967 c 299 s 9; Ex1967 c 55 s 1,2; 1969 c 540 s 3; 1969 c 975 s 17; 1969 c 1005 s 1,2; 1969 c 1129 art 3 s 1; 1974 c 539 s 1; 1975 c 54 s 1; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1976 c 314 s 1; 1980 c 374 s 1; 1981 c 356 s 68; 1983 c 260 s 1; 1983 c 289 s 115 subd 1; 1983 c 299 s 3; 1983 c 301 s 59; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 58; 1986 c 344 s 1; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 186 s 15; 1987 c 312 art 1 s 26 subd 2; 1987 c 375 s 1; 1988 c 469 art 1 s 1; 1988 c 629 s 1,2; 1988 c 689 art 2 s 1; 1991 c 292 art 3 s 1,2; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 420 s 1,2

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes