Indigenous Governance Database
Leading Native Nations
Karen Diver: Nation Building Through the Cultivation of Capable People and Governing Institutions
In this informative interview with NNI's Ian Record, Chairwoman Karen Diver of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa discusses the critical importance of Native nations' systematic development of its governing institutions and human resource ability to their ability to exercise sovereignty…
Brian Cladoosby: The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community's Approach to Governance and Intergovernmental Relations
In this wide-ranging interview with NNI's Ian Record, Chairman Brian Cladoosby of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community discusses Swinomish's unique governance system, its approach to building relationships with other governments to achieve its strategic priorities, and what he feels are the…
Angela Wesley: Huu-ay-aht First Nations' Forging of a New Governance System
Angela Wesley, Chair of Huu-ay-aht Constitution Committee, discusses the painstaking effort the Huu-ay-aht First Nations undertook to develop a new constitution and system of governance, and how they continue to work to turn the promise of self-governance embodied in their new constitution into…
Leroy LaPlante, Jr.: Effective Bureaucracies and Independent Justice Systems: Key to Nation Building
In this informative interview with NNI's Ian Record, Leroy LaPlante, Jr., former chief administrative officer with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a former tribal judge, offers his thoughts on what Native nation bureaucracies and justice systems need to have and need to do in order to support…
Sophie Pierre: Embracing Ancestry as the Basis for Ktunaxa Citizenship
"One of the key elements or one of our key pillars of course are our people, and our people embody our language and culture and you don't have a choice what you're going to be born as. Any of our people, when they're born, we're Ktunaxa, just as Italians are Italians and it doesn't matter if they…
James R. Gray: Rebuilding Osage Governance from the Ground Up
In this informative intervew with NNI's Ian Record, James R. Gray, former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, details his nation's effort to design a new constitution and government from the ground up, and provides an overview of the thorough education and consultation process the nation developed…
Joseph Flies-Away: The Role of Justice Systems in Nation Building
In this in-depth interview with NNI's Ian Record, Joseph Flies-Away, citizen and former chief judge of the Hualapai Tribe, discusses the central roe that justice systems can and should play in Native nation rebuilding efforts, how justice systems serve as platforms for healing and cultural renewal…
Donald "Del" Laverdure: Nation Rebuilding through Constitutional Reform at Crow
In this in-depth interview with NNI's Ian Record, Donald “Del” Laverdure, a citizen of the Apsáalooke Nation (Crow Tribe) and former Chief Justice of the Crow Tribe Court of Appeals, discusses his nation's monumental effort to discard a constitution and system of governance that were not working…
David Wilkins: Indigenous Governance Systems: Diversity, Colonization, Adaptation, and Resurgence
In this in-depth interview with NNI's Ian Record, federal Indian law and policy scholar David Wilkins discusses the incredible diversity and sophistication of traditional Indigenous governance systems, the profound impacts colonial policies had on those systems, and how Native nations are working…
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…
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.
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…
David Montgomery: The Quinault Indian Nation's Q-munity Roadmap
In this interview with NNI's Ian Record, Quinault Indian Nation Budget Officer David Montgomery provides a comprehensive overview of Quinault's Q-munity Roadmap performance-based budgeting process, and discusses how citizen education and engagement has proven crucial to the success of this…
Wilma Mankiller: Governance, Leadership and the Cherokee Nation
As part of its ongoing interview series "Leading Native Nations," the Native Nations Institute (NNI) interviewed Wilma Mankiller, the late and former Chief of the Cherokee Nation, in September 2008. In the interview, she discussed her compelling personal story as well as the challenges the Cherokee…