Indigenous Governance Database
self-governance
Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission's Treaty Rights/National Forest MOU
The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), a tribally chartered intertribal agency, negotiated a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the US Forest Service that both recognizes and implements treaty-guaranteed hunting, fishing, and gathering rights under tribal regulations and…
Transcending Borders in Tribal Nation-Building
Dr. Stephen Cornell addressed the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, House of Commons, in Ottawa, Canada. The following is the excerpted transcript from his address, which, among other things, discusses what really does and should matter to Indigenous peoples--…
Akwesasne Freedom School
In 1979, the Akwesasne Freedom School took form out of the Mohawk struggle for self-determination and self-government. It is characterized by a deep commitment to the maintenance of Mohawk identity. Students in this pre-kindergarten through 8th-grade language immersion school begin and end each…
The Concept of Governance and its Implications for First Nations
What is governance? What is government? What does each do? And what distinguishes good governance - or good government - from bad? Why is the quality of governance important to the success of human societies? And what is the significance and meaning of self-governance? And What does effective self-…
Good Native Governance: Lunchtime Keynote Address
UCLA School of Law "Good Native Governance" conference lunchtime keynote speaker, Joseph P. Kalt discusses research in the areas of good Native governance. This video resource is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center.
Sophie Pierre: Governance the Ktunaxa Nation Way
Sophie Pierre is a respected native leader that has been at the forefront of building key components and infrastructure for modern self-governance in the Ktunaxa Nation. Her tenure as Chief Commission for the BC Treaty Commission appointed by governments of Canada and British Columbia and the First…
Robert Innes: Elder Brother and the Law of the People: Maintaining Sovereignty Through Identity and Culture
Robert Innes, a citizen of the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan, discusses how traditional Cowessess kinship systems and practices continue to structure and inform the individual and collective identities of Cowessess people today, and how those traditional systems and practices are serving…
Good Native Governance Plenary 1: Innovations in Law
UCLA School of Law "Good Native Governance" conference presenters, panelists and participants Carole E. Goldberg, Matthew L.M. Fletcher, and Kristen A. Carpenter discuss law and the issues that Native nations deal with. Goldberg explains the recommendations of the Indian Law and Order Commission…
Good Native Governance: Keynote Address
UCLA School of Law "Good Native Governance" conference keynote speaker, Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary — Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior, examines how Native nations are engaging so well in self-determination through good governance. This video resource is featured on…
Justin Beaulieu: The Red Lake Nation's Approach to Constitutional Reform
Justin Beaulieu (Red Lake Nation), coordinator of the Red lake Nation Constitution Reform Initiative, provides a detailed overview of how the Red Lake Nation's constitution reform committee has designed and is implementing a methodical, strategic, comprehensive approach to reviewing and reforming…
Stephen Cornell: Defining Constitutions (Presentation Highlight)
In this highlight from the presentation "Defining Constitutions and the Movement to Remake Them," Stephen Cornell provides some basic definitions of what a constitution is and the role it fundamentally plays -- or should play in the life of Native nations.
Terry Janis: The White Earth Nation Constitutional Reform Process
In this lively and far-reaching discussion with NNI's Ian Record, Terry Janis (Oglala Lakota), former project manager of the White Earth Nation Constitution Reform Project, provides an overview of the citizen education and engagement campaign that preceded White Earth's historic vote to ratify a…
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 Indigenous…
Ian Record: Setting the Focus and Providing the Context: Critical Constitutional Reform Tasks (Presentation Highlight)
In this highlight from the presentation "The Process of Constitutional Reform: The Challenge of Citizen Engagement," NNI's Ian Record lays out two critical overarching tasks that those charged with leading a nation's constitutional reform effort must undertake.
NNI Indigenous Leadership Fellow: Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell (Part 1)
Grand Chief Michael Mitchell of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne provides an overview of the nation-building work his nation has engaged in over the past four decades, from its decision to move away from the Indian Act to its systematic development of capable governing institutions designed to…
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 face…
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Self-Determination and Governance Are Related"
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development Co-Director Stephen Cornell stresses the importance of Native nations exercising sovereignty effectively over time as an important way to defend their sovereignty.
Angela Wesley: A "Made in Huu-ay-aht" Constitution
Angela Wesley, Chair of the Huu-ay-aht Constitution Committee, discusses the process that the Huu-ay-Aht First Nations followed in developing their own constitution and system of government. She describes how Huu-ay-aht's new governance system is fundamentally different from their old Indian Act…
Stephen Cornell: The Task of Reclaiming Self-Governance (Presentation Highlight)
In this highlight from the presentation "Key Things a Constitution Should Address: 'Who Has Responsibility for What?'," NNI's Stephen Cornell provides an overview of the fundamental questions that Native nations must ask themselves as they reclaim control over and then redesign their governance…
Honoring Nations: The Politics of Change - Internal Barriers, Opportunities and Lessons for Improving Government Performance
Moderator JoAnn Chase facilitates a wide-ranging discussion by a panel of Native nation leaders and key decision-makers about internal barriers inhibiting good governance and opportunities and lessons for improving government performance in Native nations.