Mark Fox, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, called Gov. Doug Burgum’s recent nomination for secretary of the Interior and National Energy Council chair a “match made in heaven” for North Dakota tribes.

President-elect Donald Trump announced his unique plans for Burgum on Friday. In the combined role, Burgum would not only lead the Department of the Interior — which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs — but also wield power over all federal agencies that regulate energy.

Fox and other North Dakota and South Dakota tribal leaders welcomed the news.

Burgum, who first took office in 2016, is credited with improving North Dakota’s once-tenuous relationship with local tribes.

While in office, Burgum advocated for tax-sharing agreements with Native nations, added a permanent display of all five tribal flags outside the governor’s office and pushed for law enforcement partnerships to improve emergency response times on reservations.

“Governor Burgum understands Indian country and the challenges we face, such as the need for public safety, better tribal education, and economic development in Indian country, among other needs,” David Flute, former chair of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, said Friday in a statement to the North Dakota Monitor. Flute is now secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations.

Burgum will succeed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland of New Mexico, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American Cabinet secretary.

Tribal officials say Burgum could be a crucial ally in Washington.

“I would have been so disappointed had he not been appointed to a Cabinet position,” Fox said Friday.

Brad Hawk, executive director of North Dakota’s Indian Affairs Commission, said Burgum has a unique opportunity to reduce red tape for Native nations.

Hawk said he wasn’t familiar with every aspect of Haaland’s administration, but appreciated her department’s work investigating the history of federal Indian boarding schools and their impact on Native communities.

State Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, D-Mandaree, whose district includes Fort Berthold, recognized Burgum’s progress in establishing meaningful relationships with tribes, but said she worries about Trump administration policies.

“I hope that future Secretary Burgum remembers the trust and relationships that he’s built with North Dakota’s five Tribal Nations,” Finley-DeVille said in a statement. “My hope is that future Secretary Burgum will work collaboratively with tribes to ensure our voices are heard in decision-making processes. Together, we can address critical issues such as sustainable development, cultural preservation, and economic opportunity.”

Finley-DeVille added the Department of the Interior needs to protect tribal sovereignty, honor treaty rights, and ensure that development is conducted responsibly and with the full consultation of all impacted tribal nations.

Fox said Friday he’s hopeful Burgum will use his position in Washington to help create a friendlier regulatory environment for the MHA Nation and other oil-rich tribes. The MHA Nation is based on the Fort Berthold Reservation, home to nearly 3,000 active oil wells.

“We’re able to sit down and talk,” Fox, the MHA Nation chair, said of Burgum earlier this year. “That’s the key.”

Fox noted that in contrast, the MHA Nation has never gotten an audience with Haaland, despite several attempts to speak with her.

This past June, Burgum acknowledged at an event that relations between the state and tribes were at a low point when he took office in 2016. At the time, protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in southern North Dakota were ongoing, involving thousands of demonstrators who flocked to the state to camp in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in opposition to the pipeline.

Burgum said one of the first things he did as governor was reach out to Dave Archambault, chair of Standing Rock at the time, and offer to come meet with tribal leaders.

“That’s where we were starting from: with a commitment to each other to listen to each other,” Burgum said during this year’s Strengthening Government to Government conference, an annual event started under his leadership that brings together state and tribal leaders.

U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he thinks Burgum’s experience working with North Dakota tribal leaders makes him a good fit for leading Interior. He characterized the current BIA as unresponsive and bureaucratic.

“Doug has done more for Indian relations in North Dakota than any governor in my lifetime, for sure, and maybe ever,” Cramer said.

Michael Achterling contributed to this report.

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