Indigenous Governance Database
National
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Strategic Clarity"
NNI Executive Director Joan Timeche stresses the importance of Native nations having strategic clarity in the development and operation of effective bureaucracies.
National Native American Economic Policy Summit: Joseph P. Kalt: Lessons from Indian Country
The National Native American Economic Policy Summit was held in Phoenix, Arizona, May 15-17, 2007, with more than 500 key stakeholders gathering to discuss the challenges to growing healthy, vibrant Native economies. In addition to identifying challenges, participants were asked to …
Honoring Nations: Stephen Cornell: Achieving Good Governance: Lessons from the Harvard Project & Honoring Nations
Co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development Stephen Cornell offers a review of how the Honoring Nations program evolved out of the nation-building movement and successes among Native nations.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "What Effective Bureaucracies Need"
Native leaders offer their perspectives on the key characteristics that Native nation bureaucracies need to possess in order to be effective.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Clarifying Roles and Delegating Responsibility"
Native leaders discuss the need for Native nations to define the distinct roles of elected leaders and administrators, and the importance of leaders delegating responsibilities to those appropriately charged with day-to-day administraion.
Honoring Nations: Julia "Bunny" Jaakola: Education and Social Services
Julia "Bunny" Jaakola reports back to her fellow Honoring Nations symposium attendees about some of the keys to effective governance that the education and social services breakout session participants identified.
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.
Honoring Nations: Elizabeth Woody: Environment and Natural Resources
Elizabeth Woody reports back to her fellow Honoring Nations symposium attendees the consensus from the environment and natural resources breakout session participants, synthesizing their deliberations into four key elements for nation-building success in the environmental and natural resource…
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "The Challenges of Leadership"
Native leaders and scholars discuss some of the many formidable challenges facing leaders of Native nations, from the incredible demands on their time to the vast array of things they need to know and learn.
Greg Cajete: Indigenous Paradigm: Building Sustainable Communities
Greg Cajete, Director of Native American Studies at the University of Mexico, shares his more than three decades of work and research on Indigenous epistemologies for human and ecological sustainability, and discusses the need for scholars, academic institutions, and others to fully embrace these…
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Learning to Make Informed Decisions"
Native leaders share what the role of a leader entails from studying the history of the tribe to listening to and learning from elders of the community; all the tools necessary to making informed decisions.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "The Strategic Approach to Leadership"
Native leaders discuss why it is important for Native nation leaders to take a strategic approach to leadership, stressing that the decisions they make must be made with the culture and values of their people and the next seven generations in mind.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Leaders Are Educators"
Native leaders and scholars stress that for Native nation leaders to be effective at advancing their nation's priorities, they need to do more than just make decisions -- they need to educate and consult the citizens they serve.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Rules are More Important than Resources to Enterprise Success"
Professor Joseph Kalt discusses the importance of sound laws, codes, policies and other rules to the building of diversified, sustainable economies in Indian Country and everywhere else around the world.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Giving the Justice System the Support It Needs"
Native leaders and scholars share some critical ways that Native nations can support their justice systems to ensure their effectiveness.
Honoring Nations: James R. Gray, Rick Hill and John McCoy: Sovereignty Today (Q&A)
Native leaders John McCoy, James R. Gray, and Rick Hill discuss the importance of Native nations joining forces to engage in economic development, and also why it is so important for Native nations and people to buy from their own.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "The Importance of Strategic Planning"
Native leaders explain the importance of strategic thinking and planning to effective Native nation governance and emphasize the consideration of future generations in Native nations' decision-making processes.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Why are Some Native Nations More Successful than Others?"
Native leaders offer their perspectives on why some Native nations have proven more successful than others in achieving their economic and community development goals.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Justice Systems: Key Assets for Nation Building"
Professor Robert A. Williams, Jr. discusses how an effective, independent justice system can play a pivotal role in a Native nation's efforts to exercise its sovereignty and strengthen its communities.
Honoring Nations: Sarah Hicks: NCAI and the Partnership for Tribal Governance
Former NCAI Policy Research Center Director Sarah Hicks discusses the growth of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and specifically its recent initiatives to support the nation-building and advocacy efforts of Native nations.