About

Tribal Relations or Tribal Liaison offices are located in more than 20 universities in the United States today, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In 2015, UW–Madison hosted the elected leadership of the 12 First Nations of Wisconsin for purposes of establishing long term relationships for the first time in the university’s history at the Native Nations-UW Summit on the Environment and Health, two areas of interest shared by tribal nations.

Following the 2015 summit, the Native Nations UW–Madison (NNUW) Working Group and NNUW Tribal Advisory Council were established., and in 2019, UW–Madison created the Tribal Relations Director position.

As part of University Relations, the Office of Tribal Relations focuses on building and nurturing relationships with tribal nations and communities, along with building relationships with the organizations and entities created by tribal nations and communities.