Indigenous Governance Database
practical sovereignty
Honoring Nations: Manley Begay: Reflections on the Day
Harvard Project on American Development Co-Director Manley A. Begay, Jr. synthesizes the learning that took place during the first day of the 2004 Honoring Nations symposium, focusing on the nation-building success stories chronicled during the day as testaments to and reflections of…
Honoring Nations: Miriam Jorgensen: Lessons to Take Home
NNI Research Director Miriam Jorgensen concludes the 2004 Honoring Nations symposium with her impressions about the lessons learned from the convening, from the great diversity among Native nations to the great strides they are taking when they devise their own solutions to the challenges they…
The Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development course series
This short video provides a comprehensive overview of NNI's "Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development distance-learning course series. The curriculum examines the critical governance and development challenges facing Native nations and surveys the breadth and…
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "The Role of Bureaucracies in Nation Building"
Native leaders discuss the critical role that bureaucracies play in Native nations' efforts to achieve their nation-building and community development priorities.
Jamie Fullmer, Rebecca Miles and Darrin Old Coyote: Our Leadership Experiences, Challenges, and Advice (Q&A)
Jamie Fullmer (former Chairman of the Yavapai-Apache Nation), Rebecca Miles (Executive Director and former Chairwoman of the Nez Perce Tribe) and Darrin Old Coyote (Chairman of the Crow Tribe) field questions from seminar participants about how they have negotiated the fundamental challenges of…
The Bay Mills Case: An Opportunity for Native Nations
On May 27th, the U.S. Supreme Court finally handed down its decision in the Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community case. The good news for Native nations is that the Court upheld the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity, opting not to carry out any of the doomsday scenarios many suggested could…
Arizona tribe set to prosecute first non-Indian under a new law
Tribal police chief Michael Valenzuela drove through darkened desert streets, turned into a Circle K convenience store and pointed to the spot beyond the reservation line where his officers used to take the non-Indian men who battered Indian women. “We would literally drive them to the end of the…
Good Data Leads to Good Sovereignty
The lack of good data about U.S. American Indian and Alaska Native populations hinders tribes’ development activities, but it also highlights a space for sovereign action. In coming years, tribes will no doubt continue to advocate for better national data and at the same time increasingly implement…
Tulalips wield new power against domestic violence
The Tulalip Tribes are now one of just three Native American tribes in the country to take advantage of a federal program designed to better combat domestic violence on tribal lands. In an agreement signed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office Friday during a regular meeting of the Tribes’ board of…
Police Protection in CT Increases: Tribes Can Now Arrest Non-Natives
On Friday, August 1, 27 members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Police received the power to arrest non-Natives on tribal land. “Up until now they could only hold and detain non-tribal members until the state police could come and make the arrest,” William Satti, director of public affairs for…
Harvard Project Names 18 Semifinalists for Honoring Nations Awards
The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development recognizes exemplary tribal government initiatives and facilitates the sharing of best practices through its Honoring Nations awards program. On March 3, the Harvard Project announced its selection of 18 semi-finalists for the 2014…
Educating Indian Country's Future Leaders
To grapple with the concept of good leaders and how to become one, 100 attendees–newly-elected and aspiring leaders from Native Nations–gathered in Tucson, Arizona November 6-7 for a specifically-developed Executive Education Seminar titled, "Emerging Leaders." Developed by the Native Nations…
American Indian tribe OKs same-sex marriage, lets gay couple wed
The head of an American Indian tribe in Michigan signed a law approving same-sex marriage on Friday, joining at least two other tribes nationwide in doing so, then immediately wed a gay couple who had been together for 30 years but never thought they would see this day come...
A 'historic day' at pueblo
Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar called it a “historic day” as he signed regulations at Sandia Pueblo on Thursday morning that will allow the tribe to lease land without federal approval. The pueblo is only the second tribe in the country to take advantage of a law, called the HEARTH Act (Helping…
Arizona Illustrated: The Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series
Course series director Ian Record and course faculty member Robert A. Williams, Jr. appear on Arizona Public Media's "Arizona Illustrated" evening news television program to discuss the Native Nations Institute's groundbreaking "Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development"…
Improving Indigenous community governance through strengthening Indigenous and government organisational capacity
Strengthening the organisational capacity of both Indigenous and government organisations is critical to raising the health, wellbeing and prosperity of Indigenous Australian communities. Improving the governance processes of Indigenous organisations is likely to require strengthening of…