Mission

                           Mission and Goals

Introduction

The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate has  unique and special employment rights.   As a Tribe we  have  the sovereign authority to control the employment practices of all employers on the reservation.  In addition, as citizens of the United States, we are protected by anti-discrimination laws adopted by Congress during the past three decades.  These set of  rights give us  the right  to a large share of jobs and business opportunities on and near the   Lake Traverse Reservation.

Within the past three decades, tribes have made tremendous strides to identify and protect  the rights, resources and opportunities of their people.  Tribes are effectively exercising  their water, hunting, fishing, and gaming rights, and maximizing the economic return from their natural and other resources. Tribes are clarifying and defining the sovereign jurisdiction of  their governments.   Tribes have the authority to enact the strongest employment/contracting  rights laws.   Insuring that maximum  employment  of  tribal members by all reservation employers. However, history shows that only by officially passing a tribal law imposing Indian  preference requirements and only by establishing an office within the tribe to enforce the law  will tribal members benefit from these special rights.

Passing  a law is not enough,  the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate has developed a comprehensive compliance and enforcement strategy.

Laws and guidelines that impose specific requirements on employers that regulate their employment practices and meet their obligations to provide preference in recruiting, hiring, training, and promotions of  Native Americans.

A monitoring system that checks on an employer's performance to guarantee their compliance with tribal preference provisions.

An enforcement system that imposes fines and other sanctions on employers who fail to comply with Indian preference requirements.