Indigenous Governance Database
intergovernmental collaboration
McGirt and Rebuilding Tribal Nations Toolbox
The McGirt decision has changed the legal landscape and created new opportunities for tribal nations starting with the Five Tribes in Eastern Oklahoma and potentially for tribal nations across Indian Country. It also has been the source of confusion, hyperbole, and alarm among some commentators.…
Newtok Relocation Effort
Scientists and politicians spend hours debating the facts of climate change, but in many places damaging changes to the local environment are already a reality. In the past decade, more and more human settlements have been threatened by catastrophic flooding, wildfires, or drought caused by…
Leech Lake Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction
Across Indian Country tribes are strengthening and better defining their governments in order to meet the unique needs of their communities. As Native nations work to expand their sovereign powers, tribal justice departments can play a critical role in achieving those goals. In the early 2000s, the…
Fond du Lac's Pharmacy On-Line Billing Initiative
In 1995, faced with rising pharmaceutical costs, limited Indian Health Service (IHS) funds, and an inability to bill and collect from third party insurers, the Human Services Division contracted with a private sector firm to design and implement a computerized pharmacy billing system. The first of…
Coquille: Southwest Oregon Research Project (SWORP)
Driven by the belief that possessing historical documents and archival collections is essential for cultural self-determination, the Coquille Indian Tribe partnered with the University of Oregon and the Smithsonian Institution to launch the Southwest Oregon Research Project (SWORP) in 1995. Through…
Umatilla Basin Salmon Recovery Project
The Umatilla Basin Salmon Recovery Project has successfully restored salmon to the Umatilla River, where they had been absent for nearly 70 years, while also protecting the local irrigated agriculture economy. Partnering with local irrigators and community leaders, the tribe undertook a…
The Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan
The Joint Agency Management Plan brings together three governments — the Lac Courte Oreilles Band, the State of Wisconsin, and the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service — to co-manage the Chippewa Flowage, a 15,300-acre reservoir created in 1923 that inundated a tribal village. Taking into…
Idaho Gray Wolf Recovery Program (Nez Perce)
By developing a plan that includes monitoring, outreach, species management/control, and research, the Tribe is now leading the statewide recovery of the endangered Gray Wolf. The recovery program, which meets the guidelines developed by the US Fish and Wildlife Services, has resulted in a wolf…
Navajo Nation Archaeology Department Training Programs
The Navajo Nation Archaeology Department was created in 1977 to facilitate historic preservation on Navajo Nation lands as mandated by both US and tribal government legislation. In 1988 and again in 1993, the Department expanded to include training programs, undertaken in partnership with Northern…
Coeur d'Alene Tribal Wellness Center
Created in 1998, the Wellness Center aims to promote healthy lifestyles by offering programs in fitness, aquatics, rehabilitation, childcare, and community health to 3,000 Indian and non-Indian clients. By employing the medicine wheel, or whole-life, approach to health and by focusing on…
Adam Geisler: What I Wish I Knew Before I Took Office
Adam Geisler, Secretary of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, discusses the diverse set of challenges he faces as an elected leader of his nation and discusses some of the innovative ways that he, his leadership colleagues, and his nation have worked to overcome those challenges. He also offers…
John McCoy: The Tulalip Tribes: Building and Exercising the Rule of Law for Economic Growth
Former Manager of Quil Ceda Village John McCoy discusses how the Tulalip Tribes have systematically strengthened their governance capacity and rule of law in order to foster economic diversification and growth. He also stresses the importance of Native nations building relationships with other…
Honoring Nations: What is Good Tribal Governance and Why is it Important?: Tribal Leaders' Perspectives
Moderator Joseph P. Kalt facilitates a rich discussion by an impressive panel of Native nation leaders about the role leaders play in building and sustaining successful tribal programs.
Honoring Nations: Charlie O'Hara: Developing Productive Government-to-Government Relations: Swinomish Cooperative Land Use Program
Charlie O'Hara discusses the Swinomish Cooperative Land Use Program and the importance of developing productive mutually beneficial government-to-government relations.
Honoring Nations: Jon Cooley: Building Capable Institutions of Self-Governance: White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Recreation Program
Jon Cooley, former director of the White Mountain Apache Tribe's Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation division, discusses how their program went about building capable institutions of self-governance in order to manage the Tribe's natural resources -- specifically wildlife -- in a sustainable manner.
Maamakaadenbaagwad (it is amazing): The Miracle of the Walleye
This video, produced by the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources and the youth at Project Preserve, explains the history and progress of the Red Lake Walleye recovery program.
Honoring Nations: Gabriel Lopez: Ak-Chin Community Council Task Force
Ak-Chin Indian Community Council Member Gabriel Lopez discusses why the Community decided to establish the Ak-Chin Community Council Task Force, and shares how the Task Force works to protect the cultural and environmental integrity of the Ak-Chin community, reservation and surrounding lands.
Honoring Nations: Ken James: The Flandreau Police Department (2007)
Former Flandreau (South Dakota) Police Chief Ken James discusses how the Flandreau Police Department works to provide culturally sensitive law enforcement to all of the citizens it serves.
Return of the Red Lake Walleye (trailer)
The Native Nations Institute film Return of the Red Lake Walleye chronicles the extraordinary effort of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians—working together with the State of Minnesota and the federal government—to bring back the culturally vital walleye from the brink of extinction and…
Cross swearing-in marks a first for California courts
A groundbreaking cross swearing-in ceremony last week forged a new partnership between the Shingle Springs Tribal Court and the Superior Court El Dorado County. In a Jan. 5 event at Red Hawk Casino in Placerville, Judge Suzanne N. Kingsbury, presiding judge of the Superior Court of El Dorado County…