Indigenous Governance Database
Health and Social Services
Policy Brief: Proposal for a Fair and Feasible Formula for the Allocation of CARES Act COVID‐19 Relief Funds to American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Governments
Title V of the CARES Act requires that the Act’s funds earmarked for tribal governments be released immediately and that they be used for actions taken to respond to the COVID‐19 pandemic. These may include costs incurred by tribal governments to respond directly to the crisis, such as medical or…
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.…
Data Sources to Assess Tribal Climate and Health Impacts
One of the most time consuming and difficult aspects of conducting climate change and health vulnerability assessments is finding data to assess. Before tracking down data, you’ll first need to identify the most meaningful and measurable indicators to help you determine the severity and likelihood…
Indigenized Communication During COVID-19
During times of crisis, the messages we send to our stakeholders matter more than ever. Tribal governments and Native organizations are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and are making important decisions to protect the health and safety of their people. As Indigenous people, we…
Harvard Project: COVID-19 Resources for Indian Country Toolbox
As the country responds to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the task before tribal nations is complicated by many unknowns. The Harvard Project recognizes the challenges you're up against and we want to help. We are not experts in the health consequences of the pandemic, but we are monitoring…
Native American tribe takes trailblazing steps to fight Covid-19 outbreak
The Lummi nation, a sovereign Native American tribe in the Pacific north-west, will soon open a pioneering field hospital to treat coronavirus patients, as part of a wave of strong public health measures which have gone further than many governments. Tribal leaders have been preparing for Covid-19…
Access and Management: Indigenous Perspectives on Genomic Data Sharing
As genomic researchers are encouraged to engage in broad genomic data sharing, American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian (AI/AN/NH) leaders have raised questions about ownership of data and biospecimens and concerns over emerging challenges and potential threats to tribal sovereignty. Using a…
First Peoples Lost: Determining the State of Status First Nations Mortality in Canada Using Administrative Data
We present the most comprehensive set of estimates to date for status First Nations mortality in Canada. We use administrative data from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to establish a set of stylized facts regarding status First Nations mortality rates. Between 2010 to 2013, the mortality…
Genomic Research Through an Indigenous Lens: Understanding the Expectations
Indigenous scholars are leading initiatives to improve access to genetic and genomic research and health care based on their unique cultural contexts and within sovereign-based governance models created and accepted by their peoples. In the past, Indigenous peoples’ engagement with genomic research…
Characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models: a systematic scoping review
Indigenous populations have poorer health outcomes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. The evolution of Indigenous primary health care services arose from mainstream health services being unable to adequately meet the needs of Indigenous communities and Indigenous peoples often being…
Progressing Issues of Social Importance Through the Work of Indigenous Artists: A Social Impact Evaluation of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation’s Pilot Community Inspiration Program
In 2014, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) launched a new initiative, the Community Inspiration Program (CIP), which is rooted in the understanding that arts and cultures projects have an important role to play in motivating community engagement and supporting social change. This…
Governance and Wellness Roundtable - Alaska Tribal Government Symposium
This discussion at the Alaska Tribal Government Symposium emphasizes the connections between Indigenous self-government and wellness. Western methodologies are eager to emphasize the gaps in wellness (social, economic, and medical and mental health outcomes) between natives and non-natives.…
Jack Trope, Making the Indian Child Welfare Act Work: The Importance of Tribal Sovereignty
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.
Leech Lake Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction
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…
Reimagining Indigenous Health: Moving Beyond the Social Determinants of Health
Senior researcher Stephanie Carroll Rainie critiqued the application of social determinants of health models in Native communities and challenged readers to reconsider how they think about Indigenous health.
Newtok Relocation Effort
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…
Protecting Our Children Through Tribal Law: Part II
This graphic presentation highlights key findings from 4 of these topics: jurisdiction, tribal-state relationships, child abuse reporting, and paternity. For highlights of the other topics please see Protecting Our Children Through Tribal Law (Part I).
Closing the Gap: A North American Perspective
This series of lectures is about “closing the gaps”–the socioeconomic and other gaps between Indigenous and mainstream populations in Australia. You might well wonder what a Yank academic is doing leading off such a series. I have to admit that I’ve wondered that myself. And I find myself somewhat…
Tribal Child Welfare Codes as Sovereignty in Action. 2016 NICWA conference edition
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…
Winnebago's Whirling Thunder Wellness Program
To prevent and control the devastating effects of diabetes and substance abuse, in 1995, the Winnebago Tribe created the Whirling Thunder Wellness Program, which raises community awareness about diabetes and substance abuse, administers primary and secondary prevention services, and encourages…