Governor Whitmer Signs Executive Directive to Strengthen Tribal-State Relations  

EDbuilds upon and strengthens process of tribal consultation 

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. —Today, during a summit of Michigan’s tribal leaders, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Directive 2019-17. The executive directive reaffirms and extends Michigan’s commitment to recognize the sovereignty and right of self-governance of Michigan’s federally-recognized Indian tribes and orders each state department and agency to adhere to these principles. 

“As Michiganders, we must ensure that our tribalcommunitiesare treated with dignity and respect,” said Governor Whitmer.“It’s important to me that each tribe has aseat at the table in my administration to contribute their perspectives, and I’m committed to working closely with our tribal leaders to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their communities.” 

Executive Directive 2019-17 also details a process of tribal consultation designed to ensure meaningful and mutually beneficial communication and collaboration between these tribes and the departments and agencies on all matters of shared concern. It’s also the firstexecutivedirectivein Michigan history to require training on tribal-state relations for all state department employees who work on matters that have direct implications for tribes.