# Minnesota Indian Affairs Council *State body created by the Minnesota Legislature to serve as liaison between state government and the tribal nations within Minnesota.* The **Minnesota Indian Affairs Council** (MIAC) is a body created by the [[Minnesota Legislature]] to connect the government of [[Minnesota]] with the Native American tribal governments inside the state.[^1] Its Wikipedia summary describes its work as advising on policy, opening dialogue between the state and the tribes, and taking up questions that concern both.[^1] The council seats representatives of the eleven federally recognized tribes in Minnesota, seven Anishinaabe reservations and four Dakota communities, together with appointees from state agencies.[^1] The Council's state website is the institutional home of the 2023 TRUTH Report and hosts the [[TRUTH Project]] page.[^2][^3] ## History Wikipedia gives 1963 as MIAC's founding year. It describes the council as one of the earliest state bodies of its type in the United States, formed as the civil rights movement was gaining ground.[^1] The record contains no session law or statute citation that confirms the 1963 date. ## Functions and responsibilities The Wikipedia summary lists four roles. First, the council advises the Governor, the Legislature and state agencies, recommending legislation, policies and programs that affect Native American communities.[^1] Second, it serves as a forum where state and tribal governments discuss and negotiate shared matters, including land use, health care, education and economic development.[^1] Third, it runs public-education efforts on Indigenous history, traditions and contributions. Fourth, it acts as a neutral facilitator when tribal governments and the state disagree.[^1] ## Structure Wikipedia lists the eleven member nations as Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Lower Sioux, Mille Lacs, Prairie Island Indian Community, Red Lake, Shakopee-Mdewakanton, Upper Sioux and White Earth.[^1] The same summary says the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe are not members as such. It also says the six component bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe are included in MIAC.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - The Council's website hosts the TRUTH Project page.[^3] - A validated master in the record identifies a *TRUTH Project Report* dated April 11, 2023. The report was issued under the names of the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, and the record names the Council as its institutional home.[^2][^3] - One validated source in the record groups the 2023 TRUTH Report with other state and municipal "Truth" documents. These are St. Paul's 2021 reparations resolution,[^4] a Minneapolis Truth and Reconciliation process,[^5] and [[Executive Order 26-05]] of March 25, 2026. That order created a Governor's "Truth" Council on two federal immigration operations.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Indian Affairs Council* (revision 1329010458, retrieved Oct. 26, 2026) — description, founding year, functions, membership and list of tribal nations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Indian_Affairs_Council [^2]: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, *Minnesota Indian Affairs Council* (agency homepage, undated) — the Council's state site as institutional home of the TRUTH Report. https://mn.gov/indian-affairs/ [^3]: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, *TRUTH Project* (undated) — Council-hosted project page for the TRUTH Report. https://mn.gov/indian-affairs/truth-project/ [^4]: City of Saint Paul, City Council, *City Council reparations legislative record* (undated) — St. Paul's reparations legislative record. https://www.stpaul.gov/department/city-council/city-council-reparations-efforts/city-council-reparations-legislative-0 [^5]: City of Minneapolis, *Truth and Reconciliation Working Group Final Recommendations* (undated) — record of the Minneapolis Truth and Reconciliation process. https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/RCAV2/32524/Truth-and-Reconciliation-Working-Group-Final-Recommendations.pdf [^6]: Office of the Governor, *Executive Order 26-05* (Mar. 25, 2026) — text of the order establishing the Governor's Truth Council. https://mn.gov/governor/assets/Executive%20Order%2026-05_tcm1055-735580.pdf