self-determination

Citizen Potawatomi Nation: Citizenship Excerpt

Year

ARTICLE 3 — MEMBERSHIP OF TRIBE
Section 1. The membership of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation shall consist of the following persons:
(a) All persons of Indian blood who were bona fide members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and who were enrolled or were entitled to be enrolled on the official census roll of the Band on January 1, 1937.
(b) Each child of Citizen Potawatomi Nation Indian blood born since the date of said roll whose parents is, or was, a member of the Tribe.
(c) Each child of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Indian blood of a marriage between a member of the Tribe and any other person.
(d) As used in this Article, the term “a member of the Tribe" means a member of the Tribe at the time of the child’s birth, or, in the case of a posthumous child, if membership rights are claimed through the deceased parent, the parent was a member of the Tribe at the time of death.
(e) The burden of proof as to eligibility for membership in the Citizen Potawatomi Nation will be on the claimant for membership in each case.
(f) The Business Committee shall have power to prescribe rules and regulations covering future membership including adoptions and the loss of membership, subject to confirmation by a majority of the votes cast for a General Council referendum containing such rules and regulations in a regular or special election.
(g) No member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation may hold membership in any other Indian tribe.

Native Nations
Topics
Citation

Citizen Potawatomi Nation. 2007. "Constitution of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation." Shawnee, OK.

Reimagining Indigenous Health: Moving Beyond the Social Determinants of Health

Year

Senior researcher Stephanie Carroll Rainie critiqued the application of social determinants of health models in Native communities and challenged readers to reconsider how they think about Indigenous health.

Resource Type
Citation

Rainie, Stephanie Carroll. Reimagining Indigenous Health: Moving Beyond the Social Determinants of Health. Poster Session: Research to Fuel our Futures. The NCAI Policy Research Center Tribal Leader/Scholar Forum. National Congress of American Indians Mid Year Conference. St. Paul, Minnesota. June 30, 2015. Poster.

 

A Call to Action

Year

As Native peoples across the country celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Indian occupation of Alcatraz (1969-1971) this fall, many newspapers, magazines and networks are filing stories that attempt to assess both the event's immediate impact as well as its cultural legacy. While many of these stories center on the perspectives of occupation leaders like John Trudell -- who appropriately deemed the Alcatraz occupation "a rekindling of the spirit" for Native peoples -- few of these retrospectives delve into how the event transformed the lives of the many young people who took part in the occupation. The following first-person essay reflects the experiences of Sylvia Polacca (Hopi/Tewa/Havasupai), who as a young teen left her reservation to join the group that occupied the island of Alcatraz, the group that called itself "Indians of All Nations." The photos in this special section of RED INK depict daily life on the island during the occupation as seen through the eyes of Polacca...

Resource Type
Citation

Polacca, Sylvia. "A Call to Action." Red Ink: A Native American Student Publication. Vol. 8, No. 1. American Indian Studies Program, The University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. 1999: 20-27. Article.

Closing the Gap: A North American Perspective

Year

This series of lectures is about “closing the gaps”–the socioeconomic and other gaps between Indigenous and mainstream populations in Australia. You might well wonder what a Yank academic is doing leading off such a series. I have to admit that I’ve wondered that myself. And I find myself somewhat intimidated by this audience, including as it does people–both in government and out, both Indigenous and non–who have invested not only good intentions but a lot of energy and intelligence and sheer hard work in trying to address those gaps. My knowledge of the on-the-ground problems here in Australia is modest in comparison to many of yours.

But I’m hoping I can persuade you today that there is relevance in exploring the experience of other countries, for yours is not the only one that faces this challenge. Earlier in this decade, New Zealand government policy toward Maori operated under a “closing the gaps” banner. There’s frequent debate in the news media in Canada about why the Aboriginal peoples of that country continue to languish in poverty. And my own country–the United States–has an Indigenous population that ranks at or near the bottom of the scale in household income, employment, health, housing, and other indicators, all of which lag far behind the American population as a whole...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Cornell, Stephen. "Closing the Gap: A North American Perspective." A Public Lecture Sponsored by Reconciliation Australia. National Gallery of Art. Canberra, Australia. September 11, 2008. Presentation.

Oneida Advocacy Through Investment Holdings

Year

Thirty years ago, most Native nations in the U.S. had few financial resources available for investment. With the passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (Public Law 93-638) in 1975, many tribes began to reclaim the governance of their nations – and with such assertions of self-determination came successful business enterprise development and thriving economies. Today, Native nations exercise their sovereignty and business savvy across a multitude of arenas, including health care, education, justice, and financial investment.

Resource Type
Citation

"Oneida Advocacy Through Investment Holdings." Honoring Nations: 2010 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2011. Report.

Newtok Relocation Effort

Year

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 variations in usual climate patterns. Climate change is already having devastating effects on Alaska; a 2003 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that flooding and erosion affect 86% of Alaska Native villages. Faced with deteriorating environmental conditions, residents of the traditional Yup’ik village of Newtok, Alaska decided to relocate and move the village to the site of the community’s summer camp, nine miles away from Newtok’s current location. Rather than wait for the United States or the state of Alaska to develop strategies to assist communities affected by climate change, Newtok took its future into its own hands. In doing so, they have become a model for others.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Newtok Relocation Effort." Honoring Nations: 2010 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2011. Report.

Indigenous Land Management in the United States: Context, Cases, Lessons

Year

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is seeking ways to support First Nations’ economic development. Among its concerns are the status and management of First Nations’ lands. The Indian Act, bureaucratic processes, the capacities of First Nations themselves, and other factors currently limit the ability of First Nations to add lands to reserves or to use their lands more effectively in productive and self-determined economic activity.

As it confronts these issues, AFN has been interested in how Indigenous land-management issues are being addressed by Native nations in the United States. What is the status of Indigenous lands in the U.S.? Do Native nations in the U.S. face similar challenges to those facing First Nations? Are Native nations in the U.S. engaged in practices that might offer ideas or lessons for First Nations?

There are substantial historical, legal, and political differences between the situations of Native nations in Canada and the U.S. But there also are substantial similarities. In both countries, land has been a pivotal issue–in many ways the pivotal issue–in the history of Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations. In both countries, despite massive land loss, Native nations retain remnant land bases with varying potential for economic development. In both countries, Native nations fiercely defend their remaining lands, seek to expand them, and are determined to exercise greater control over what happens on those lands.

This report addresses the status of Native lands in the U.S. It is divided into two parts. Part 1, “Overview of the U.S. Context,” reviews the history of Indigenous lands and provides an overview of current Indian land tenure and jurisdiction. Part 2, “Meeting the Land Management Challenge,” specifies the primary challenges facing Native nations in the U.S. as they attempt to manage their lands in ways that meet their own objectives and summarizes some of the innovative practices currently in use or being developed by American Indian nations. It identifies what we believe are key features of those practices. It also summarizes some of the relevant research on the relationship between control of Native lands and socioeconomic outcomes. Finally, it offers some recommendations based on the U.S. experience...

This report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Assembly of First Nations.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Cornell, Stephen and Miriam Jorgensen. "Indigenous Land Management in the United States: Context, Cases, Lessons." A Report to the Assembly of First Nations. Grogan|Cornell Consulting. Tucson, Arizona. December 2011. Report.

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.

Winnebago Community Development Fund

Year

Establishing a framework for community development based on the goals of the government and its citizens, the Winnebago CDC Fund builds toward long-term development by matching funds for grants, building community projects, supplementing community infrastructure, increasing educational opportunities, and providing financial leverage to community projects. By having a dedicated fund, tribal governments can better address essential government responsibilities with the security of knowing the unique needs of many individual groups are being met. Additionally, local and regional partnerships are fostered.

Resource Type
Citation

"Winnebago Community Development Fund." 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.

Yakama Nation Land Enterprise

Year

In an effort to consolidate, regulate, and control Indian land holdings, the financially self-sustaining Yakama Nation Land Enterprise has successfully acquired more than 90% of all the fee lands within the Nation’s closed area — lands which were previously highly "checker-boarded." The Enterprise’s land purchase program has allowed the Nation to expand industrial, business, and agricultural activities; tracts of land are used for housing, day care centers, ranger stations, longhouses, and for use by tribal education, foods, resource management, and cultural programs.

Resource Type
Citation

"Yakama Nation Land Enterprise." 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.