Working together with Native American Liaisons and officials from among the Federally recognized tribes nationwide, the Office of the Native American Liaison identifies areas where both Federal and tribal conservation efforts can most effectively conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats.

The National and Regional Native American Liaisons combine their backgrounds in wildlife biology, conservation, and Indian law and policy to achieve the best possible conservation scenario in Indian Country.

The federal government has a unique and distinctive political relationship with federally recognized Indian tribes. It is defined by treaties, statutes, executive orders, judicial decisions and agreements and differs from relationships with state and local governments or other entities. It has given rise to a special federal trust responsibility, involving the legal responsibilities and obligations of the United States toward Indian tribes and the application of fiduciary standards of due care with respect to Indian lands, tribal trust resources and the exercise of tribal rights. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as a bureau of the Department of the Interior, has a mandated obligation to ensure that the federal Indian trust responsibility is fulfilled.