The National Conference of State Legislatures in conjunction with the National Congress of American Indians have held two State-Tribal Staff Training Institutes. These institutes are designed to assist state legislative and tribal staff in identifying strategies for cooperation, working with elected officials to develop policy solutions in areas of mutual interest and building institutional knowledge of state-tribal policy issues within state legislatures and tribal governments.
The first staff training institute was held June, 20-23, 2005 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Attendees included legislative staff from Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Tribal attendees included staff from the Navajo Nation, the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, the Pueblo of Acoma and the Tohono O' Odhman Nation, among others. Issues discussed included health, education, taxation, consensus building and the impact of media on state-tribal relations.
The second institute was held in Denver, Colorado, November 8-9, 2007. Legislative staff from Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma and Washington joined tribal staff from the Cherokee Nation, the Chickasaw Nation, the Gila River Indian Community and the Samish Indian Nation to discuss promoting healthy communities, economic development and disease prevention strategies.
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