Indigenous Governance Database
Citizenship/Membership
Vine Deloria's Last Video Interview
American Indian author, theologian, historian, and activist Vine Deloria, Jr. (1933-2005) talks with documentary film producer Grant Crowell about traditional Indigenous governance systems and criteria for citizenship, the impact of colonial policies on tribal citizenship (specifically the effects…
Truth To Tell: Community Connections - White Earth Constitutional Forum Part II
In collaboration with production partner KKWE/Niijii Radio, TruthToTell and CivicMedia/Minnesota traveled west on August 14, 2013, to the White Earth Reservation to air/televise the seventh in our series of LIVE Community Connections forums on critical Minnesota issues. Convened at White Earth's…
Truth To Tell: Community Connections - White Earth Constitutional Forum Part I
In collaboration with production partner KKWE/Niijii Radio, TruthToTell and CivicMedia/Minnesota traveled west on August 14, 2013, to the White Earth Reservation to air/televise the seventh in our series of LIVE Community Connections forums on critical Minnesota issues. Convened at White Earth's…
UA Institute Helps Native Nations Rebuild, Maintain Government
An institute at the University of Arizona is focused on rebuilding government structures in Native nations by research and outreach offered through online courses and more. The UA Native Nations Institute has been working toward its goal of helping the Native governments for nearly 30 years,…
The Rez We Live On
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes produced this series of online videos in an effort to dispel untruths about life on the Flathead reservation in Montana. Consisting of 10 short, graphically based videos on topics ranging from Sovereignty to Taxes, "The Rez We Live On" site is geared…
Wrapping Our Ways Around Them: Aboriginal Communities and the CFCSA Guidebook
This Guidebook is based on the belief that Aboriginal peoples need to know, and work with, the systems that impact children and families today such as the Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA), Provincial Court (Child, Family and Community Service Act) Rules (Rules), Child, Family and…
Feeding Ourselves: Food Access, Health Disparities, and the Pathways to Healthy Native American Communities
Echo Hawk Consulting, headed by Crystal Echo Hawk, released today a comprehensive report on the state of food access in Native American communities, and the resulting health disparities in Native Americans. The report--commissioned by the American Heart Association (AHA) and its Voices for Healthy…
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…
Developing Effective Processes of American Indian Constitutional and Governmental Reform: Lessons from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Hualapai Nation, Navajo Nation and Northern Cheyenne Tribe
Over the past several decades, numerous American Indian nations have been revising their constitutions to create more legitimate, effective and culturally-appropriate governments. However, successful processes of reform have been hindered by a variety of universal challenges, including political…
Indian Tribes and Human Rights Accountability
In Indian country, the expansion of self-governance, the growth of the gaming industry, and the increasing interdependence of Indian and non-Indian communities have intensified concern about the possible abuse of power by tribal governments. As tribes gain greater political and economic clout on…
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…
Redefining Tigua Citizenship
The materials in this informational guide are designed to provide you with important background information ”such as Tigua history, tribal population profiles, and fiscal impacts” related to upcoming membership criteria changes. Project Tiwahu is an Ysleta del Sur Pueblo-wide initiative to reclaim…
Traditional Governance: A Case Study of the Osoyoos Indian Band and Application of Okanagan Leadership Principles
There are traditional Okanagan governance and leadership principles and guidelines that have been informed through language terms and traditional stories. These have been interpreted and taught to us by our elders of the Okanagan Nation. Five principles of traditional Okanagan leadership will be…
An Essay on the Modern Dynamics of Tribal Disenrollment
Disenrollment is predominately about race, and money, and an “individualistic, materialistic attitude” that is not indigenous to tribal communities. Because many tribes have maintained the IRA’s paternalistic and antiquated definition of “Indian” vis-a-vis blood quantum (as discussed in “An Essay…
Tribal Per Capita Poverty - How About Disenrollment Bankruptcy?
“In November, a [Las Vegas] Review-Journal reporter and photographer encountered one of the disenrolled, 52-year-old Darla Hatcher, sleeping with her meager belongings in front of an upholstery shop in the homeless corridor. By way of introduction, she gestured toward nearby tribal land and said: “…
Considerations in Implementing VAWA's Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction and TLOA's Enhanced Sentencing Authority: A Look at the Experience of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
On February 20, 2014, pursuant to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013), the Pascua Yaqui Tribe was one of only three Tribes across the United States to begin exercising Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (SDVCJ) over non-Indian perpetrators of domestic…
Journey to Economic Independence: B.C. First Nations' Perspectives
There are two approaches to economic development being pursued by the participant First Nations. One is creation of an economy through support for local entrepreneurs and the development of their individual enterprises (i.e. Westbank First Nation). The other is creation of an economy through…
First Nations Communications Toolkit
The First Nations Communications Toolkit is a unique resource jointly developed by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, BC Region, and Tewanee Consulting Group. This Toolkit was designed explicitly for First Nations communicators and is based on input from First Nations communicators and…
An Anishinaabe Tribalography: Investigating and Interweaving Conceptions of Identity During the 1910s on the White Earth Reservation
This article explores the varied ways in which the Anishinaabeg of White Earth defined themselves during the early twentieth century. It consists of two primary parts. In part 1 I go beyond the artifacts in order to enliven the history, to offer an alternative way of remembering the past. In…
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…