Intergovernmental Relations

Wilson Justin: Leadership with Cultural Knowledge and Perseverance

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Wilson Justin is a cultural ambassador for Cheesh’na Tribal council and serves as a Vice Chair Board of Directors for Mt. Sanford Tribal Consortium.  He relays his expertise and perspective on the intricacies of Indigenous governance in Alaska through adapting cultural traditions, creating a constitution, navigating citizenship, and asserting rights of Indigenous people. 

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Wilson Justin: Leadership with cultural knowledge and perseverance."  Leading Native Nations, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, November 15, 2016

For a complete transcript, please email us: nni@email.arizona.edu

Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell: Stories and Reflections on Indigenous Governance

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Former Grand Chief Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne recently stepped down from his role as Grand Chief after decades of building a strong independent jurisdiction.  Chief Mitchell offers some of his stories and reflections in indigenous governance that pertains to situations that occur when asserting Native rights along a territory that straddles the provinces of Canada and the international border.

 

Resource Type
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell: Stories and Reflections on Indigenous Governance."  Leading Native Nations, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, April 06, 2017

For a complete transcript, please email us: nni@email.arizona.edu

Jack Trope, Making the Indian Child Welfare Act Work: The Importance of Tribal Sovereignty

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

The expertise and knowledge about dealing with Alaska and Federal government entities in matters of child welfare are detailed with focus on asserting tribal sovereignty.  

People
Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Making the Indian Child Welfare Act Work: The Importance of Tribal Sovereignty." Alaska Tribal Government Symposium. Fairbanks, Alaska. November 15, 2016.

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

Why beggar thy Indian neighbor? The case for tribal primacy in taxation in Indian country

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

The law governing taxation in Indian country is a mess. The accretion of common law precedents and the general tendency of states to assert primacy over the taxation of non-Indians create absurd outcomes. This article makes the case three ways. The argument based on the law shows that particularized, fact-specific precedents create a thicket of rulings that impede business development. The argument based on facts shows that these impediments to economic development harm not only tribal economies, but state and local economies, too. And the argument based on just claims testifies to the fact that the current arrangement could hardly have emerged from the actions of willing and informed governments operating in good faith. To borrow from Adam Smith, states beggar their Indian neighbors, seeking fiscal gain to the tribes’ detriment and, ultimately, their own. We conclude by recommending actions to bring fairness and certainty to the law governing taxation in Indian country.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Croman, K. S., & Taylor, J. B. (2016). Why beggar thy Indian neighbor? The case for tribal primacy in taxation in Indian countryJoint Occasional Papers on Native Affairs (JOPNA) (JOPNA 2016-1). Tucson, AZ and Cambridge, MA: Native Nations Institute and Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Tribal Child Welfare Codes as Sovereignty in Action. 2016 NICWA conference edition

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Tribal Child Welfare Codes as Sovereignty in Action. 2016 NICWA conference edition
Year

With passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), Congress formally recognized Native nations’ inherent authority to govern child welfare matters and provided support for tribal self-determination over child welfare. Because ICWA “assumes that a tribal code is the governance mechanism by which a tribe establishes and implements its jurisdiction over all aspects of child well-being,” ICWA’s passage also marked the starting point for (re-)establishing tribal laws to govern the protection and care of Indian children and families.

Almost 40 years later, how have tribes responded to this opportunity? How have tribes’ child welfare laws and codes evolved? How might tribes strengthen their laws to implement their jurisdiction? How are Native nations enacting their sovereignty to protect their children?

Based on a study of 107 tribal child welfare codes conducted collaboratively by the Native Nations Institute (NNI) at The University of Arizona and the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), this report focuses on eight core aspects of tribal child welfare policy:

  • Jurisdiction
  • Mandatory reporting
  • Alternative (differential) responses
  • Paternity
  • Removal of a child from the family home
  • Termination of parental rights
  • Permanency (guardianships and adoption)
  • Best interest of the child

Where relevant, our discussions consider how tribal child welfare codes reflect tribal culture and tradition and how codes can reflect the specific needs of a tribal community. Throughout, the report aims to provide decision-relevant information for tribal leaders working to increase protections for their communities’ children and families.

 

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Starks, Rachel Rose, Adrian T. Smith, Mary Beth Jäger, Miriam Jorgensen, and Stephen Cornell. 2016. "Tribal Child Welfare Codes as Sovereignty in Action. [Conference Edition]." Paper presented at the 2016 National Indian Child Welfare Association Annual Meeting, St. Paul, MN, April 4-6, 2016. Portland, OR: National Indian Child Welfare Association; Tucson, AZ: Native Nations Institute.

A Call to Action

Year

As Native peoples across the country celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Indian occupation of Alcatraz (1969-1971) this fall, many newspapers, magazines and networks are filing stories that attempt to assess both the event's immediate impact as well as its cultural legacy. While many of these stories center on the perspectives of occupation leaders like John Trudell -- who appropriately deemed the Alcatraz occupation "a rekindling of the spirit" for Native peoples -- few of these retrospectives delve into how the event transformed the lives of the many young people who took part in the occupation. The following first-person essay reflects the experiences of Sylvia Polacca (Hopi/Tewa/Havasupai), who as a young teen left her reservation to join the group that occupied the island of Alcatraz, the group that called itself "Indians of All Nations." The photos in this special section of RED INK depict daily life on the island during the occupation as seen through the eyes of Polacca...

Resource Type
Citation

Polacca, Sylvia. "A Call to Action." Red Ink: A Native American Student Publication. Vol. 8, No. 1. American Indian Studies Program, The University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. 1999: 20-27. Article.

Newtok Relocation Effort

Year

Scientists and politicians spend hours debating the facts of climate change, but in many places damaging changes to the local environment are already a reality. In the past decade, more and more human settlements have been threatened by catastrophic flooding, wildfires, or drought caused by variations in usual climate patterns. Climate change is already having devastating effects on Alaska; a 2003 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that flooding and erosion affect 86% of Alaska Native villages. Faced with deteriorating environmental conditions, residents of the traditional Yup’ik village of Newtok, Alaska decided to relocate and move the village to the site of the community’s summer camp, nine miles away from Newtok’s current location. Rather than wait for the United States or the state of Alaska to develop strategies to assist communities affected by climate change, Newtok took its future into its own hands. In doing so, they have become a model for others.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Newtok Relocation Effort." Honoring Nations: 2010 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2011. Report.

Leech Lake Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction

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Across Indian Country tribes are strengthening and better defining their governments in order to meet the unique needs of their communities. As Native nations work to expand their sovereign powers, tribal justice departments can play a critical role in achieving those goals. In the early 2000s, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe faced a rising crime rate. Because Minnesota is subject to Public Law 280, county and state agencies controlled the primary resources for law enforcement and judicial processing. But recidivism statistics for its tribal citizens showed that the state system was not addressing the problem. Despite its limited judicial infrastructure, the nation had a strong desire to intercede, and a strong commitment to holistic care rooted in traditional values. It was with this determination that Leech Lake set aside a history of interracial tension to work with neighboring counties to create a Wellness Court that helps people overcome their drug and alcohol addictions.

 

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Leech Lake Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction." Honoring Nations: 2010 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2011. Report.

Indigenous Land Management in the United States: Context, Cases, Lessons

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The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is seeking ways to support First Nations’ economic development. Among its concerns are the status and management of First Nations’ lands. The Indian Act, bureaucratic processes, the capacities of First Nations themselves, and other factors currently limit the ability of First Nations to add lands to reserves or to use their lands more effectively in productive and self-determined economic activity.

As it confronts these issues, AFN has been interested in how Indigenous land-management issues are being addressed by Native nations in the United States. What is the status of Indigenous lands in the U.S.? Do Native nations in the U.S. face similar challenges to those facing First Nations? Are Native nations in the U.S. engaged in practices that might offer ideas or lessons for First Nations?

There are substantial historical, legal, and political differences between the situations of Native nations in Canada and the U.S. But there also are substantial similarities. In both countries, land has been a pivotal issue–in many ways the pivotal issue–in the history of Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations. In both countries, despite massive land loss, Native nations retain remnant land bases with varying potential for economic development. In both countries, Native nations fiercely defend their remaining lands, seek to expand them, and are determined to exercise greater control over what happens on those lands.

This report addresses the status of Native lands in the U.S. It is divided into two parts. Part 1, “Overview of the U.S. Context,” reviews the history of Indigenous lands and provides an overview of current Indian land tenure and jurisdiction. Part 2, “Meeting the Land Management Challenge,” specifies the primary challenges facing Native nations in the U.S. as they attempt to manage their lands in ways that meet their own objectives and summarizes some of the innovative practices currently in use or being developed by American Indian nations. It identifies what we believe are key features of those practices. It also summarizes some of the relevant research on the relationship between control of Native lands and socioeconomic outcomes. Finally, it offers some recommendations based on the U.S. experience...

This report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Assembly of First Nations.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Cornell, Stephen and Miriam Jorgensen. "Indigenous Land Management in the United States: Context, Cases, Lessons." A Report to the Assembly of First Nations. Grogan|Cornell Consulting. Tucson, Arizona. December 2011. Report.

Coast Salish Gathering

Year

Ecosystems in many parts of North America are under severe stress. Pollution, the overuse of natural resources, and habitat destruction threaten local flora and fauna. Conservation attempts often fall short because they target one species of site within an ecosystem. The Coast Salish Gathering demonstrates a more successful approach. It is a forum created by the Coast Salish peoples of the United States and canada for a trans-boundary integrated response to environmental stress. Representatives of the Coast Salish peoples living in the watersheds of the Salish sea come together at the annual Gathering where, using a traditional consensus decision-making process, they determine effective environmental strategies, policies, and practices for the entire Salish Sea homeland. Through the Gathering, the Coast Salish speak with on voice to protect the natural resources that are central to the sustainability of their identity, culture, and lifestyle.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Coast Salish Gathering." Honoring Nations: 2010 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2011. Report.