Indigenous Governance Database
Miriam Jorgensen
Evaluating the Social Impact of Indigenous Art Projects by Way of Aesthetic Impact
This post is part of Americans for the Arts' Excellence and Equity in Arts for Change blog salon.Indigenous artists have long used art as a means of pushing back on colonial actions, ideas, and ways of being. It is not only a powerful vernacular in which to communicate about the persistence of…
The Employment Situation of Native Americans
Federal, state, and Tribal policies focused on full employment could have a significant effect on the lives and livelihoods of American Indians and Alaska Natives (collectively called Native Americans in this brief). While the overall employment rate for Native Americans has been trending upward…
Gugu Badhun Sovereignty Sundays: An adaptable online Indigenous nation-building method
Nation-building research is a flexible approach to research that prioritises the voices and self-determination agendas of Indigenous Nations. This paper discusses our application of the Indigenous nation-building (INB) methodology in our research with Gugu Badhun Aboriginal Nation, Australia,…
Reclaiming Indigenous Health in the US: Moving beyond the Social Determinants of Health
The lack of literature on Indigenous conceptions of health and the social determinants of health (SDH) for US Indigenous communities limits available information for Indigenous nations as they set policy and allocate resources to improve the health of their citizens. In 2015, eight …
Considerations for Federal and State Landback
This policy brief showcases how geographic information system (GIS) techniques can be used to identify public and/or protected land in relation to current and historic reservation boundaries, and presents maps showcasing the scope of landback opportunities. These lands include federal- or state-…
Native Nation Building: It Helps Rural America Thrive
This second paper in the Aspen Institute's Thrive Rural Field Perspectives series shows that when tribes center sovereignty, Indigenous institutions and culture in their development processes they increase the probability of reaching their development goals and can build community wealth that is…
Investing in Rural Prosperity Chapter 7: Native America x Rural America: Tribal Nations as Key Players in Regional Rural Economies
The seventh chapter in Investing in Rural Prosperity, "Native America x Rural America: Tribal Nations as Key Players in Regional Rural Economies", outlines the diversity of Native nations, including with respect to governmental structure and economic opportunity. It also explores the history and…
Policy Brief: Assessing the U.S. Treasury Department’s Allocations of Funding for Tribal Governments under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“the Act” or “ARPA”) has resulted in the single largest infusion of federal funding for Native America in U.S. history. The core of this funding is $20 billion for the more than 570 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal…
Navigating the ARPA: A Series for Tribal Nations. Episode 7: Direct Relief for Tribal Citizens: Getting beyond Per Caps
From setting tribal priorities to building infrastructure to managing and sustaining projects, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) presents an unprecedented opportunity for the 574 federally recognized tribal nations to use their rights of sovereignty and self-government to strengthen their…
Honoring Nations All-Stars Profile: The Red Lake Walleye Recovery Program
In 1997, the members of the Red Lake Fisheries Association (RLFA), a cooperative established by com-mercial fishermen from the Red Lake Nation,1 voted to discontinue all commercial gillnet fishing on Red Lake for the upcoming season. An overwhelming majority of the RLFA’s members supported the…
Policy Brief: Recommendations for the Allocation and Administration of American Rescue Plan Act Funding for American Indian Tribal Governments
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides the largest infusion of federal funding for Indian Country in the history of the United States. More than $32 billion dollars is directed toward assisting American Indian nations and communities as they work to end and recover from the devastating…
Policy Brief: Native Nation Rebuilding for Tribal Research and Data Governance
Indigenous Peoples conducted research long before their interactions with European settlers. Whether through observation or practice, research in a non-western context was woven into Indigenous ways of knowing and being. It continues to inform Indigenous Knowledges of landscapes and natural…
Mortgage Lending on South Dakota’s Indian Trust Land: Findings from a Survey of Lenders
Since its formation in 2013, the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition (SDNHOC or “the Coalition”) has brought together a diverse group of more than 75 tribal, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sector stakeholders to identify barriers, share innovative solutions, and leverage resources…
Invisible Borders of Reservations, Tribal Treaties, and Tribal Sovereignty
This 3-part discussion about the invisible borders of reservations, tribal treaties, and tribal sovereignty is led by Dr. Miriam Jorgensen, Research Director of both the University of Arizona Native Nations Institute and its sister organization, the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic…
The Role of Tribes and Tribal Relations in Creating a More Vibrant Arizona (Chapter in The 113th Arizona Town Hall's "Creating Vibrant Communities")
Arizona’s rich history begins with its Native inhabitants. Since time immemorial, Native Peoples built their own vibrant communities in the region’s river valleys, high deserts, mountains, and forests. Western archeologists affirm this long occupancy; they document ancestral Puebloan, Sinagua,…
Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – USA
A co-production of New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law, the "Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice" is a series of conversations focused on the experiences of Indigenous Peoples with COVID…
Policy Brief: Federal COVID‐19 Response Funding for Tribal Governments: Lessons from the CARES Act
The federal response to the COVID‐19 pandemic has played out in varied ways over the past several months. For Native nations, the CARES Act (i.e., the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) has been the most prominent component of this response to date. Title V of the Act earmarked $8…
Policy Brief: Emerging Stronger than Before: Guidelines for the Federal Role in American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes’ Recovery from the COVID‐19 Pandemic
The COVID‐19 pandemic has wrought havoc in Indian Country. While the American people as a whole have borne extreme pain and suffering, and the transition back to “normal” will be drawn out and difficult, the First Peoples of America arguably have suffered the most severe and most negative…
Webinar: Rebuilding Native Nations and Strategies for Governance and Development
The Indigenous Governance Program (IGP) at the University of Arizona has long been at the vanguard of delivering Indigenous Governance Education. To do our part at this critical time, IGP was pleased to offer our January in Tucson Courses in May event free of charge, live streamed via Zoom to…
Policy Brief: Proposal for a Fair and Feasible Formula for the Allocation of CARES Act COVID‐19 Relief Funds to American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Governments
Title V of the CARES Act requires that the Act’s funds earmarked for tribal governments be released immediately and that they be used for actions taken to respond to the COVID‐19 pandemic. These may include costs incurred by tribal governments to respond directly to the crisis, such as medical or…