Indigenous Governance Database
Governance
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…
Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence: Ending Violence so Children Can Thrive
This report was created as part of the Defending Childhood Initiative created by Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. This initiative strives to harness resources from across the Department of Justice to: Prevent children's exposure to violence. Mitigate the negative impact of children's…
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians: Elders Council Code
The Elders Council shall be organized for the purpose of: A. Providing guidance for the membership, Tribal Council, Judiciary, Executive, and Legislative branches of the Pokagon Band government on matters relative to history, traditions, and culture. B. Recommending to the Tribal Council goals and…
Report on Best Practices in Developing Effective Processes of American Indian Constitutional Reform
The Executive Session on American Indian Constitutional Reform is a national working group of constitutional reformers from 12 American Indian nations and leading academics. The Executive Session meets twice a year to rethink strategies for strengthening tribal constitutions and constitution-making…
Peacemaking Program of the Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation
The concept of peacemaking or hózh̨óji naat’aah goes back to the beginning of time and is embedded in the journey narrative. In fact, according to the journey narrative, the Holy People journeyed through four worlds. In the course of their journey, they came upon many problems, which were either…
Swinomish Climate Change Initiative: Climate Adaptation Action Plan
In the fall of 2008 the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community started work on a landmark two-year Climate Change Initiative to study the impacts of climate change on the resources, assets, and community of the Swinomish Indian Reservation and to develop recommendations on actions to adapt to projected…
In Defense of Tribal Sovereign Immunity: A Pragmatic Look at the Doctrine as a Tool for Strengthening Tribal Courts
Although the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity was recently upheld by the Supreme Court in Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, its existence continues to be attacked as antiquated and leading to unfair results. While most defenses of tribal sovereign immunity focus on how the doctrine is a…
Native Entrepreneurship in South Dakota: A Deeper Look
Native Entrepreneurship in South Dakota: a Deeper Look is designed to raise the profile of Native entrepreneurship in South Dakota and offer lessons for policymakers, foundations, tribes, and non-profits in developing effective policies and strategies. The research identified the following key…
The Strategic Power of Data: A Key Aspect of Sovereignty
The lack of good data about U.S. American Indian and Alaska Native populations hinders tribes’ development activities, but it also highlights a space for sovereign action. In coming years, tribes will no doubt continue to advocate for better national data and at the same time increasingly implement…
Navajo Nation Constitutional Feasibility and Government Reform Project
This paper will review three important elements related to the constitutional feasibility and government reform of the Navajo Nation. The first section will outline the foundational principles related to constitutionalism and ask whether constitionalism and the nation-state are appropriate…
Strategies for Creating Offender Reentry Programs in Indian Country
Weed and Seed, a community-based strategy sponsored by DOJ, is an innovative, comprehensive, multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization. The strategy aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in designated high-…
Understanding the history of tribal enrollment
It's difficult to talk about tribal enrollment without talking about Indian identity. The two issues have become snarled in the twentieth century as the United States government has inserted itself more and more into the internal affairs of Indian nations. Ask who is Indian, and you will get…
Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution: A List of Resources
The Native American Rights Fund's National Indian Law Library provides a comprehensive list of relevant news stories and academic articles on the peacemaking mechanisms and conflict resolution approaches of Native nations.
Navajo Cultural Identity: What can the Navajo Nation bring to the American Indian Identity Discussion Table?
American Indian identity in the twenty-first century has become an engaging topic. Recently, discussions on Ward Churchilla's racial background became a hotbed issue on the national scene. A few Native nations, such as the Pechanga and Isleta Pueblo, have disenrolled members. Scholars such as Circe…
A Guide to Community Engagement
In this third part of the BCAFN Governance Toolkit: A Guide to Nation Building, we explore the complex and often controversial subject of governance reform in our communities and ways to approach community engagement. The Governance Toolkit is intended as a resource for First Nations leadership. It…
Northern Cheyenne Tribe: Traditional Law and Constitutional Reform
This profile by Sheldon C. Spotted Elk examines the U.S. government's infringement on the Northern Cheyenne's political sovereignty. Most significantly, it examines the relationship between the oral history of the Northern Cheyenne and its impact on traditional tribal governance and law. Following…
The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Indian Tribes in Washington
The economies of Washington’s Indian reservations have grown over the last half-decade, and despite some complaints to the contrary, Washington taxpayers have little to fear and much to gain from American Indian economic development. The evidence points to strong net benefits for Indians and non-…
Race and American Indian Tribal Nationhood
This article bridges the gap between the perception and reality of American Indian tribal nation citizenship. The United States and federal Indian law encouraged, and in many instances mandated, Indian nations to adopt race-based tribal citizenship criteria. Even in the rare circumstance where an…
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…
Declaration of Tsawwassen Identity & Nationhood
We are Tsawwassen People "People facing the sea", descendants of our ancestors who exercised sovereign authority over our land for thousands of years. Tsawwassen People were governed under the advice and guidance of leaders, highborn women, headmen, and speakers through countless generations...