The Harvard Kennedy School Project on Indigenous Governance and Development

Choctaw Community Injury Prevention Program

Year

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 initiatives, the program is successfully changing behaviors, saving lives, reducing injuries and disabilities, and lowering health care costs.

Resource Type
Citation

"Choctaw Community Injury Prevention Program". Honoring Nations: 2003 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2004. 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. 

Choctaw Health Center

Year

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 promotion, education and prevention programs, and the first-ever on-reservation disability clinic. In addition, the Tribe has implemented an efficient billing and records system that has reduced the "red-tape" typically associated with third party billing. By taking a more active role in its reservation health care, the tribally controlled Choctaw Health Center is improving community health and meeting the specific health care needs of its citizens. In 1997, the Choctaw Band's Disability Clinic received the Vice President's prestigious Hammer Award for the Clinic's effective disability determination process.

Resource Type
Citation

"Choctaw Health Center". Honoring Nations: 1999 Honoree. The 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. 

Grand Traverse Band's Land Claims Distribution Trust Fund

Year

After 26 years of negotiation with the US government over how monies from a land claims settlement would be distributed, the Band assumed financial control over the settlement by creating a Trust Fund system that provides annual payments in perpetuity to Band elders for supplementing their social security benefits. The Land Claims Distribution Fund was created to not only provide an additional permanent safety net for the Tribe's elders, but also to honor their lifetime contributions and sacrifices. The Fund also enables the Tribe to effectively manage its own settlement award rather than having it remain under the management of the US government.

Resource Type
Citation

"Land Claims Distribution Trust Fund". Honoring Nations: 1999 Honoree. The 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. 

Navajo Nation Corrections Project

Year

Established in 1983, the Corrections Project facilitates, coordinates, and advocates for the use of spiritual ceremonies, cultural activities, and counseling for Navajo and other Indians in correctional facilities. As the liaison between inmates, their families, and Indian and non-Indian government agencies, the project researches and implements unmet spiritual, cultural, and legal needs. In 2002 alone, the 30 correctional facilities were visited and more than 2,000 clients were served.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Navajo Nation Corrections Project". Honoring Nations: 2003 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2004. 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. 

Chickasaw Nation's Chuka Chukmasi Home Loan Program

Year

Created in 1998 to increase home ownership among Chickasaw citizens and other Native Americans in Oklahoma, the Chuka Chukmasi ("beautiful home") Home Loan Program is a secondary market home loan program that has helped more than 200 families realize the dream of home ownership. Collaborating with investor and lender partners, the Program provides pre-home ownership education, credit and loan counseling, and down payment and closing cost assistance.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Chuka Chukmasi Home Loan Program". Honoring Nations: 2003 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2004. 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. 

Idaho Gray Wolf Recovery Program (Nez Perce)

Year

By developing a plan that includes monitoring, outreach, species management/control, and research, the Tribe is now leading the statewide recovery of the endangered Gray Wolf. The recovery program, which meets the guidelines developed by the US Fish and Wildlife Services, has resulted in a wolf population that is three times larger than it was five years ago. The Idaho Gray Wolf Recovery Program has brought recognition to the Tribe's ability to manage a complex and often controversial project. By asserting treaty rights as co-managers of fish and wildlife resources, the Tribe has forged solid working relationships with federal and state governments.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Idaho Gray Wolf Recovery Program". Honoring Nations: 1999 Honoree. The 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. 

Mississippi Choctaw Family Violence & Victim's Services

Year

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 domestic criminal code and continues to administer re-education programs for batterers, educational campaigns, and training seminars for law enforcement, security, and the tribal judiciary.

Resource Type
Citation

"Family Violence and Victim's Services." Honoring Nations: 2003 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2004. 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. 

Grand Traverse Band Planning and Development

Year

Faced with a growing land base and an increasing number of visitors to the reservation, the Grand Traverse Band Tribal Council established the Planning and Development Department in 1997 to build capacity within the community to accommodate new needs. The Department addressed its challenge by embarking on a comprehensive planning process that relies on community involvement at both the reservation and off-reservation levels to help identify key community needs. Since its inception, over 400 tribal members have taken part in the Department’s participatory planning process. Together with the community, the Department has overseen the development of tribal regulatory standards, housing initiatives, state-of-the-art public works projects, and plans for public spaces and public buildings. In sum, the Planning and Development Department improves the Band’s internal governance capacity and lays the groundwork for sound community growth well into the future.

Resource Type
Citation

"Grand Traverse Band Planning and Development". Honoring Nations: 2000 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2001. 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.  

The Hopi Land Team

Year

Reclaiming traditional lands has been a primary concern of the Hopi Tribe for the last century. In 1996, significant land purchases became possible under the terms of a settlement with the United States. The tribal government was faced with the problem of developing a plan for reacquiring lands, prioritizing various goals for the land, and evaluating potential purchases. In response to this challenge, in 1998, the Tribe created the Hopi Land Team, a committee of the Tribal Council. With the goal of striking a balance between preservation and the future, the Team works to identify potential purchases, evaluate their cultural and economic significance and potential, and recommend purchases. The work of the Team leads not only to new development initiatives that increase tribal revenues, but it also brings critical cultural resources and sacred sites back to the Tribe.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"The Hopi Land Team". Honoring Nations: 2005 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2006. 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. 

Gila River Telecommunications, Inc.

Year

Recognizing the need for affordable and reliable telecommunications services, the Tribe founded Gila River Telecommunications, Inc. (GRTI) in 1988. A pioneer in telecommunications in Indian Country, GRTI offers affordable landline phone service, dial-up and DSL Internet service, and satellite television. GRTI has seen residential use of access lines grow from 34% to nearly 50% in six years and plays an important role in meeting the needs of the Community’s fast-growing economy.

Resource Type
Citation

"Gila River Telecommunication, Inc.". Honoring Nations: 2003 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2004. 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.