Indigenous Governance Database
Health and Social Services
White Earth Nation caseloads grow as tribe taking over human services cases from surrounding counties
White Earth tribal officials are preparing to begin the final phase of transferring human services cases from surrounding counties to the White Earth Nation. The movement began three years ago when a state law authorized White Earth to take control of all human services programs for its members…
Glimmers of hope on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has become emblematic of rural poverty, neglect and the plight of struggling American Indians. But across the reservation, there are glimmers of hope and resistance against the monumental challenges the Lakota people face. In the case of Alice Phelps and the…
Ho-Chunk, Inc. CEO Receives Award from U.S. Department of Commerce Agency
Lance Morgan launched the Ho-Chunk, Inc. in 1994 as the economic development corporation of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Now the president and CEO is receiving the Advocate of the Year Award by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) at the end of this…
Three-Time Felon Now A 'Champion Of Change'
With a troubled past of his own, Cherokee Nation citizen Daryl Legg can relate to the struggle convicted felons face once released from prison. Legg, 43, of Sallisaw, is the Cherokee Nation’s director of vocational programs, which includes a year-old re-entry program for ex-offenders called “Coming…
Tribe looking to increase enrollment
Under the direction of the appointed members of the Tribal Enrollment Committee – Peridot District Representatives Lula T. Dillon and Aurelia Rogers, Gilson Wash District Representatives Geraldine Kitcheyan and Henrietta Henry, Seven Mile Wash District Representatives Marthalene Polk and Lois R.…
Two More South Dakota Lakota Tribes Advance Toward Their Own Foster Care Systems, Intending to Replace the State DSS System
The Lakota people have taken another positive step toward preserving their cultural sovereignty and solving the persistent foster care crisis in the state as two more tribes have joined the movement to apply for available federal funding to plan their own tribal-run foster care system... The Lower…
Winona LaDuke: Keep USDA Out of Our Kitchens
Native American author, educator, activist, mother and grandmother Winona LaDuke, Anishinaabekwe, is calling on tribes to relocalize food and energy production as a means of both reducing CO2 emissions and of asserting tribes' inherent right to live in accordance with their own precepts of the…
Laguna Now Operates Cebolleta Fire Department
Officials from Cibola County and the Pueblo of Laguna have worked together for several years to better serve northern Cibola County residents in regard to public safety. The Cebolleta fire station located in Bibo recently changed operational hands. According to Richard Luarkie, the Pueblo of Laguna…
Cherokee seed project sows respect for the past, hope for the future
The Cherokee Indians are preserving the roots of their heritage with a program that allows officially recognized members of the tribe to access seeds that are unique to the Cherokee Nation. Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Baker explained the seeds' lineage to CNN. "This strain of…
Empowering Parents Brings Community Change in Wind River
If you are a parent who has ever thought, “What can I do?” or “I am just a parent,” Clarisse Harris, Northern Paiute, has a program that might interest you. On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, the Parent Leadership Training Institute is arming parents with the tools to bring changes within…
Navajos pass higher tax on junk food
The Navajo Nation Council, in its weeklong winter session, passed a tax on junk food and eliminated a tax on fresh, healthy foods Thursday. Denisa Livingston, a healthy food advocate, worked with about 75 other members of the Diné Community Advocacy Alliance for the past two years to pass the 2…
Building better homes in Indian Country
There's no other house like it on the Oglala Sioux's 2 million-acre Pine Ridge Reservation: Its walls are insulated by 18-inch strawbales rather than plastic sheeting, and its radiant-floor heating is much cheaper than the typical propane or electric. A frost-protected shallow foundation inhibits…
Yurok tribe's wellness court heals with tradition
Lauren Alvarado states it simply: “Meth is everywhere in Indian country.” Like many here, she first tried methamphetamine at age 12. Legal trouble came at 13 with an arrest for public intoxication. In the years that followed, she relied on charm and manipulation to get by, letting her grandmother…
Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times: The Seven Teachings
"We are invited once again to revisit the time-honored teachings, and to embrace the old ways in order to renew our connection to the Sacred Teachings. We need this old knowledge in our lives to live in these modern times of technology." So began a PowerPoint presentation by Chi-Ma'iingan/Great…
A Solution: Sowing the future for tribal youth
For aspiring farmer, Vernal Sam, 24, the physical labor came easily. Like many Tohono O'odham, he'd helped out on his uncle's cattle ranch as a kid, bringing in cash when his family needed it, and he'd helped his grandfather bury traditional tepary beans and squash seeds in the brown clay soil.…
Face Time: Video Conferencing App Improves Business Relations for Eastern Band of Cherokees
Many employees of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who tote tribal issued mobile devices are–or will be soon–getting more face time in with a video conferencing application. The Eastern Band, which employs about 1,100 workers, began its deployment of ClearSea, a high-definition video…
Muscogee Creek Nation Meets Growing Pharmacy Needs Through Bilingual, Self-Refill App
A new, automated prescription refill system has made time management much easier for Muscogee Creek pharmacy staff. Nearly a year ago, the tribe tapped Enacomm, a leader in interactive voice response technology, to help the Muscogee Creek Nation Department of Health manage their increasingly high…
DOJ Grants Muscogee Creek Nation $3.78 Million for Ex-Prisoner Reintegration Program
The Muscogee Creek Nation has received $3.78 million from the U.S. Department of Justice for the tribe’s Reintegration Program (RIP), which assists tribal citizens who have served time in a correctional facility and are ready to be welcomed back into society. The grant will go towards the…
Youth Council Addresses Serious Problems in Michigan
Sarah Schilling, of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, is one of five 2013 Champions for Change chosen by the Center for Native American Youth. The 18-year-old is a recent high school graduate from Charlevoix, Michigan who was inspired by her participation and the youth-based efforts…
Where Tribal Justice Works
In 2011, a man in northeastern Oregon beat his girlfriend with a gun, using it like a club to strike her in front of their children. Both were members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The federal government, which has jurisdiction over major crimes in Indian Country,…