Joseph Kalt
Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, Emeritus
Project on Indigenous Governance and Development
Working to understand and foster the conditions for sustained, self-determined social and economic development among American Indian nations.
Contact Info
Links & Downloads
Sovereignty matters.
After decades of being shut out from resources that help communities achieve flourishing economies, societies, and educational opportunities, Native Nations are now undergoing a remarkable renaissance.
This resurgence is powered by a movement to exercise rights to self-determination on matters like government structure, natural resource management, economic development, health care, and social service provision.
The Project on Indigenous Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School is working alongside these Nations to deepen this movement by equipping Indigenous peoples with the tools they need to govern effectively and to strengthen their economic, social, and cultural fabrics.
Meet the Team
Megan Minoka Hill
Senior Program Director, Project on Indigenous Governance and Development; Director, Honoring Nations
Melissa Yazzie
Assistant Director, Outreach and Communications, Project on Indigenous Governance and Development
Jael Brothers
Assistant Director for the Honoring Nations program at the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development
Julia McNicholas
Program Assistant to the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development; Faculty Assistant to Professor Joseph P. Kalt
The latest news, resources, and research
Feature
Chief Sophie Pierre On Being The First: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future of the Ktunaxa Nation
Chief Sophie Pierre, a respected leader of the Ktunaxa Nation, has been named the Inaugural Senior Fellow in Indigenous Governance and Development at Harvard Kennedy School, starting in Spring 2025. Known for her groundbreaking work in governance, economic development, and cultural preservation, Pierre’s career has spanned over three decades, with significant contributions to Indigenous rights and self-determination. Her appointment to Harvard is a testament to her decades of leadership, resilience, and dedication to empowering future generations of Indigenous leaders.
Media Release
Honoring Nations 2025 Semifinalists Selected for Excellence in Governance Award
The Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development’s Honoring Nations program is pleased to announce the selection of 18 semifinalists for the prestigious 2025 Honoring Nations awards.
Media Release
Chief Sophie Pierre Named Inaugural Senior Fellow in Indigenous Governance and Development at Harvard Kennedy School
The Harvard Kennedy School’s Project on Indigenous Governance and Development is pleased to announce Chief Sophie Pierre as its inaugural Senior Fellow in Indigenous Governance and Development for Spring 2025.
Policy Brief
Self-Government, Taxation, and Tribal Development: The Critical Role of American Indian Nation Business Enterprises
This policy brief analyzes the likely effects of newly Proposed Rules by the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. These Rules would (1) expand the governmental authority of federally recognized American Indian nations to design programs for the general welfare of their citizens, and (2) clarify the federal tax status of tribal government-owned enterprises. The study finds that adoption of the Proposed Rules would greatly strengthen the capacities of tribal governments, to the benefit of tribes and the United States as a whole.
Feature
Indigenous Governance Summer Reading List
From a fictional thriller to a leading report on Native children, the HKS Project on Indigenous Governance and Development shares recommendations for must-reads this summer.
Feature
Tribal Sovereignty in Focus Back-to-School Reading List
Back-to-school recommended reads from the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development include books, articles, and podcasts that highlight Indigenous governance narratives.
Media Release
2023 All-Stars Awards in American Indian Tribal Governance Honors Nine Programs
Nine tribal governance programs have been selected by the Harvard Kennedy School Project on Indigenous Governance and Development’s Honoring Nations program as 2023 All-Stars from the family of 142 Honoring Nations awardees.
Media Release
Harvard Kennedy School to Expand Work with Native Nations
Recent gifts will significantly expand the impact of the Harvard Kennedy School Project on Indigenous Governance and Development.
Feature
Lending hand as nation-building renaissance grows in Indian Country
Harvard Kennedy School Project on Indigenous Governance and Development gets $15 million in gifts to expand research, sharing innovation, best practices.
Feature
For 25 years students have been learning that ‘sovereignty matters’ as part of a Harvard University course on tribal self-determination
Every year, “Native Americans in the 21st Century: Nation Building I” brings students from around the world to learn where and when tribal sovereignty leads to improved economic, social, and cultural outcomes for Indigenous nations.
Feature
In hearing, HPAIED’s Joe Kalt paints strong link between self-determination and economic development in Indian Country
Testifying before the Commission on Native Children, Kalt urged the federal government to continue to support tribal self-governance, and maintain supportive federal funding.
Additional Resource
American Indian Self-Determination Through Self-Governance: The Only Policy That Has Ever Worked
“The onset of tribal self-determination through self-government in the late 1980s ushered in the only policy that has ever worked to improve economic and social conditions in Indian Country.”
Media Release
New research on the impacts of restrictions on the applicability of federal Indian policy to the Wabanaki Nations in Maine
A team of researchers from the Harvard Kennedy School today released a research report documenting the costs to the Wabanaki Nations in Maine and to Maine’s non-tribal citizens of the state’s being screened off from federal policies of Indian self-determination and self-governance.
Policy Brief
Economic and Social Impacts of Restrictions on the Applicability of Federal Indian Policies to the Wabanaki Nations in Maine
The subjugation of the Wabanaki Nation’s self-governing capacities is blocking economic development to the detriment of both tribal and nontribal citizens, alike.
Feature
Returning land to Native nations is about righting historical wrongs—and also stemming future environmental disaster
Speaking at Harvard Kennedy School, landback movement leader Alvin Warren MC/MPA 2013 argues for the return of land to Indigenous communities