Indigenous Governance Database
Governance
Honoring Nations: JoAnn Chase: Cultural Affairs
JoAnn Chase reports back to her fellow Honoring Nations sympoisum participants about the consensus she and her fellow cultural affairs breakout session participants reached concerning the need for Native nations to fully integrate culture into how they govern, and also to ensure that their…
Honoring Nations: Oren Lyons: Governing Our Way to a Brighter Future
Onondaga Chief and Faithkeeper Oren Lyons shares his perspective on why governance matters to the sovereignty and long-term prosperity of Indigenous peoples, and stresses the importance of adhering to the long-taught instructions that have ensured the survival of those peoples to this day.
Carole Goldberg: Designing Tribal Citizenship
Scholar Carole Goldberg shares what she's learned about citizenship criteria from her extensive work with Native nations across the country, and sets forth the internal and external considerations that Native nations need to wrestle with in determining what their citizenship criteria should be.
Ruben Santiesteban and Joni Theobald: Choosing Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership: The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Ruben Santiesteban and Joni Theobald of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians provide an overview of how Lac du Flambeau developed a new approach to cultivating and then selecting quality leaders to lead the Band to a brighter future.
Angela Wesley: A "Made in Huu-ay-aht" Constitution
Angela Wesley, Chair of the Huu-ay-aht Constitution Committee, discusses the process that the Huu-ay-Aht First Nations followed in developing their own constitution and system of government. She describes how Huu-ay-aht's new governance system is fundamentally different from their old Indian Act…
Robert Hershey: The Legal Process of Constitutional Reform
Robert Hershey, Professor of Law and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, provides an overview of what Native nations need to consider when it comes to the legal process involved with reforming their constitutions, and dispels some of the misconceptions that people have about the…
Ian Record: Setting the Focus and Providing the Context: Critical Constitutional Reform Tasks (Presentation Highlight)
In this highlight from the presentation "The Process of Constitutional Reform: The Challenge of Citizen Engagement," NNI's Ian Record lays out two critical overarching tasks that those charged with leading a nation's constitutional reform effort must undertake.
Honoring Nations: Miriam Jorgensen: Using Your Human and Financial Resources Wisely
NNI Research Director Miriam Jorgensen kicks off the 2004 Honoring Nations symposium with a discussion focused on "Using Your Human and Financial Resources Wisely," In her presentation, she frames key issues and highlights the ways that successful tribal government programs have attracted…
Honoring Nations: Myron Brown: Akimel O'odham/Pee-Posh Youth Council
Former President Myron Brown discusses how the Akimel O'odham/Pee-Posh Youth Council is an example of building a great program in a political setting, and shares how Gila River youth are having their political voice heard through this innovative leadership development mechanism.
Honoring Nations: Manley Begay: Reflections on the Day
Harvard Project on American Development Co-Director Manley A. Begay, Jr. synthesizes the learning that took place during the first day of the 2004 Honoring Nations symposium, focusing on the nation-building success stories chronicled during the day as testaments to and reflections of…
Rae Nell Vaughn: Tribal Court Systems in the 21st Century: The Choctaw Tribal Court System
Former Chief Justice of the Mississippi Choctaw Supreme Court Rae Nell Vaughn provides a detailed overview of the growth and evolution of the Mississippi Choctaw's governance system and specifically its justice system, stressing the importance of Native nations providing a fair, effective,…
Frank Ettawageshik: Exercising Sovereignty: The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
Frank Ettawageshik, former chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBBO), discusses how LTBBO has systematically built its legal infrastructure in order to fully and capably exercise the nation's sovereignty and achieve its nation-building goals. He discusses some of the…
John McCoy: The Tulalip Tribes: Building and Exercising the Rule of Law for Economic Growth
Former Manager of Quil Ceda Village John McCoy discusses how the Tulalip Tribes have systematically strengthened their governance capacity and rule of law in order to foster economic diversification and growth. He also stresses the importance of Native nations building relationships with other…
Ned Norris, Jr.: Strengthening Governance at Tohono O'odham
Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. discusses how his nation has systematically worked to strengthen its system of governance, from creating an independent, effective judiciary to developing an innovative, culturally appropriate approach to caring for the nation's elders.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "The Governance Challenge"
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development Co-Director Stephen Cornell differentiates between the challenge that Native nations face in having their rights of self-determination recognized and the governance challenge that they face once those rights are recognized.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Self-Determination and Governance Are Related"
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development Co-Director Stephen Cornell stresses the importance of Native nations exercising sovereignty effectively over time as an important way to defend their sovereignty.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "Defending Sovereignty Through Its Effective Exercise"
Native leaders speak to the notion that Native nations' best defense of their sovereignty is the demonstration of their ability to exercise that sovereignty effectively.
From the Rebuilding Native Nations Course Series: "The Fearless Approach to Building Effective Governance"
Institute for Tribal Government Director Roy Sampsel describes the fearless mindset that so many Native nations are displaying as they work to build their governance capacity in order to exercise their sovereignty effectively, and the incredible innovation they exhibit in doing so.
Chris Hall: Cultivating Constitutional Change at Crow Creek
Native Nations Institute's Ian Record conducted an informative interview with Chris Hall, a citizen of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and a member of Cohort 4 of the Bush Foundation's Native Nation Rebuilders program. Hall discusses Crow Creek's current effort to reform its constitution and the…
Jill Doerfler: Constitutional Reform at the White Earth Nation
In this in-depth interview with NNI's Ian Record, Anishinaabe scholar Jill Doerfler discusses the White Earth Nation's current constitutional reform effort, and specifically the extensive debate that White Earth constitutional delegates engaged in regarding changing the criteria for White Earth…