Indigenous Governance Database
Cultural Affairs
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe: Climate Change and Adaptation Planning for Haudenosaunee Tribes
Tribes are beginning to identify potential climate change impacts on their cultural and environmental resources and to develop climate change adaptation plans. The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, located in New York and Canada, is in the early stages of adaptation planning. The Tribe is bringing together…
The Gitanyow Ayookxw: The Constitution of the Gitanyow Nation
WE are the Gitanyow peoples. We have a long-standing and rich oral tradition which speaks to all aspects of our lives. This written Constitution must be interpreted and understood in the context of our oral history and oral traditions... THEREFORE, by virtue of our inherent right to…
Peacemaking Program of the Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation
The concept of peacemaking or hózh̨óji naat’aah goes back to the beginning of time and is embedded in the journey narrative. In fact, according to the journey narrative, the Holy People journeyed through four worlds. In the course of their journey, they came upon many problems, which were either…
Tribal Nations and the United States: An Introduction
Tens of millions of Indigenous peoples inhabited North America, and governed their complex societies, long before European governments sent explorers to seize lands and resources from the continent and its inhabitants. These foreign European governments interacted with tribes in diplomacy, commerce…
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: With an Introduction for Indigenous Leaders in the United States
On September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, affirming that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples and have the right to self-determination, along with an array of related rights, including rights to traditional…
Strategies for Creating Offender Reentry Programs in Indian Country
Weed and Seed, a community-based strategy sponsored by DOJ, is an innovative, comprehensive, multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization. The strategy aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in designated high-…
The situation of indigenous peoples in the United States of America
In this report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples examines the human rights situation of indigenous peoples in the United States, on the basis of research and information gathered, including during a visit to the country from 23 April to 4 May 2012. During…
Navajo Nation Constitutional Feasibility and Government Reform Project
This paper will review three important elements related to the constitutional feasibility and government reform of the Navajo Nation. The first section will outline the foundational principles related to constitutionalism and ask whether constitionalism and the nation-state are appropriate…
Navajo Cultural Identity: What can the Navajo Nation bring to the American Indian Identity Discussion Table?
American Indian identity in the twenty-first century has become an engaging topic. Recently, discussions on Ward Churchilla's racial background became a hotbed issue on the national scene. A few Native nations, such as the Pechanga and Isleta Pueblo, have disenrolled members. Scholars such as Circe…
Betting on a School
Ninety miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the San Bernardino Mountains, a school for Native American children peers down onto its main benefactor, a glittering, Las Vegas-style casino and hotel owned and operated by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Millions of dollars spent in the casino by…
Declaration of Tsawwassen Identity & Nationhood
We are Tsawwassen People "People facing the sea", descendants of our ancestors who exercised sovereign authority over our land for thousands of years. Tsawwassen People were governed under the advice and guidance of leaders, highborn women, headmen, and speakers through countless generations...
Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution: A List of Resources
The Native American Rights Fund's National Indian Law Library provides a comprehensive list of relevant news stories and academic articles on the peacemaking mechanisms and conflict resolution approaches of Native nations.
Negotiating Jurisprudence in Tribal Court and the Emergence of a Tribal State: The Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe
The interaction between American Indian activism and changes in federal Indian policy since the 1960s has transformed American Indian tribes from largely powerless and impoverished kinshipâ€based communities into neocolonial statelike entities (Wilkinson 2005).1 Representing themselves as distinct…
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…
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin: Food Sovereignty, Safe Water, and Tribal Law
An example of a Native American community working to achieve food sovereignty not only with physical nutrients but also with social elements is the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. This article analyzes the strengths of the Oneida Tribe's approach to preserving water quality and fishing…
Best Practices Case Study (Respect the Spirit in the Land): Champagne and Aishihik First Nations
Located in far north-western British Columbia, Tatshenshini-Alsek Park was one of the last areas of B.C. to be mapped. The area's earliest residents were the Tlingit and Tuchone First Nations. Today, with the park in the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN),…
Best Practices Case Study (Economic Realization): Osoyoos Indian Band
The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) is located in the interior of British Columbia. They are a member community of the Okanagan Nation Alliance. The Band was formed in 1877 and is home to about 370 on-reserve band members. The goal of the OIB is to move from dependency to a sustainable economy like that…
Best Practices Case Study (Respect the Spirit in the Land): Haisla First Nation
The primary residence of the Haisla people is Kitamaat Village, found at the head of the Douglas Channel on British Columbia's north coast. In 1990, elders of the Haisla First Nation found a logging road flagged into the Kitlope Valley -- the largest unlogged coastal temperate rainforest watershed…
Back to the Bison Case Study Part I
Thirty years after taking over the reins of forestry, recreation, wildlife and other natural resource operations on their reservation lands, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) established a reputation for environmental leadership in wildlife, wilderness, recreation and co-management…
British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Governance Toolkit: A Guide to Nation Building
The BCAFN is pleased to present the first edition of the BCAFN Governance Toolkit: A Guide to Nation Building in accordance with our Building on OUR Success action plan and the first pillar of that plan, "Strong and Appropriate Governance." The Toolkit is a comprehensive guide intended to assist…