NNI and Harvard Project Research

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Enhancing Government-to-Government Relationships (Grand Ronde)

Enhancing Government-to-Government Relationships (Grand Ronde)

The Intergovernmental Affairs Department has achieved positive intergovernmental relationships with federal, state, and local governments by pursuing a five-pronged strategy of communication, education, cooperation, contributions, and presence. Since the Department’s creation, the Tribe has raised…

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Gila River Telecommunications, Inc.

Gila River Telecommunications, Inc.

Recognizing the need for affordable and reliable telecommunications services, the Tribe founded Gila River Telecommunications, Inc. (GRTI) in 1988. A pioneer in telecommunications in Indian Country, GRTI offers affordable landline phone service, dial-up and DSL Internet service, and satellite…

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The Hopi Land Team

The Hopi Land Team

Reclaiming traditional lands has been a primary concern of the Hopi Tribe for the last century. In 1996, significant land purchases became possible under the terms of a settlement with the United States. The tribal government was faced with the problem of developing a plan for reacquiring lands,…

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Yukaana Development Corporation (Louden Tribal Council)

Yukaana Development Corporation (Louden Tribal Council)

The Louden Tribal Council created the Yukaana Development Corporation in 1998 to address the concerns of environmental degradation and environmental justice through training and employment. Under a contract with the US Air Force, the tribally owned Corporation cleans contamination caused by a local…

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We Are the Stewards: Indigenous-Led Fisheries Innovation in North America

We Are the Stewards: Indigenous-Led Fisheries Innovation in North America

This paper offers an overview of the current state of Indigenous-led fisheries management in the United States and Canada. It summarizes major trends in Indigenous-led fisheries innovation in North America and presents common keys and challenges to the success of these efforts. It chronicles three…

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Making First Nation Law: The Listuguj Mi'gmaq Fishery

Making First Nation Law: The Listuguj Mi'gmaq Fishery

This is a case study that explores Listuguj Mi'gmaq law, an assertion and manifestation of the nation's right to fish and to govern its people, lands, and waters in its own ways. It discusses the genesis, application, and effects of the law and how a First Nation not only reclaimed their inherent…

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Borrowing Trouble: Predatory Lending in Native American Communities

Borrowing Trouble: Predatory Lending in Native American Communities

With the collapse of the subprime mortgage lending market, predatory lending has become a significant national concern. In Native communities, however, predatory lending has been a major concern for years, since abusive lending practices have tended to proliferate more in minority and low-income…

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Leadership Development in the Native Arts and Culture Sector

Leadership Development in the Native Arts and Culture Sector

Burgeoning cultural renewal in Native America and growing mainstream recognition of Native artists and their ideas have resulted in substantial growth in the Native arts and culture sector. The leaders of Native arts and cultural organizations have been a significant force behind this change. They…

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Determinants of Development Success in the Native Nations of the United States (English)

Determinants of Development Success in the Native Nations of the United States (English)

The poverty of indigenous North Americans, especially those living on reservations, has concerned Indian and federal policymakers for more than a century. After the treaty making phase and the establishment of the reservation system, federal policies to address Native poverty vacillated between…

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Rights, Governance, and the BC Treaty Process

Rights, Governance, and the BC Treaty Process

The keynote address given at the BC Treaty Commission Conference for First Nations that discusses the rights, governance and the BC treaty process. Cornell emphasizes the fact that treating making can be more than a process. It can lead to the phenomenal concept of nation building that is sweeping…

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The Financial Literacy of Native American Youth

The Financial Literacy of Native American Youth

Tests of high school students conducted by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy indicate that Native American youth are less prepared to make informed financial choices than most of their peers. Jump$tart and the members of the Native Financial Education Coalition (NFEC) are…

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Strengthening and Rebuilding Tribal Justice Systems: A Participatory Outcomes Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Justice Comprehensive Indian Resources for Community and Law Enforcement (CIRCLE) Project

Strengthening and Rebuilding Tribal Justice Systems

Assesses the U.S Department of Justice's Comprehensive Indian Resources for Community and Law Enforcement (CIRCLE) Project, which aimed to help participating tribes implement strategies for making the individual components of their justice systems work better in addressing crime and related social…

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The Nature and Components of Economic Development in Indian Country

The Nature and Components of Economic Development in Indian Country

Defines what economic development means and how it applies in Indian Country; looks at the changing patterns of Indian Country economic development; debunks some of the myths and misconceptions about economic development in Native nations; suggests policy options for both Indigenous nations and the…

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Protecting the Fish and Eating Them, Too: Impacts of the Endangered Species Act on Tribal Water Use

Protecting the Fish and Eating Them, Too: Impacts of the Endangered Species Act on Tribal Water Use

The scarcity of water in the American West and the increased demands for the resource have created much tension of late between tribes, endangered species advocates, and the holders of water rights granted by the states for non-native consumptive uses. The over-allocation of water by state…

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Two Approaches to Economic Development on American Indian Reservations: One Works, the Other Doesn't

Two Approaches to Economic Development on American Indian Reservations: One Works, the Other Doesn't

As much of the world knows, American Indian nations are poor. What much of the world doesn't know is that in the last quarter century, a number of these nations have broken away from the prevailing pattern of poverty. They have moved aggressively to take control of their futures and rebuild their…

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The Concept of Governance and its Implications for First Nations

The Concept of Governance and its Implications for First Nations

What is governance? What is government? What does each do? And what distinguishes good governance - or good government - from bad? Why is the quality of governance important to the success of human societies? And what is the significance and meaning of self-governance? And What does effective self-…

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History's Lesson for HUD and Tribes

History's Lesson for HUD and Tribes

In 1998, Indian housing entered a new era. HUD ended its practice of channeling funds for Washington-designed Indian housing programs to HUD-sponsored local Indian Housing Authorities (IHAs) and converted programmatic funds into block grants to tribal housing agencies, which were allowed to design…

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Myths and Realities of Tribal Sovereignty: The Law and Economics of Indian Self-Rule

Myths and Realities of Tribal Sovereignty: The Law and Economics of Indian Self-Rule

The last three decades have witnessed a remarkable resurgence of the American Indian nations in the United States. The foundation of this resurgence has been the exercise of self-government (sovereignty) by the more than 560 federally- recognized tribes in the U.S. In this study, we explore legal…

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Alaska Native Self-Government and Service Delivery- What Works

Alaska Native Self-Government and Service Delivery: What Works?

The Native peoples of Alaska have governed themselves for far longer than either the State of Alaska or the United States. Indeed, their rights of self-government are properly defended as basic human rights that are not unilaterally extinguishable by these other governments. Yet, today an…

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Sovereignty and Nation-Building: The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today

Sovereignty and Nation-Building: The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today

The Indian nations of the United States face a rare opportunity. This is not the occasional business opportunity of reservation legend, when some eager investor would arrive at tribal offices with a proposal guaranteed to produce millions of dollars for the tribe--although such investors still…