Indigenous Governance
Database
constitutional reform
Successful Tribes Are Reshaping Governance
American Indian communities are often offered up as the gold standard of dysfunction in America. With our high rates of entrenched poverty, we top the lists of addiction, suicide and other social ills. It’s platitude that, frankly, gets tiring to hear. We in the media like to describe the best and…
The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and its Application to Canadian Aboriginal Business
This lecture is part of a course Stephen Cornell is teaching in Simon Fraser University's Executive MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership program. A panel of three joined Dr. Cornell in a discussion about the building of First Nation economies and the role citizen entrepreneurship can play in…
Build Our Nation Convention
A local television news program chronicles the effort of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to deliberate potential changes to its constitution and system of governance.
Indoodem: Who is a Red Lake Ojibwe, the Making of the Red Lake Constitution
Produced by the Red Lake Constitution Reform Committee, "Indoodem" provides Red Lake Nation citizens and others with information on clan systems and enrollment in the Red Lake Nation. The film documents the origins of blood quantum and traditional ways of knowing who was a part of the community.
Blackfeet Constitutional Change Class
The summation of all several videos...the complete 6 1/2 taping of the discussion of why our current Constitution, Charter, and Plan of Operations have become ineffective for our current times as a people and Piikani Nation for "Blackfeet Government Change" of Joe McKay and Blackfeet Community…
Aangwaamas! It's Time!: The Making of the Red Lake Constitution
Produced by the Red Lake Constitution Reform Committee, "Aangwaamas!" provides Red Lake Nation citizens and others a short overview of the the nation's constitutional history and why it is now time to develop a new constitution capable of supporting Red Lake in the 21st century and beyond.
Small Towns: Red Lake Nation
More power to the people, that's the driving force behind a government overhaul at Red Lake Nation. Tribe officials received a $1.5 million grant to reform their constitution over a span of about three years. We explore just what these changes will mean for the Chippewa Tribe...
Videos: White Earth Nation Constitutional Reform
As part of its ongoing process of educating the White Earth people and others about White Earth's proposed new constitution, White Earth Nation's Constitutional Education Team produced several videos for White Earth citizens to view in order to gain a better understanding of the key governance…
Truth To Tell: Community Connections - White Earth Constitutional Forum Part I
In collaboration with production partner KKWE/Niijii Radio, TruthToTell and CivicMedia/Minnesota traveled west on August 14, 2013, to the White Earth Reservation to air/televise the seventh in our series of LIVE Community Connections forums on critical Minnesota issues. Convened at White Earth's…
Truth To Tell: Community Connections - White Earth Constitutional Forum Part II
In collaboration with production partner KKWE/Niijii Radio, TruthToTell and CivicMedia/Minnesota traveled west on August 14, 2013, to the White Earth Reservation to air/televise the seventh in our series of LIVE Community Connections forums on critical Minnesota issues. Convened at White Earth's…
Nisga'a First Nation Circle of Governance
People of the Nisga'a Nation discuss custom and tradition before the Indian Act. They tell how they made the move back to traditional ways through strategic planning and abandoned oppressive ways of the Indian Act.
Developing a First Nation Constitution
Chiefs, Administrators and Advisors discuss the importance of constitutions and the work involved in developing their own nation's constitution.
Chief Dale Awasis: Thunderchild First Nation
Chief Awasis of ThunderChild First Nation talks about traditional governance from before contact, Indian Act governance and how some nations are beginning to combine them into a third type of governance.
Tsawwassen First Nation: Law and Policy
Tsawwassen's story about creating laws and policies after their historic treaty signing provides important insight for all First Nations who wish to develop laws and policy.
Overcoming the Politics of Reform: The Story of the 1999 Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Constitutional Convention
A pressing international challenge is developing processes of constitution-making that manage the politics of reform and produce legitimate and effective constitutions. This challenge is of special concern for numerous American Indian nations that have been embroiled in dual governments and…
Pueblo of Laguna: Secretarial Election
As the Pueblo of Laguna prepared for a Secretarial Election to remove the Secretary of Interior approval clause, the leadership developed an educational process for the community to understand the process. This presentation provides an overview of Laguna core values, their traditional governance…
Report on Best Practices in Developing Effective Processes of American Indian Constitutional Reform
The Executive Session on American Indian Constitutional Reform is a national working group of constitutional reformers from 12 American Indian nations and leading academics. The Executive Session meets twice a year to rethink strategies for strengthening tribal constitutions and constitution-making…
Rethinking Rewriting: Tribal Constitutional Amendment and Reform
This essay examines the recent wave of American Indian tribal constitutional change through the framework of subnational constitutional theory. When tribes rewrite their constitutions, they not only address internal tribal questions and communicate tribal values, but also engage with other…
Traditional Governance and Adapted Forms of Government
In the early 19th century, British and Canadian governments began interfering directly with the autonomy and sovereignty of Indigenous nations. They forcefully disposed of traditional governments and replaced them with a system of indirect rule effected through newly created offices of Chief and…
Gila River Indian Community Tribal Constitutional Reform Project
The Gila River Constitutional Reform Task Force created this presentation in conjunction with its comprehensive public information campaign to educate community members about Gila River's recent reform process and the importance of a constitution created by the community.