State Committees and Commissions on Indian Affairs

The need for state forums on Indian affairs has increased in conjunction with the need for improved state-tribal relations. Traditionally, these forums have been under the direction of the executive branches in the states. More legislatures, however, are recognizing the benefits of having dedicated committees on Indian affairs or state-tribal relations. This compilation includes both legislative and executive branch committees and commissions, contact names and numbers. Please, email martha.salazar@ncsl.org with any errors or omissions.

State	State Legislative Committees Dedicated to Indian Affairs	State Executive Branch Indian Affairs Commissions or Contacts	Statistics
			Tribes	Pop.
Alabama		Alabama Indian Affairs Commission 771 S. Lawrence St., Suite 106 Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 242-2831 (334) 240-3408 (FAX) Robert R. Russell Jr., Executive Director (Ala. Code 1975 s41-9-708 to 717)	9	22,430 22,019
Alaska		Office of the Governor P.O. Box 110001 Juneau, AK 99811 (907) 465-3500 (907) 465-3532 (FAX)	226	98,043 21,198
Arizona	Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day is a statutorily required annual meeting with legislators and tribal leaders. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 41-1108)	Arizona Commission on Indian Affairs 1700 W. Washington, Ste. 156 Phoenix, AZ 85007 (602) 542-4421 (602) 542-3712 (FAX) The Commission submits an annual report to the Legislature and makes recommendations to governor & legislators on Indian issues. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 41-541 to 543)	21	255,879 36,673
Arkansas			0	17,808 19,194
California	Assembly Select Committee on California Indian Nations (Not currently active)	California Native American Heritage Commission 1550 Harbor Blvd., Suite 100 West Sacramento, CA 95691 (916) 373-3710 (phone) (916)373-5471 (fax) nahc@nahc.ca.gov (email) James Ramos, Chair Cynthia Gomez, Executive Secretary and Governor's Tribal Advisor Attorney General's Office Office of Native American Affairs P.O. Box 944255 Sacramento, CA 94244-2550 (916) 322-1818 Olin Jones, Director	109	333,346 294,216
Colorado		Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs Office of Lieutenant Governor 130 State Capitol Denver, CO 80203 (303) 866-3027 Ernest House, Jr., Executive Secretary (Colo. Rev. Stat. 24-44-101 to 108)	2	44,241 35,448
Connecticut		Department of Environmental Protection Connecticut Indian Affairs Council 79 Elm Street Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 424-3066 Ed Sarabia, Indian Affairs Coordinator	6	9,639 14,849
Delaware		Nanticoke Indian Assoc. 27073 John J. Williams Hwy. Millsboro, DE 19966 (302) 945-3400 Larry Jackson, Chief State of Delaware Div. of Historical and Cultural Affairs 21 The Green Dover, DE, 19901 (302) 736-7400 (302) 739-5660 (FAX)	1	2,731 3,338
Florida		Florida Governor's Council on Indian Affairs, Inc. 1341 Cross Creek Circle Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 488-0730 (850) 488-5875 (FAX) Joe A. Quetone, Executive Director	2	53,541 64,339
Georgia		Council on American Indian Concerns 2600 Highway 155, SW Suite D Stockbridge, GA 30281 (770) 389-7265 Mr. Nealie McCormick, Chairman (Ga. Code 44-12-280 to 285)	3	21,737 31,460
Hawaii	House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Senate Committee on Water, Land and Hawaiian Affairs	Office of Hawaiian Affairs 711 Kapiolani Blvd. Suite 500 Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 594-1835 (808) 594-1865 (FAX) Clyde Namu'o, Chief Executive Officer	0	83,672 * 223,877
Idaho	Idaho Council on Indian Affairs Monitors and reviews legislation and state policies that impact state/tribal relations; advises governor, legislature and state departments.	Commission on Human Rights P.O. Box 83720 1109 Main Street, Suite 450 Boise, ID 83720-0040 (208) 334-2873 (208) 334-2664 (FAX) Pamela Parks, Director	4	17,645 9,592
Illinois			0	31,006 42,155
Indiana		Native American Indian Affairs Commission 10 North Senate Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46204	3	15,815 23,448
Iowa		Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs 321 E. 12th Street, 2nd floor Des Moines, IA 50319 (515) 242-6334	1	8,989 9,257
Kansas	Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations	Kansas Native American Affairs Office Landon State Office Building 900 SW Jackson, Suite 101A Topeka, Kansas 66612-20 785-296-1904 \| 785-296-1795 Chris Howell, Executive Director	4	24,936 22,427
Kentucky		Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission 300 Washington Street Frankfort, KY 40601 (502) 564-7005	0	8,616 15,936
Louisiana		Louisiana Governor's Office of Indian Affairs 150 N. Third Street Baton Rouge, LA 70804 (225) 219-8715 Mark Ford, Director	9	25,477 17,401
Maine	The legislature has two Tribal representatives from the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe, who have seats on the floor of the House, sponsorship privilege and are each members of the State Government & Judiciary Committee. They have no voting privileges. (per House Rule 525, Joint Rule 206 (3) )	Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission P.O. Box 241 Stillwater, ME 04489 (207) 394-2045	4	7,098 6,058
Maryland		Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs 301 W. Preston St., Suite 1500 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 767-7631 E. Keith Colston, Executive Director (Md. Ann. Code Art. 41 s. 15-301)	0	15,423 24,014
Massachusetts		Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02114 (617) 573-1291 (617) 573-1515 (FAX) (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6A, s. 8A)	2	15,015 23,035
Michigan		Michigan Dept. of Human Services P.O. Box 30037 235 S. Grand Avenue Lansing, MI 48909 (517) 373-2035	16	58,479 65,933
Minnesota		Minnesota Indian Affairs Council 161 Saint Anthony Ave., Suite 919 St. Paul, MN 55103 (651) 296-0041 Annamarie Hill, Executive Director (Minn. Stat. Ann. 3.922)	8	54,967 26,107
Mississippi			1	11,652 7,903
Missouri			0	25,076 35,023
Montana	State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee	Montana Office of Indian Affairs State Capitol Bldg., Room 202 Helena, MT 59620 (406) 444-3702 Jennifer Perez Cole, Director State-Tribal Economic Development Commission, created 1999 per HB 670	7	56,068 10,252
Nebraska	State-Tribal Relations Committee	Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs 6^th Floor East, State Capitol P.O. Box 94981 Lincoln, NE 68509-4981 (402) 471-3475 Judi gaiashkibos, Executive Director (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2501 to 2508)	6	14,896 7,308
Nevada		Nevada Indian Commission 5366 Snyder Avenue Carson City, NV 89701 (775) 687-8333 Sherry Rupert, Executive Director (Nev. Rev. Stat. 233A.010 to .100)	19	26,420 15,802
New Hampshire			0	2,964 4,921
New Jersey		New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs 125 W. State Street Trenton, NJ 08608 (609) 341-2740 Autumn Wind Scott, Chair (N.J. Stat. s. 52:15A-53)	1	19,492 29,612
New Mexico	Joint Indian Affairs Committee (Meets periodically during the year when Legislature is not in session) Senate Indian and Cultural Affairs Committee (Meets regularly during legislative sessions) Joint Legislative Committee on Compacts (Created 1999 per SB 737, meets when required.)	New Mexico Indian Affairs Department Wendell Chino Building, 2nd Floor 1220 South St. Francis Drive Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 476-1600 Cabinet Secretary Designate Kelly Zunie	23	173,483 17,992
New York		New York State Office of Children & Family Services Native American Services 295 Main Street, Room 545 Buffalo, NY 14203 (716) 847-3123	9	82,461 89,120
North Carolina	House Federal Relations and Indian Affairs Committee	North Carolina Commission on Indian Affairs 116 W. Jones St. Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 807-4440 Gregory Richardson, Exec. Director (N.C. Gen. Stat. 143B-404 to 411) State Advisory Council on Indian Education (N.C. Gen. Stat. 115C-210)	6	99,551 32,185
North Dakota	Tribal and State Relations Committee	North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission 600 East Boulevard Avenue First Floor-Room 117 Bismarck, ND 58505 (701) 328-2428 Scott Davis, Executive Director (N.D. Cent. Code 54-36-01 to 07)	4	31,329 3,899
Ohio			0	24,486 51,589
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission - dissolved in 2011 (Okla. Stat. Ann. 74-1201 to 1205) Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations (Okla. Stat. Ann. 74-1222) Native American Cultural and Educational Authority (section 74-1226.2) "to promote the history and culture of American Indians for the benefit of the state of Oklahoma and its Indian and non-Indian citizens." Gena Howard, Acting Executive Director http://www.nacea.com/	Oklahoma Secretary of State 2300 N. Lincoln Boulevard, Ste. 101 Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4897 (405) 521-3912 The Governor appointed the Secretary of State as the official liaison to the tribal nations located within the boudaries of Oklahoma.	37	273,230 118,719
Oregon	Legislative Commission on Indian Services 13 members appointed to two-year staggered terms. All nine federally recognized tribes are represented. Commission compiles information about services for Indians; develops and sponsors programs to outreach to Indians as well as other public and private agencies; supports agencies in expanding Indian services and assesses existing programs.	Legislative Commission on Indian Services 900 Court St., NE, Room 167 Salem, OR 97301 (503) 986-1067 (503) 986-1071 (FAX) Karen Quigley, Executive Director (Or. Rev. Stat. 172.010 to .140)	10	45,211 40,456
Pennsylvania			0	18,348 34,302
Rhode Island			1	5,121 5,604
South Carolina		The Commission for Minority Affairs 6904 N. Main, Suite 107 Columbia, SC 29203 (803) 333-9621 Janie Davis, Executive Director	1	13,718 13,738
South Dakota	Five members from the House and five members from the Senate, appointed biannually. Committee may present draft legislation and policy recommendations to the Legislative Research Council Executive Board. State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee	South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations 302 East Dakota Pierre, SD 57501 (605) 773-5654 (www.sdtribalrelations.com) Leroy "J.R." LaPlante, Secretary (S.D. Stat. s. 1-4-1)	9	62,283 5,998
Tennessee		Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs ended operations as of June 30, 2010, the expiration of the legal authority for its existence (Tenn. Code Ann. 4-34-101 to 108)	0	15,152 24,036
Texas	Texas Indian Commission (Historical Reference)	Office of Attorney General P.O. Box 12548 Austin, TX 78711-2548 (512) 463-2100 (512) 476-2653 (FAX)	3	118,362 97,237
Utah	Native American Legislative Liaison Committee 11 members - seven from House and four from Senate. Committee serves as liaison between Utah tribes and the Legislature.	Utah Division of Indian Affairs 300 S. Rio Grande Street Salt Lake City, UT 84101 801-245-7208 801-521-4727 (FAX) Shirlee Silversmith, Director (Utah Code Ann. 1953 s9-9-109)	7	29,684 10,761
Vermont		Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs 109 State St. Montpelier, VT 05609	0	2,420 3,976
Virginia		Virginia Council on Indians P.O. Box 1475 Richmond, VA 23218 (804) 225-2084 13 members - eight from Virginia tribes officially recognized by the Commonwealth, two members at-large from Indian population in Virginia, one from House of Delegates, one from Senate, and one from Commonwealth at-large. (Va. Code Ann. 9-138.1 to 138.4)	8	21,172 31,692
Washington	Community Development, Housing and Tribal Affairs Committee	Governor's Office of Indian Affairs 210 11th Avenue, SW, #415 P.O. Box 40909 Olympia, WA 98504-0909 (360) 902-8827 Craig Bill, Director	29	93,301 65,639
West Virginia			0	3,606 7,038
Wisconsin	Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations Studies issues related to American Indians and the American Indian tribes and bands and develops specific recommendations and legislative proposals relating to these issues. Includes six-12 legislative and six-11 tribal members. (Wisc. State. 13.83(3))	Wisconsin State-Tribal Relations Initiative 101 East Wilson Street, 9th Floor Madison, WI 53708 (608) 267-1824 Brian Vigue, Administrator	11	47,228 22,158
Wyoming	Select Committee on Tribal Relations	Wyoming Indian Affairs Council (Wyo. Stat. 9-2-1901 to 1905)	2	11,133 3,879

† Information on number of tribes in each state includes federally and state-recognized tribes. Population statistics for American Indian and Alaska Native population was obtained from 2000 U.S. Census data. The first number represents the number of people who chose American Indian or Alaska Native as their only race. The second number represents the number of people who chose American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.

*Hawaii's population numbers include Native Hawaiians, and American Indians and Alaska Natives. The second number only includes other Pacific Islanders.

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