Tribal and Local Government Agreements: Negotiating Mutually Benefi cial Terms for Consideration of Services

As a result of changing federal Indian policy over the past few hundred years, Indian reservations today are often home to both tribal and state-based local governments as well as home to both tribal members and non-members. Tribal and local governments have an obligation to provide services to reservation residents. Governments with overlapping jurisdiction and a shared obligation to provide services to reservation residents often face difficulty when considering how to acknowledge and account for the services they each provide and determining how to deliver such services in a cost-effective manner. This study examined 117 written agreements between tribes and local governments from 51 different Indian reservations throughout the United States. This article provides a few recommendations for tribes and local governments to consider when addressing the provision of services within shared spaces.