Video  

Navigating the American Rescue Plan Act: A Series for Tribal Nations, Session One

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides the largest single infusion of federal funding into Indian Country in the history of the United States. More than $32 billion is directed toward assisting American Indian nations and communities as they work to end and recover from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic – which was made worse in Indian Country precisely because such funding has been so long overdue.

From setting tribal priorities, to building infrastructure, to managing and sustaining projects, ARPA presents an unprecedented opportunity for the 574 federally recognized tribal nations to use their rights of sovereignty and self-government to strengthen their communities. As the tribes take on the challenges presented by the Act, the Ash Center’s Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development presented a series designed to assist tribes, to help tribes learn from each other and from a wide array of guest experts.

This first session, titled “How Tribal Governments Can and Can’t use ARPA” featured:

  • Joseph P. Kalt, Ford Foundation Professor (Emeritus) of International Political Economy & Co-Director, Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
  • Del Laverdure, Attorney and Former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior
  • Burton Warrington, President, Indian Ave Group
  • Jennifer Weddle HLS 2000, J.D., Principal Shareholder, Co-Chair American Indian Law Practice Group, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
  • Andy Werk, Jr., President, Fort Belknap Indian Community
  • Moderated by Karen Diver HKS 2003, M.P.A., Board of Governors, Honoring Nations, Harvard Project

More from this Program

Social and Economic Changes in American Indian Reservations: A Databook of the US Census and the American Community Survey, Third Edition 1990-2020
Per Capita Income Change 2010-2020 graph

Book

Social and Economic Changes in American Indian Reservations: A Databook of the US Census and the American Community Survey, Third Edition 1990-2020

From the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development comes an updated third edition of a data book providing summary statistics for American Indian tribal communities in the lower 48 states using the public-use US Census and the American Community Survey data.

Six Programs Advance to the Site Visit Round for the 2025 Honoring Nations Awards

Media Release

Six Programs Advance to the Site Visit Round for the 2025 Honoring Nations Awards

The Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development’s Honoring Nations program is thrilled to announce the selection of six outstanding tribal programs advancing to the site visit round for the 2025 awards.

More on this Issue

Social and Economic Changes in American Indian Reservations: A Databook of the US Census and the American Community Survey, Third Edition 1990-2020
Per Capita Income Change 2010-2020 graph

Book

Social and Economic Changes in American Indian Reservations: A Databook of the US Census and the American Community Survey, Third Edition 1990-2020

From the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development comes an updated third edition of a data book providing summary statistics for American Indian tribal communities in the lower 48 states using the public-use US Census and the American Community Survey data.

Six Programs Advance to the Site Visit Round for the 2025 Honoring Nations Awards

Media Release

Six Programs Advance to the Site Visit Round for the 2025 Honoring Nations Awards

The Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development’s Honoring Nations program is thrilled to announce the selection of six outstanding tribal programs advancing to the site visit round for the 2025 awards.