nation building

Indigenous Governance Speaker Series: How to Build a Nation with Susan Masten (Yurok)

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year
Susan Masten (Yurok), former Chairwoman and valuable leader of the Yurok Tribe, joins the Native Nations Institute's Executive Director, Joan Timeche (Hopi), for an engaging discussion on Native nation building, specifically, how she actually helped build the nation. She was critical to the fulfillment of the requirements of the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act, including developing the criteria for the first base roll and a tribal council. Susan shares her insight on how the tribe developed their own tribal constitution, which included an attempt to ensure everyone was equally represented with the formulation of districts where the villages were located. Another struggle she faced in the building of the nation was clearly defining the powers of the government. She speaks on how cultural values inform how decisions are made at a governance level and the value of keeping the branches of the government separate from council. Her definition of good governance includes transparency and ensuring the peoples' buy-in and confidence in government. Other tidbits of wisdom:
  • How to learn from the successes of other tribes
  • The value of developing policies and ordinances and who should write this legislation
  • How to prepare leaders for their role in the tribe
  • Governance challenges and accomplishments of the Yurok tribe
She ends the discussion with her reflections on leadership and developing strong leadership skills, especially the value of focusing on individuals and holding yourself to a higher standard. In her experience, there are still disparities between how people treat women in leadership roles vs. males and she shares how she has attempted to change the status-quo. Her final message includes the importance of traditional knowledge and how it guides the process of nation building.
 
Currently, Susan is the co-president of Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations (WEWIN), an organization she co-founded in 2004.
Native Nations
Resource Type
Topics
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Indigenous Governance Speaker Series: How to Build a Nation with Susan Masten (Yurok)". Native Nations Instititue, University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. February 24, 2022.

Transcript available upon request. Please email us: nni@arizona.edu.

Native Nation Building: It Helps Rural America Thrive

Year

This second paper in the Aspen Institute's Thrive Rural Field Perspectives series shows that when tribes center sovereignty, Indigenous institutions and culture in their development processes they increase the probability of reaching their development goals and can build community wealth that is more in line with tribal values and lifeways. The authors also highlight how Native nations and rural communities, working both side-by-side and together, can strengthen the potential for thriving rural regions.

Resource Type
Citation

M Jorgensen & S Gutierrez. 2021. Native nation building: It helps rural America thrive. Community Strategies Group, Aspen Institute, Washington, DC. November.

Tribal Sovereignty Special

Producer
KNBA 90.3 FM
Year

What does tribal sovereignty mean in Alaska? KNBA's Joaqlin Estus talks with two experts about the legal basis for tribal sovereignty, and tribal judicial systems at work in Alaska. Hear about a court ruling that Alaska tribes can put land into trust status, tax-free and safe from seizure...

Native Nations
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Citation

"Tribal Sovereignty Special: The Our Alaska Show on KNBA 90.3 FM (Host: Joaqlin Estus)." Featured on KDLG 89.9 FM Public Radio for Alaska's Bristol Bay. Dillingham, AK. April 9, 2013. Radio Interview. (http://kdlg.org/post/tribal-sovereignty-special-kdlg, accessed August 19, 2013)

Indigenous Governance Speaker Series: A Message for Indigenous Women Leaders with Cecilia Fire Thunder (Oglala Sioux/Lakota)

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

The first woman to successfully run for president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Cecilia Fire Thunder shares valuable insight on being an impactful leader.

Her wisdom includes stories about working with local and national governments and lobbying congressional leaders. She reflects on why and how she became president and the challenge of meeting the numerous and constant demands of leadership. She notes that successful leaders must constantly educate themselves, knowing not only yourself and your ancestry, but also tribal history and other basic facts about your tribe, including everything from basic demographic data to the cost of health care.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Topics
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Indigenous Governance Speaker Series: A Message for Indigenous Women Leaders with Cecilia Fire Thunder (Oglala Sioux/Lakota)". Native Nations Instititue, University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. March 24, 2022.

Principles of Indigenous Data Governance

Year

Indigenous data, whether collected by national governments and institutions or gathered by Indigenous Peoples themselves, are integral for: decision-making; the exercise of collective rights to self-determination; the affirmation and application of Indigenous epistemologies; and fulfilling responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples, nations, communities, and human, spiritual, and non-human relations. Indigenous data include knowledge and information on and about Indigenous Peoples in any format, including cultural heritage embedded in languages, knowledges, practices, technologies, natural resources, waters, and territories. Indigenous data sovereignty asserts the rights of Indigenous Peoples and nations to govern the meaning, collection, ownership, and application of these data about their peoples, lands, cultural practices, and resources. Indigenous data governance enacts Indigenous data sovereignty, providing mechanisms for ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ rights and interests are reflected in data policies and practices.

 

Resource Type
Citation

United States Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network. (February 2020). “Principles of Indigenous Data Governance.” usindigenousdata.org

Navigating the Structures of Native Nations

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

Native Nations Institute presented a panel at TENWEST 2019 in Tucson called “Navigating the Structures of Native Nations.” Arizona is home to 22 Native nations, many whom are major economic drivers. Panelists presented an overview of Native nations including their socio-economic challenges, governmental form, authorities, laws, and economic environments. Representatives from two of Tucson’s Indigenous communities, the Tohono O’odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, shared suggestions for building effective inter-governmental relationships. Panelists included are:

Joan Timeche, Executive Director, Native Nations Institute

Austin Nunez, Chairman, San Xavier District Tohono O’odham Nation

Herminia Frias, Councilwoman, Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council

Resource Type
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Navigating the Structures of Native Nations" TENWEST 2019. Tucson, Arizona. October 14, 2019

Transcript available upon request. Please email: nni@email.arizona.edu

Meeting the Need for Higher Education and Professional Development

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

Native Nations Institute and the Indigenous Governance Program presented a panel at TENWEST 2019 in Tucson called “Meeting the Need for Higher Education & Professional Development.” The panelists presented a case study on how the Indigenous Governance Program (and a proposed School of Indigenous Governance and Development that is still in the planning phase) at the University of Arizona was created to address a growing need for education related to Indigenous governance best practices among tribal nations in the U.S. and Indigenous communities around the world. To date, the program has reached over 350 participants from over 30 Native nations on 6 continents.

Included in the presentation are stories about how these programs have helped tribes to strengthen their governance, rebuild their nations, and demonstrate sovereignty in action. Panelists included are: 

Joan Timeche, Executive Director, Native Nations Institute

Tory Fodder, Indigenous Governance Program Manager

Robert Williams, Jr., JD, Professor, Regent’s Professor, Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program, University of Arizona

Transcript available upon request. Please email: nni@email.arizona.edu

Rebuilding Nations: The Next Generation

Producer
Produced in partnership with TPT-Twin Cities PBS and producer/director Missy Whiteman
Year

Turtle Mountain Ojibwe youth from North Dakota tell the story of their Tribe’s history and the importance of cultural revitalization today. Produced in partnership with Twin Cities PBS and producer/director Missy Whiteman. Special thanks to Dr. Twyla Baker, Alexis Davis, Colten Birkland, and Eddie Falcon.

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Citation

Native Governance Center. 2018. "Rebuilding Nations: The Next Generation." Produced in partnership with TPT-Twin Cities PBS and producer/director Missy Whiteman. St. Paul, Minnesota. Video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVtkPI_aOMQ, accessed November 14, 2018)

Why strategic vision and integration matter to developing a tribal workforce

Year

In its multi-year project examining tribal workforce development approaches across the country, NCAI’s Partnership for Tribal Governance (PTG) worked to identify and document key foundational strategies that are empowering tribal innovation and, in turn, workforce development success...

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Citation

NCAI’s Partnership for Tribal Governance. 2018. "Why strategic vision and integration matter to developing a tribal workforce." Indian Country Today. August 6, 2018. https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/opinion/why-strategic-vision-an… 

Tribal workforce development: Success starts with governance

Year

A movement is sweeping across Indian Country. Over the past several decades, a growing number of tribal nations have reclaimed their right to govern their own affairs, and are slowly but surely charting brighter futures of their own making. Wrestling primary-decision making authority away from the federal government, they are “addressing severe social problems, building sustainable economies, and reinvigorating their cultures, languages, and ways of life.” In the process, they are affirming what Native peoples have always known – that tribal self-determination and self-governance is the only policy capable of improving their lives and the quality of life in their communities.

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Citation

Indian Country Today. 2018. "Tribal workforce development: Success starts with governance." July 30, 2018. https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/opinion/tribal-workforce-develo…