Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Chair J. Garret Renville speaks Aug. 19, 2025, to the North Dakota Tribal and State Relations Committee at Dakota Magic Casino near Hankinson, North Dakota. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
HANKINSON, N.D. — Members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribal nation met Tuesday with North Dakota officials and legislators, an event the tribal chair said “demonstrates respect” for the Native American community.
The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate have headquarters in northeast South Dakota, with a small portion of the Lake Traverse Reservation in southeast North Dakota. A series of meetings took place at the Dakota Magic Casino near Hankinson.
North Dakota and tribal officials discussed issues such as gambling, health care and tribal tourism.
Rep. Dawson Holle, R-Mandan, chair of the North Dakota Legislature’s Tribal and State Relations Committee, said the committee “is setting the tone that we want to be in conversation with our tribal leaders.”
The Legislature first invited the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate to be part of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission in 2007, said Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, vice chair of the committee. Tuesday was the first time the legislative committee had met on the Lake Traverse Reservation, Mathern said.
“Your presence here today demonstrates respect for our people,” Sisseton-Wahpeton Chair J. Garret Renville told the committee.
Tuesday was the first meeting of the committee for the 2025-27 interim. Holle said the group plans to meet at each of the five tribal nations that share geography with North Dakota. The committee will meet next in September on the Fort Berthold Reservation with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.
Gov. Kelly Armstrong and other state officials participated in separate meetings with tribal leaders Tuesday.
Armstrong met last month with officials from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and earlier this year with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
The North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission is facilitating visits by the governor to strengthen relationships with the tribes, according to the Governor’s Office.
North Dakota Monitor Deputy Editor Jeff Beach can be reached at [email protected].
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