(bright upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Hello and welcome to "Prairie Pulse."

Coming up a little bit later in the show, we'll hear music from EshkodeUX.

But first, our guest joining us now is the new executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, Brad Hawk.

Brad, thanks for joining us today.

- Thank you for having me.

- As we get get started here and start off, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

- I grew up in Central South Dakota on the Crow Creek, Sioux Tribe.

Went to school at the University of South Dakota, and I ended up getting a degree in health administration through the university, and ended up meeting my wife at college there.

And we ended up moving to North Dakota in Bismarck.

And so we've been there since.

But a lot of what I have done is work with our tribes in North Dakota.

And it started with United Tribes Technical College where I worked for 11 years and then I ended up working with the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission this summer it'll be 11 years also.

So I've been working for about 22 years plus with North Dakota.

- Okay, well, you say you've been 11 years with the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission in a role, but you're new to the executive director position.

Can you tell us how you got elected there and how that came about?

- Well, our previous director resigned in November, and the governor's office asked if I would take the interim role to fill the spot until a director was appointed by the governor, a new director.

And through that time period, you know, we still had initiatives that we're working on and so we wanted to make sure that we were keeping things going, but you know, in the meantime there was a process for applying for this position.

And so I went through that process and had to be interviewed by different cabinet agencies and leaders and also the governor's office and the governor himself, so.

But you know, we talk about, you know, what what's the plan for the agency, some of the different thoughts that the governor has for his tribal relationships and stuff that he's been working on.

And so we went through that whole process and it took some time, and so he appointed me in January and so now we're kind of hitting the ground running.

- Well, congratulations on that, and we'll get back to that in just a moment.

But for people that don't know, what is the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission?

What's its role?

- Our role is more of the connection between the state government and also the tribal governments.

We are created to be a liaison between the two governments.

This year we'll actually be our 75th year since being created.

And so we have a few ideas of things that we're gonna do to celebrate that.

It was actually created through legislation and back in, you know, 75 years ago, we talked about how the two governments will work together, and so we try to address different issues that come up and it could be along the lines of jurisdiction, it could be taxation, just other topics that come up.

And so usually we're the ones trying to make the connection and be the liaison, so.

- And of course when you say working with different avenues of communication between governments, obviously for people that may not know, tribal government is separate, is a sovereign nation.

- Yeah, and they have their own tribal constitutions and different ways of the way they handle different issues.

So we have to be really cognizant of that and also be, you know, sensitive to that part of it.

They obviously request help on certain issues from time to time, but we still find ways to work together, so.

- Sure, well, how are you settling into the new job and what are your duties?

- It's been a little hectic the first couple of months just kind of getting things lined up.

We just finished our strategy review of the governor's office, and so that process just kind of guides what we do through the agency for the next two years, but we also project past that.

So we're looking at, you know, the biennium past that and the biennium after that also.

But a lot of things that we're looking at is kind of workforce development is one big issue that the state's looking at.

We also want to make sure that the tribes are included in that, some of those discussions with new industry or anything that's coming down the path.

Other stuff that we're kind of working on is we want to have more of a presence during Native American Heritage Month during November.

And I think we're gonna talk a little bit about the Hall of Honor in a little bit, but that's gonna be a piece of kind of some of the changes that we're looking to do.

But I think, you know, as we're moving forward, we do have a lot of different initiatives that the tribes kind of tie in with what we're working on.

And so we try to make sure our strategy lines up with kind of some of the work that they're doing.

And so there's a lot of overlap a lot of times, so it makes it a little tough to kind of project out what we're gonna do, you know, five years from now.

But we do try to match some of the goals that our tribes are looking at too.

- Well, you say you've been up here for quite a few years now, but people in North Dakota might not be familiar with the Crow Creek reservation you mentioned, where you grew up, South Dakota.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

- Yeah, it's a small reservation.

It's one of the Lakota Dakota bands of the Sioux tribes.

And so we only have roughly about 1,000 people living in my town that I grew up in.

So it's a small town, but we are right along the river and so I grew up along the river, loved hunting, fishing and all that.

So that was another draw to Bismarck for me, is I was still around around the river and can do all the stuff I want to do, you know, outside of work, so.

But it's a small community.

There's actually two reservations right next to each other in South Dakota there, and that reservation was created after the Dakota conflict.

But it was an old army fort back prior to statehood and all that.

So it's just kind of an area that I grew up in there.

But, you know, we do work with all the other tribes in South Dakota, and so there's different bands of the Sioux tribes in that area.

And so we have relatives from different areas of South Dakota and North Dakota, so.

- Yeah, well, turning to North Dakota, how many tribes are in North Dakota?

- Well, we have four land-based tribes, but Sisseton also has lands in North Dakota, so technically five, Sisseton and Standing Rock have lands in North Dakota and South Dakota.

Sisseton obviously has more lands in South Dakota, so a lot of the work that they do is with South Dakota.

We do work with them quite a bit on a couple initiatives and obviously gaming's one of them because one of their major casinos is in the North Dakota side, so.

- Mm-hmm.

So how many enrolled travel members are in North Dakota?

- Well, we have roughly, according to the census, we're about 7 to 9% of the population.

And so we never really say a specific amount because we feel the tribal populations are underrepresented in the US census, mainly because of the way the process has gone.

And a lot of our tribal members don't fully trust the census process and so the numbers are underrepresented.

And so we're anywhere from 7 to 9%.

- Okay.

Let's talk about a couple of different things.

What is the State of Tribes address?

- State of the Tribes address happens during the legislative session, usually around the time of the State of the State address, when the new governor, or the governor is doing his address to the legislature.

And so we give opportunity for our tribal leaders to offer an address on different issues that are present.

We also talk about some of the good achievements that each tribe has kind of been working on.

But it kind of aligns a lot of the work that we're looking to do during the session also.

So if we have a few initiatives through the legislative process, we make sure that the address includes some of that content.

But we rotate that, and so each tribe kind of has the opportunity to do the address.

And so we'll be changing that again.

- Okay.

What about the Hall of Honor at the Heritage Center in Bismarck?

- Yeah, and I talked a little bit about that earlier.

We normally had this during the United Tribes International Powwow in September.

We decided to make that change this year to have it in November.

And so we were working with the North Dakota Tribal Tourism Alliance, and so we're working on having more of different events or activities during the month of November to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.

And so we're kind of looking at roughly the second week in November, probably the Friday, Saturday of that second week.

And so we're looking to host the Hall of Honor, we'll induct a group of folks and today's actually the deadline for nominations.

And so we'll be going through those applications and making selections here in the next couple weeks.

Yep, and so when we do that, you know, we induct people in different categories.

So we have sports, we have veterans, different categories of culture and obviously leadership.

So it's a fun event, we gather and celebrate the lives of some wonderful human beings that have touched us in our tribal communities, so.

- That's great.

What about the role the North Dakota Tribal College system plays?

- They're one of our main partners.

We talk about workforce development issues and things that we're working on.

Each tribe kind of has a different initiative through their own tribal college.

There's also United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck that does a lot of other things that our tribal colleges don't specialize in.

And so we do talk about opportunities with industry if we're talking like welding, CDLs, and some other type of vocational-type training, that's available.

But each of the tribal colleges also have different academic type programs for education or for creating teachers, and you know, different small business type of initiatives.

So we utilize them for mainly getting our next generation of workforce, and so we try to make connections through different partners and making sure that they're also included, so.

- Yeah, you mentioned gaming a little bit earlier.

How important has gaming been to the native people with jobs and economic development?

- Yeah, North Dakota's a little different.

Our tribal casino and gaming program has been more of a labor type of opportunity for our tribal communities.

You know, some of the other states might have other casinos that have large profits and return some of those profits back to their members.

That's really not the case for our tribal casinos in North Dakota.

A lot of it's more of the programming for getting jobs there, but, you know, and if there is revenue generated, a lot of those are programmed to go back into the tribal programs themselves.

So any revenues are put back into the tribal government system, so.

- Another thing I'd like to ask you about for our audience, you know, how important are treaties still today?

- Well, our tribes, you know, they believe, you know, that the federal government has a obligation to fulfill their treaty rights.

And so a lot of our tribes do want to make sure that our federal government is living up to that obligation.

And so it comes up a lot of times when we're talking about healthcare and education, that's kind of some of the big pieces that our tribes are making sure that people are aware that that is still still a treaty right for them.

And so each tribe, you know, with their own tribal constitution and their own government, you know, they have the right to, you know, enter different agreements and make those decisions and use their tribal sovereignty to make things better for their people, so.

- Sure.

Yeah, you mentioned healthcare, so can you talk about what healthcare initiatives are being worked on, anything?

- Yeah, we've done a few things in the Medicaid system.

I think there's still some work to do there.

We do have some initiatives making the process for getting into the Medicaid system, make it a little easier.

I know, you know, that's been an issue over time to make sure our tribal members that are eligible to be able to apply and be in the system and receive those services.

So Medicaid's kind of been one of our bigger initiatives just because it's a complex system.

We have different ties for different services, so it could be anything with addiction services, it could be medical services.

And a lot of times, you know, services for kids come up and so we want to make sure that, you know, our tribal populations have a voice in maybe some of the policy changes that happen in the Medicaid system.

So we're pretty active in that.

I think some other initiatives that we're working on in healthcare are different food sovereignty type programs that each tribe's kind of tackling a little bit differently.

But we want to make sure that we capture that because a lot of our rural communities really need access to food and quality health foods.

So that's another big piece of some of the stuff that we looked at there.

There's other emergency response type of programs.

We have some services for kids in the foster system.

I mean, there's lots of different pieces that we're kind of looking at, so.

- Sure.

You mentioned a little bit about communication.

How does law enforcement work on the reservations, and coordination with either North Dakota or federal law enforcement?

- They're a little different.

You know, the jurisdiction can be complex and so we've done a few agreements with some of our tribes and state agencies just for public safety reasons.

And so one of them is a high speed pursuit, and so we want to make sure that if someone is being chased off reservation, but they drive on to a reservation, that there's a coordination of efforts and that, you know, public safety is first and foremost.

And so there is agreements like that that are in place.

We're also looking at different drug task force because that tends to be a jurisdictional issue when we're talking about, you know, drugs coming from out of state or even, you know, other areas that we've gotta make sure we're coordinating on that, so.

- Mm, well Brad, do you believe Native Americans in North Dakota are better off than they were 30 years ago?

Or is that a difficult question to answer?

- It is a little difficult to answer, but, you know, our education system has changed in time and a lot of our tribal programs are really taking ownership of different departments within their government.

And so I think, you know, as we're talking about how we move forward and stuff, you know, our tribes are developing professionals with master's degrees and doctorates, and we're starting to see more of that in some of their operation of their government and different programs that they have.

And it is showing a lot of good results because we're starting to see, you know, more academic kind of programming that's coming back to our tribal communities.

And so we're seeing good things.

Obviously there's still challenges and so we look to address them, but that's just kind of where it is right now.

- Well, Brad, we are out of time, but if people want more information, where is someplace they can go?

- We have a website, it's indianaffairs@nd.gov.

And so we do have a website and some social media feeds.

We do a conference every year, and so that'll be coming up here in end of June and be held in Bismarck.

- [John] Okay, well, Brad, thanks for taking the time today.

- Yep, no problem.

- Stay tuned for more.

(bright upbeat music) EshkodeUX is an ensemble made up of a group of friends and musicians from northwest Minnesota.

Their music is an equal collaboration of their talent and heritage.

(lively prairie music) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) (prairie music continues) Well, that's all we have this week on "Prairie Pulse."

And as always, thanks for watching.

(bright upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008, and by the members of Prairie Public.