Indigenous Governance
Database
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
Oneida Advocacy Through Investment Holdings
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…
Oneida Nation Farms
In the 1820s, a portion of the Oneida people of New York moved to Wisconsin, where they took up their accustomed practices as farmers. Over the next hundred years, the Oneida Nation lost nearly all its lands and much of its own agrarian tradition. In 1978, the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin established…
Honoring Nations: Pat Cornelius: Oneida Nation Farms
Manager of the Oneida Nation Farms Pat Cornelius presents an overview of the organization's work to the Honoring Nations Board of Governors in conjunction with the 2005 Honoring Nations Awards.
Honoring Nations: Rick Hill: Sovereignty Today
Former Oneida Nation Business Committee Chairman Rick Hill offers his perspectives on sovereignty today through the lens of the challenges facing his nation and the strategies theyr employing to achieve their nation-building goals.
Honoring Nations: Patricia Ninham-Hoeft: Oneida Nation Farms
Patty Ninham-Hoeft, Business Committee Secretary for the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, discusses the impact of Oneida Nation Farms on the Oneida community and how it is a concrete expression of tribal sovereignty.
Patricia Ninham-Hoeft: What I Wish I Knew Before I Took Office (2008)
Oneida Nation Business Committee Secretary Patricia Ninham-Hoeft reflects on her experience as a leader of her nation, and shares a list of the five leadership skills she wished she had mastered before she took office.
Patricia Ninham-Hoeft: What I Wish I Knew Before I Took Office (2009)
Oneida Nation Business Committee Secretary Patricia Ninham-Hoeft reflects on her role as a leader for the Oneida Nation and offers advice for newly elected leaders.
Tribal Governments Come In Many Forms
When the U.S. and Canadian governments suggest and support Western-style governments for indigenous nations, they are trying to improve Native government and make it more compatible with national government. Indigenous nations have diverse political arrangements and forms of government. When…
Oneidas want locally produced food on local tables
The Oneida Tribe of Indians’ foray into establishing a food hub in their community is proving to be so successful that they’d like to see it spread throughout the county. Products that are grown and processed on Oneida land have been feeding the tribe’s elementary students and elderly for some time…
Successful Tribes Are Reshaping Governance
American Indian communities are often offered up as the gold standard of dysfunction in America. With our high rates of entrenched poverty, we top the lists of addiction, suicide and other social ills. It’s platitude that, frankly, gets tiring to hear. We in the media like to describe the best and…
Tribal Enrollment
Tribes have the right to determine their own membership. These criteria for enrollment vary from tribe to tribe. In the Midwest, the criteria are based on descendancy, that is, descent from an individual on a particular roll, as well as, in some cases, blood quantum and/or residency of the…
Traditional Foods in Native America
Commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Native Diabetes Wellness Program (NDWP), this report highlights traditional foods programs in six culturally and geographically diverse American Indian and Alaska Native communities. For decades, American Indian and Alaska…
What is Sustain Oneida?
The population of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin will probably decline within the next 10 years. The Tribe currently faces a diminishing population with an enrollment criteria of 1/4 Oneida blood...
What is Blood Quantum?
This article will explore the history of using blood quantum to categorize American Indian identity. The measuring of blood and the concept of 'Indianness' is a complex and difficult subject...
Exercising Sovereignty and Expanding Economic Opportunity Through Tribal Land Management
While the United States faces one of the most significant housing crises in the nation’s history, many forget that Indian housing has been in crisis for generations. This report seeks to take some important steps toward a future where safe, affordable, and decent housing is available to Native…
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin: Food Sovereignty, Safe Water, and Tribal Law
An example of a Native American community working to achieve food sovereignty not only with physical nutrients but also with social elements is the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. This article analyzes the strengths of the Oneida Tribe's approach to preserving water quality and fishing…