Indigenous Governance Database
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians: Amendments Excerpt
Article XIII - Amendments This constitution and bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the qualified voters of the tribe voting at an election called for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior, provided that at least forty percent (40%) of those entitled to vote shall vote in such…
Mississippi Choctaw Family Violence & Victim's Services
Addressing the often-stigmatized issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and elder abuse, the Family Violence and Victim’s Services (FVVS) provides comprehensive resources for victims such as access to legal services, counseling, and therapy. In addition, FVVS drafted a strict tribal…
Choctaw Health Center
After transferring all health care decisions from Indian Health Services to tribal control over a ten-year period, the Band significantly improved its health care delivery system. Its state-of-the-art Health Center provides health and dental care, behavioral health care and community health…
Choctaw Community Injury Prevention Program
Responding to alarming rates of preventable accidents on its reservation, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw created a comprehensive community injury prevention program in 2001. Through seat belt and child safety seat campaigns, strict enforcement of motor vehicle laws, and community-wide education…
Choctaw Tribal Court System
Self-determination is the guiding principle behind all of the government initiatives undertaken by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. This nation has created a vibrant economy while investing resources into the preservation of Choctaw language and culture. At the heart of its success is its…
Two Approaches to Economic Development on American Indian Reservations: One Works, the Other Doesn't
As much of the world knows, American Indian nations are poor. What much of the world doesn't know is that in the last quarter century, a number of these nations have broken away from the prevailing pattern of poverty. They have moved aggressively to take control of their futures and rebuild their…
Eldena Bear Don't Walk and Rae Nell Vaughn: So What's So Important About Tribal Courts? (Q&A)
In this short session, panelists Eldena Bear Don't Walk and Rae Nell Vaughn delve into further detail about the importance of tribal justice systems receiving adequate funding in order to administer justice effectively. Robert Yazzie, former Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, also…
Rae Nell Vaughn: So What's So Important About Tribal Courts?
Rae Nell Vaughn, former Chief Justice of the Mississippi Choctaw Supreme Court, discusses how justice systems are critical to Native nations' exercise of sovereignty, and sets out some key things that those systems need to have in place in order to administer justice fairly and effectively on…
NNI Indigenous Leadership Fellow: Rae Nell Vaughn (Part 2)
Rae Nell Vaughn, former Chief Justice of the Mississippi Choctaw Supreme Court, shares how her nation methodically re-integrated Choctaw core values into its administration of justice, and how Mississippi Choctaw's creation of a fair and efficient justice system is paying social, cultural,…
NNI Indigenous Leadership Fellow: Rae Nell Vaughn (Part 1)
Rae Nell Vaughn, former Chief Justice of the Mississippi Choctaw Supreme Court, discusses the critical role that justice systems play in the rebuilding of Native nations and shares how the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has worked to develop its justice system to reflect and promote its…
Rae Nell Vaughn: Tribal Court Systems in the 21st Century: The Choctaw Tribal Court System
Former Chief Justice of the Mississippi Choctaw Supreme Court Rae Nell Vaughn provides a detailed overview of the growth and evolution of the Mississippi Choctaw's governance system and specifically its justice system, stressing the importance of Native nations providing a fair, effective,…
Honoring Nations: Rae Nell Vaughn, Dan Mittan, Henderson Williams, Andrew Jones, and Hilda Faye Nickey: The Choctaw Tribal Court System
Representatives from the Choctaw Tribal Court System present an overview of the court system's development to the Honoring Nations Board of Governors in conjunction with the 2005 Honoring Nations Awards.
Honoring Nations: Tina Scott and Nan Smith: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Family Violence and Victim's Services
Program representatives Tina Scott and Nan Smith provide an overview of Mississippi Choctaw's Family Violence & Victim's Services program and discuss how its integrated approach has improved the quality and effectiveness of the services it provides to Choctaw citizens.
Stephen Cornell: Governance, Enterprises, and Rebuilding Native Economies
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development Co-Director Stephen Cornell discusses the two basic approaches Native nations typically take as they work to build and sustain nation-owned enterprises, and shares a number of examples from across Indian Country.
Joseph P. Kalt: The Practical Issues of Business Development - Some Things to Consider: Dealing with Growth
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development Co-Director Joseph P. Kalt offers some points that Native nations should consider as they work to manage the growth of their nation-owned enterprises.
Native Nation Building TV: "Introduction to Nation Building"
Guests Manley Begay and Stephen Cornell present the key research findings of the Native Nations Institute and the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. They explain the five keys to successful community and economic development for Native nations (sovereignty or practical self-…
Native Nation Building TV: "Building and Sustaining Tribal Enterprises"
Guests Lance Morgan and Kenneth Grant explore corporate governance among Native nations, in particular the added challenge they face in turning a profit as well as governing effectively. It focuses on how tribes establish a regulatory and oversight environment that allows nation-owned enterprises…
Honoring Nations: Hilda Faye Nickey: The Mississippi Choctaw Tribal Court System
Mississippi Choctaw Chief Justice Hilda Faye Nickey discusses the Choctaw tribal court system, and provides an overview of Choctaw's youth court and how it works to educate Choctaw youth about Choctaw ethics and core values in order to set them on the right path.