Indigenous Governance Database
Interviews
New reporting project focuses on Indigenous food sovereignty in the Columbia River Basin
There’s no official definition for the term “food sovereignty,” but the Indian Affairs Bureau describes it as “the ability of communities to determine the quantity and quality of the food that they consume by controlling how their food is produced and distributed.” Portland-based news outlet…
Hopi Farm Talk Podcast: Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network Gathering with Mary Beth Jäger
On September 12-16, 2022, the Natwani Coalition & Hopi Foundation hosted the Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network (IFKN) on Hopi Territory. This historic gathering connected Indigenous communities from Alaska and the Southwest in spaces provided for a sharing of knowledge. Tribal food and data…
Blood Quantum and Sovereignty
"Blood Quantum and Sovereignty" is a beginner-level conversation focused on why blood quantum is controversial, as well as how it came to be used as an enrollment and citizenship criteria for Native nations. Produced and recorded by Native Governance Center on March 30, 2022. Featuring: Wayne…
Indigenous Governance Speaker Series: A Message for Indigenous Women Leaders with Cecilia Fire Thunder (Oglala Sioux/Lakota)
The first woman to successfully run for president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Cecilia Fire Thunder shares valuable insight on being an impactful leader. Her wisdom includes stories about working with local and national governments and lobbying congressional leaders. She reflects on why and how she…
Indigenous Governance Speaker Series: How to Build a Nation with Susan Masten (Yurok)
Susan Masten (Yurok), former Chairwoman and valuable leader of the Yurok Tribe, joins the Native Nations Institute's Executive Director, Joan Timeche (Hopi), for an engaging discussion on Native nation building, specifically, how she actually helped build the nation. She was critical to the…
Robert Joseph: History of Maori Governance and Self-Determination
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…
Jason Mika: Maori Governance and Maori Economy
Jason is a Fulbright scholar in the US from August 2019 to January 2020 visiting the Native Nations Institute (Aug-Oct) at the University of Arizona and the Woods Institute for Environmental Policy at Stanford University (Oct-Jan). Jason is an Indigenous entrepreneurship researcher from Massey…
Native Nation Building and the CARES Act
On June 10, 2020 the Native Nations Institute hosted an a online panel discussion with Chairman Bryan Newland of the Bay Mills Indian Community, Councilwoman Herminia Frias of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and hosted by Karen Diver the former Chair of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and…
Interview with Dr. Stephanie Carroll about New Research on COVID-19 Spread in Indian Country
Listen to public health researcher Stephanie Carroll, co-author of “American Indian Reservations and COVID-19: Correlates of Early Infection Rates in the Pandemic.” Hear about this new research showing which factors, like household plumbing and language barriers, correlate with a higher spread of…
On the Front Lines: Tribal Nations Take on COVID-19
Like governments around the world, America’s 574 federally recognized tribal nations are racing to protect their citizens from the coronavirus. Impacting tribes at a rate four times higher than for the US population, the pandemic is testing the limits of tribal public health infrastructures.…
Miriam Jorgensen on New Policy Brief Dissecting Round 1 Allocations of CARES Act Tribal Funding
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…
The Impact of the Pandemic on Native American Communities: Interview with Joseph Kalt
As COVID-19 tears across Indian Country, tribal governments are racing to meet not only the public health challenges caused by the pandemic, but are also grappling with the economic devastation left in its wake. To learn more about the economic crisis unfolding across Indian Country, the Ash…
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…
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 Officer, …
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…
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 Navajo nation as well…
Vernon Masayesva: Self-Governance and Protecting Water
Former Tribal Chairman of the Hopi Nation and Executive Director of Black Mesa Trust, Vernon Masayesva relays his thoughts about advocating for self-governance and protection of water rights for Indigenous people. His pursuits in holding accountability of mining in Hopi territory has made Vernon…
Daryle Rigney: Asserting Cultural Match and Native Nation Building in Australia
Daryle Rigney brings his expertise and first-hand experiences as a citizen of Ngarrindjeri Nation in South Australian to share his thoughts about Native Nation Building for the Ngarrindjeri Nation. He is a Professor of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement at College of Humanities Arts and Sciences at…
Diane Enos: Endurance through Native Leadership
Diane Enos is an Attorney, Councilwoman & Former President of Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. She has also served as Vice President of the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, Chairwoman of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association, and as a Western Area Delegate to the Tribal Justice…