Indigenous Governance Database
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Harvard Project: COVID-19 Resources for Indian Country Toolbox
As the country responds to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the task before tribal nations is complicated by many unknowns. The Harvard Project recognizes the challenges you're up against and we want to help. We are not experts in the health consequences of the pandemic, but we are monitoring…
HPAIED Letter to the Treasury: Allocation of COVID-19 Response Funds to American Indian Nations
Dear Secretary Mnuchin, We write to respectfully comment on the impact of the current COVID-19 crisis on American Indian tribal economies, tribes’ responses to the crisis, and on implications for the allocation of federal COVID-19 response funds to federally recognized tribes under the CARES Act…
Native American tribe takes trailblazing steps to fight Covid-19 outbreak
The Lummi nation, a sovereign Native American tribe in the Pacific north-west, will soon open a pioneering field hospital to treat coronavirus patients, as part of a wave of strong public health measures which have gone further than many governments. Tribal leaders have been preparing for Covid-19…
Stephen Roe Lewis: Effective Tribal Leadership for Change
Stephen Roe Lewis has been serving two terms as the Governor of the Gila River Indian Community. He follows a strong tradition and family legacy of leadership for the Akimel O’otham and Pee-Posh people in this desert riparian region of Arizona. Governor Lewis has worked on numerous political…
A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country
The federal government has a long-established special relationship with Native Americans characterized by their status as governmentally independent entities, dependent on the United States for support and protection. In exchange for land and in compensation for forced removal from their original…
Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans: Briefing Report
Since our nation’s founding, the United States and Native Americans have committed to and sustained a special trust relationship, which obligates the federal government to promote tribalself-government, support the general wellbeing of Native American tribes and villages, and to protect their lands…
Chemşhúun Pe'ícháachuqeli (When our Hearts are Happy): A Tribal Psychosocial Climate Resilience Framework
Tribes are keenly aware of the interconnection between health, nature, and personal wellbeing. Leading experts in climate change and wellbeing are increasingly encouraging communities to be proactive about protecting and building psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual wellbeing. Often…
The Rise of the First Nations Land Management Regime in Canada: A Critical Analysis
Federal Budget 2018 contains significant investments in the First Nations Land Management regime, including $143.5 million over five years beginning in 2018-19, and $19 million per year ongoing. In December 2018, the First Nations Land Management Act was amended, lowering the voting threshold for…
A global assessment of Indigenous community engagement in climate research
For millennia Indigenous communities worldwide have maintained diverse knowledge systems informed through careful observation of dynamics of environmental changes. Although Indigenous communities and their knowledge systems are recognized as critical resources for understanding and adapting to…
Policy Brief: Indigenous Data Sovereignty in Arizona: Setting an Agenda
Indigenous data sovereignty asserts the rights of Native nations and Indigenous Peoples to govern the collection, ownership, and application of their own data. Indigenous data sovereignty derives from tribes’ inherent right to govern their peoples, lands, and resources. In the United States and…
Policy Brief: Supporting Tribal Data Governance for Indigenous Community Climate Resilience
Tribal communities have the right to de fine, collect, protect, interpret, manage, and apply data in a way that respects Indigenous ethics, values, and relational responsibilities. These rights are critically relevant in the context of increasing climate impacts, where Indigenous communities need…
Principles of Indigenous Data Governance
Indigenous data, whether collected by national governments and institutions or gathered by Indigenous Peoples themselves, are integral for: decision-making; the exercise of collective rights to self-determination; the affirmation and application of Indigenous epistemologies; and fulfilling…
Governor Stephen Roe Lewis Distinguished Tribal Leader Lecture
Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community visited the University of Arizona to speak at January in Tucson: Distinguished Tribal Leader Lecture sponsored by the Native Nations Institute and held at the Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy program at James E. Rogers College of Law…
Herminia Frias: Working Toward Effective Native Leadership
For years at Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Herminia Frias has remained a consistent leader in tribal government. She became the first woman elected Chairwoman and youngest to serve the position. After a contentious term with the tribal council, she was removed from office but then immediately returned to…
Wayne Ducheneaux: Working with Indigenous Governance
Wayne Ducheneaux II (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe) sits down with Native Nations Institute to discuss his array of experiences working for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and in the work toward helping other Native Nations efforts with indigenous governance. A former Tribal Administrative…
Shannon Keller O'Loughlin: Native Leadership and Lasting Commitment
Shannon Keller O'Loughlin, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is an attorney and the Executive Director of the Association on American Indian Affairs. Shannon was also the former Chief of Staff, National Indian Gaming Commission, a member of President Obama’s NAGPRA Review Committee, and a Cultural…
Sharing the Wealth
In recent years, there has been increased discussion of Universal Basic Income (UBI) programs for the US. In fact, one of the Democratic candidates for president has championed the UBI program as an important component of his platform. UBI in its simplest form is a cash-transfer program that…
Access and Management: Indigenous Perspectives on Genomic Data Sharing
As genomic researchers are encouraged to engage in broad genomic data sharing, American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian (AI/AN/NH) leaders have raised questions about ownership of data and biospecimens and concerns over emerging challenges and potential threats to tribal sovereignty. Using a…
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez: Native Nation Building for the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez visited the University of Arizona and gave his views on making governance work for people in he Navajo Nation. In this brief interview with NNI the President offered his thoughts on Native Nation Building and the way it is utilized for the…
Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Affordable Rentals in Indian Country
In this article, I assess the scope of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and how this major affordable rental housing construction subsidy has reached Indian Country and other tribal statistical areas. To frame this discussion, I first provide a qualitative overview of program…