Intergovernmental Relations

The More Indigenous Nations Self Govern, The More They Succeed

Year

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Joseph Kalt and senior director Director Megan Minoka Hill say the evidence is in: When Native nations make their own decisions about what development approaches to take, studies show they consistently out-perform external decision makers like the U.S. Department of Indian Affairs. Kalt and Hill say that’s why Harvard is going all in, recently changing the name of the Project on American Indian Economic Development to the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development—pushing the issue of governance to the forefront—and announcing an infusion of millions in funding.  

When the project launched in the mid-1980s, the popular perception of life in America’s indigenous nations—based largely in reality—was one of poverty and dysfunction. But it was also a time when tribes were increasingly being granted increased autonomy from the federal government and were increasingly starting to govern themselves. Researchers also noticed that unexpected tribal economic success stories were starting to crop up, and they set about trying to determine those successes were a result of causation or coincidence. Kalt and Hill say the research has shown that empowered tribal nations not only succeed economically themselves, they also become economic engines for the regions that surround them. The recent announcement of $15 million in new support for the program, including an endowed professorship, will help make supporting tribal self-government a permanent part of the Kennedy School’s mission.  

Resource Type
Citation

Ralph Ranalli (Host). (June 8, 2023). The More Indigenous Nations Self Govern, The More They Succeed. Harvard Kennedy School PolicyCast Ep. 254. Harvard University. Audio podcast episode. Retrieved from: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policycast/more-indigenous…

Transcripts for all videos are available by request. Please email us: nni@arizona.edu.

ANCSA: A complete or incomplete story of sovereignty

Year

Shortly after the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act passed into law in 1971, headlines started appearing in local newspapers that hinted at a growing confusion among Alaska Native communities: “Indian Country hard to define,” stated one Tundra Times edition. “ANCSA and tribalism?” asked another.

The articles were referring to the new, unusual Indigenous legal landscape that ANCSA had established, and the ambiguity surrounding tribes’ jurisdiction going forward.

“Exactly what authority might tribes exercise? ” asked one Tundra Times op-ed. Many were confused about how this legislation would affect tribal sovereignty in Alaska.

Fifty years later, there are still parts of this question that remain unanswered.

Resource Type
Citation

Sullivan, Meghan. ANCSA: A complete or incomplete story of sovereignty. January 22, 2022. Indian Country Today. Retrieved from: https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/ancsa-a-complete-or-incomplete-story-of-sovereignty

Jim Gray: Making Change Happen

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

Former Principal Chief James Gray of the Osage Nation makes a guest speaker appearance to the January In Tucson class “Making Change Happen”.  In Chief Gray’s own words, he shares his direct experiences with indigenous governance for the Osage people and gives a larger context to the historic challenges and endurance the Osage Nation has shown in their encounters with U.S. intervention.  The years he spent has Principal Chief offer an inside look into the ways a Tribal Leader works with the tools of self-governance while taking note of the ways conflict was navigated.  Jim Gray gives insight to both his time running an Executive branch, the endeavors of Constitutional reform, and current ways he continues to advocate for the people of Osage Nation.

People
Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Jim Gray: Making Change Happen" Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. January 26, 2021

Transcript available upon request. Please email: nni@email.arizona.edu

Bad with Money Podcast: COVID's Economic Devastation on Tribal Lands

Author
Producer
Stitcher
Year

Gaby Dunn speaks with Karen R. Diver (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), Director of Business Development for the Native American Advancement Initiatives at the Native Nations Institute and appointee of President Obama as the Special Assistant to the President for Native American Affairs. They discuss tribal economies, the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, how Native American nations have been handling the spread of the virus and the ways the federal government has failed the tribes during this pandemic and beyond.

Resource Type
Citation
Dunn, Gaby. "S6E14: COVID's Economic Devastation on Tribal Lands." Bad With Money With Gaby Dunn. Stitcher. July 21, 2020. Retrieved on July 22, 2020 from https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/bad-with-money/e/763...

Miriam Jorgensen on New Policy Brief Dissecting Round 1 Allocations of CARES Act Tribal Funding

Producer
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
Year
Miriam Jorgensen, Research Director with the Harvard Project and with Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona, discusses the release of a new Harvard Project and Native Nations Institute policy brief dissecting the US Treasury Department's round 1 allocations of CARES Act funding for tribal governments. The Treasury's population choice results in arbitrary and capricious allocations of funds.
 

Please contact us for the transcript of this video!

Tribal Sovereignty Special

Producer
KNBA 90.3 FM
Year

What does tribal sovereignty mean in Alaska? KNBA's Joaqlin Estus talks with two experts about the legal basis for tribal sovereignty, and tribal judicial systems at work in Alaska. Hear about a court ruling that Alaska tribes can put land into trust status, tax-free and safe from seizure...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Tribal Sovereignty Special: The Our Alaska Show on KNBA 90.3 FM (Host: Joaqlin Estus)." Featured on KDLG 89.9 FM Public Radio for Alaska's Bristol Bay. Dillingham, AK. April 9, 2013. Radio Interview. (http://kdlg.org/post/tribal-sovereignty-special-kdlg, accessed August 19, 2013)

Robert Joseph: History of Maori Governance and Self-Determination

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

In this interview, Māori barrister and Senior Lecturer at The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, Dr. Robert A. Joseph offers his expert analysis of governance and law through the historical perspective of Māori self-governance. Dr. Joseph gives a summary of the complexities of colonization over Māori lands under New Zealand governments and in particular a thorough examination of the Treaty of Waitangi that lays the foundations for the governance relationships of the Māori people with New Zealand governmental relations and society. Included with his historical accounts are the ways that law and jurisdiction intersects with Māori economy that brings together a current context to the way colonization impacts the modern practices of Māori self-determination.

People
Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Robert Joseph: History of Maori Governance and Self-Determination.” Leading Native Nations, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, December, 2017

Transcript available upon request. Please email: nni@email.arizona.edu

Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – Canada

Producer
Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law
Year

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-19, particularly government response and the issues of law and justice.

Moderated by Dr. Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki), co-editor of the Māori Law Review, and produced by Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law.

Panelists:

Courtney Skye (Six Nations of the Grand River Territory), Research Fellow and Policy Analyst, Yellow Heaps Institute

Dr. John Borrows (Anishinabe/Ojibway and Chippewas of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario), Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law and Law Foundation Chair in Aboriginal Justice and Governance at the University of Victoria

Jess Housty (Heiltsuk Nation), Executive Director, Qqs Projects Society, Tribal Councillor for Heiltsuk Nation and Community Activist

Dr. Jeff Corntassel (Cherokee Nation), Associate Professor, University of Victoria

Resource Type
Citation

Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law. "Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – Canada." September 9, 2020. Auckland, New Zealand. Retrieved July 25, 2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZd2AI0jLzI

Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – Aotearoa New Zealand

Producer
Māori Law Review and Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law
Year

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-19, particularly government response and the issues of law and justice.

Moderated by Māmari Stephens, Faculty of Law at Victoria University of Wellington, and produced by Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law.

Panelists:

Margaret Mutu, Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland

Julia Whaipooti, Māori leader in criminal justice reform and Senior Advisor to the Office of the Children's Commissioner

Dr. Rhys Jones, Public Health Physician, Senior Lecturer and DIrector of Teaching at Te Kupenga Hauora Māori (TKHM), University of Auckland

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law. "Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – Aotearoa New Zealand". September 2, 2020. Auckland, New Zealand. Retrieved July 25, 2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVMzQ2E6Jzg&feature=youtu.be

Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – USA

Producer
Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law
Year

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-19, particularly government response and the issues of law and justice.

Moderated by Dr. Claire Charters, (Ngati Whakaue, Tuwharetoa, Nga Puhi and Tainui) co-director of the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law and produced by Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law.

Panelists:

Aliza Organick (Diné), Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
Kelsey Leonard (Shinnecock Indian Nation), Tribal Co-Lead on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body of the U.S. National Ocean Council
Dr. Miriam Jorgensen, Research Director, Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona and the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at Harvard University
Resource Type
Citation

Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law. "Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – USA." September 20, 2020. Auckland, New Zealand. Retrieved July 25, 2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-2jvH2x1vA&feature=youtu.be