TOPEKA, Kan. – As of May 9, the Kansas state government is formally recognizing the government-to-government relationships of the tribes within its borders.

Signed by Gov. Sam Brownback last Thursday, the new law also designates the first Wednesday of each February as “Native American Legislative Day at the Capitol.”  The bill also changes the title of “American Indian Day” to “Native American Day” which would continue to be recognized on the fourth Saturday of September.

The bill was co-sponsored by state Rep. Ponka-We Victors (D-Wichita), who is Tohono O’odham and Ponca. She is the only Native American member of the Kansas state legislature.

Despite being introduced by two Democrats in a heavily Republican legislature, the bill passed unanimously through the Senate.

Kansas is home to three federally-recognized tribes: the Prairie Band of the Potawatomi Nation, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

“Beginning in 2014 Kansas will permanently designate the first Wednesday in February as Native American Legislative Day at the Capitol and we have worked hard to see the bill through and are proud of what has been accomplished,” Prairie Band of the Potawatomi Nation Chairman Steve Ortiz said.

Among the dignitaries on hand for the signing ceremony were Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians and lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation, as well as National Indian Gaming Commission Chairman Ernie Stevens, a graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan.