cultural match

Pte Hca Ka, Inc. (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe)

Year

This tribally chartered corporation developed a culturally compatible management system for reestablishing buffalo as a focal point for socio-economic development, community cohesion, and self-determination. Pte Hca Ka, Inc. operates a mobile meat processing facility, and is currently seeking acquisition of 22,000 acres for a buffalo habitat that would become the first tribal national park. By integrating Lakota traditions into an economic development strategy, Pte Hca Ka, Inc. not only operates a profitable enterprise, but is also restoring cultural values into the Tribal economy and fostering pride and dignity among Tribal citizens. Pte Hca Ka, Inc. has been featured in numerous documentaries and has won widespread praise as a culturally appropriate development effort.

Resource Type
Citation

"Pte Hca Ka, Inc.". Honoring Nations: 1999 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2000. Report. 

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Navajo's Pine Hill Health Center

Year

In the Ramah Chapter of the Navajo Nation–as in many parts of Indian Country–late detection of breast cancer leads to disproportionally high rates of breast cancer mortality. Ramah Navajo’s Pine Hill Health Center devised a creative response: it launched a series of "Mammo Days," educational and social outings designed to encourage Navajo women to get regular breast cancer exams. Highly popular, Mammo Days meet a critical need in a culturally sensitive and medically effective way.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Pine Hill Health Center." Honoring Nations: 2008 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2009. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

The Ya Ne Dah Ah School (Chickaloon): Melding Traditional Teachings with Modern Curricula

Year

For many generations, education in American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities has been controlled by sources external to the communities and the people themselves. Large bureaucratic agencies, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or public school systems overseen by state governments, decided on policies and practices for educating Indian children, mainly without regard for the concerns and priorities of Native communities. The cumulative effect of this disconnect is a long-standing legacy of low academic achievement, high drop out rates, and limited options for AI/AN students in school systems across the United States. In addition, the imposition of assimilationist educational policies resulted in ever-dwindling numbers of tribal and village members who are fluent in traditional languages and cultural practices. As tribal nations across the country assert their sovereign right to self-determination, they frequently look first to seizing control of the education of their youth. Such control allows tribal nations to create policies and implement practices grounded in shared tribal values and traditions, thereby allowing tribes to begin to reverse the devastating effects of cultural and academic erosion associated with non-tribal control. The story of how Chickaloon Village, an Ahtna Athabascan Indian community near Anchorage Alaska, reclaimed control of its children’s education, incorporated modern skills with traditional knowledge, and exceeded state and national standards stands as a proactive model of tribal self-determination, Native sovereignty, and community resourcefulness in creating a school of its own.

Citation

"The Ya Ne Dah Ah School: Melding Traditional Teachings with Modern Curricula". Honoring Nations. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. March 2005. Case Study. 

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This Honoring Nations case study is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

Winnebago's Whirling Thunder Wellness Program

Year

To prevent and control the devastating effects of diabetes and substance abuse, in 1995, the Winnebago Tribe created the Whirling Thunder Wellness Program, which raises community awareness about diabetes and substance abuse, administers primary and secondary prevention services, and encourages healthy lifestyles that are consistent with traditional practices. Among the Program’s innovations are the "Team Up" diabetes patient retreat, "Kidz Café" which provides healthy summertime meals and snacks to community children, and after school programs that provide safe, adult-supervised cultural and physical activities for up to 50 children during peak "risk" hours.

Resource Type
Citation

"Whirling Thunder Wellness Program." Honoring Nations: 2002 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2003. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Recreation Program

Year

The White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Recreation Program fulfills the dual role of performing all wildlife conservation and management and serving as a self-sustaining business enterprise based on the Tribe’s recreation/tourism industry. The program’s effective wildlife management techniques have allowed the Tribe to gain management control over its wildlife and recreation resources and to better manage them in accordance with Apache values. The conservation management and regulatory component of the Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Division consists of the Fish and Wildlife Management Department and the Law Enforcement Department; the Division’s enterprise component consists of two profit centers–the Outdoor Recreation Department and the tribe’s Trophy Hunting Program. The program has successfully linked effective conservation with enterprise profitability in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Resource Type
Citation

"White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Recreation Program." Honoring Nations: 2000 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2001. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Tulalip Alternative Sentencing Program

Year

Born out of a need to create a judicial system that Tulalip citizens can trust and that also helps offenders to recover rather than just "throwing them away," the Tulalip Tribal Court Alternative Sentencing Program supports efforts to establish a crime free community. Focusing on the mental, physical, and spiritual health of offenders, while incorporating cultural values, the program melds indigenous and therapeutic jurisprudence, Honoree Program Descriptions going beyond placing offenders in jail. Tulalip citizens now better reflect the sentiments of a traditional saying, "To pull that canoe, you have to pull together."

 

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Alternative Sentencing Program." Honoring Nations: 2006 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2007. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Navajo Studies Department

Year

Created in 1966 as the first contract school in the country, Rough Rock is a Navajo-run institution that combines traditional Navajo learning with Western education. Its Navajo Studies curriculum, which addresses such subjects as culture, history, and language, was named by the Tribal Council as the only "Navajo Studies" program on the reservation. Today, students from any of the Nation's chapters are eligible to attend. As the first school to be controlled entirely by a local Indian community, Rough Rock Community School paved the way for the approximately 200 contract/grant schools that have subsequently opened on Indian reservations across the United States.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Navajo Studies Department". Honoring Nations: 1999 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2000. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

Navajo Nation's Na'Nizhoozhi Center, Inc.

Year

Responding to the distressing rates of accidents, deaths, and other alcohol-related problems in Gallup, NM, the Navajo Nation partnered with Zuni Pueblo, the City of Gallup, McKinley County, and the State of New Mexico to establish the Na’Nizhoozhi Center in 1992. The Center has been an effective force in promoting wellness and safety by providing protective custody, shelter, referral services, and culturally based in-patient and out-patient substance abuse treatment services to meet the needs of its Indian clients.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Na'Nizhoozhi Center, Inc.". Honoring Nations: 2003 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2004. Report. 

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

Makah Cultural Education and Revitalization Program

Year

The Cultural Education and Revitalization Program serves as the hub of the community and stewards of a world class museum collection. Keen efforts and awareness demonstrated by staff and community members make this Center unique. Programs are truly guided by the needs of the Nation and its citizens. Makah language is taught by certified teachers, while collection labels are categorized in the Makah language and stored according to culturally appropriate relationships. By claiming and caring for the treasures of their ancestors, the Makah Nation ensures the cultural viability of its people.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Cultural Education and Revitalization Program". Honoring Nations: 2006 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2007. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Hopi Child Care Program

Year

The Hopi Child Care Program assists families in accessing quality care for children of parents pursuing education and those with work demands that keep them away from home. Understanding the importance of early childhood development coupled with the need for culturally appropriate care, Hopi citizens now have the ability to better provide for their families. The Program gives parents the security of knowing their children are safe through affordable and accessible channels. The Tribe asserts, "These children are our greatest resource. How they are treated as young children impacts the future of the Hopi Tribe."

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Hopi Child Care Program". Honoring Nations: 2006 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2007. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.