Randall Akee
Director, Project on Indigenous Governance and Development and Julie Johnson Kidd Professor of Indigenous Governance and Development
Indigenous Governance
When Native nations make their own decisions they consistently outperform external decision-makers. Today, we’re answering the question: How can Indigenous governments exercise their sovereignty for better outcomes across the board?
Related Programs
Research from the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development shows that when Native nations exercise their sovereignty it leads to better outcomes across the board —from education to natural resource management. Yet, the path to sovereignty and self-governance isn’t always straightforward.
Our work aims to arm Indigenous people themselves with the tools to build thriving self-governments and strengthen their economic, social, and cultural fabrics. From events to research, we encourage you to explore the below to learn more about how we’re fostering Indigenous governance and nation-building.
Meet the Experts
Amy Besaw Medford
Senior Program Director for the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development
Eric Henson
Program Director of the Ittapila Program for Nation Building Education and Outreach Endowment at the Project for Indigenous Governance and Development; Lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School
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
Chris DeCoster
Program Assistant, Faculty Assistant
The Latest News, Research, and Resources
Video
On the Front Lines: Tribal Nations Take on COVID-19
Like governments around the world, America’s 574 federally recognized tribal nations were racing to protect their citizens from the coronavirus. Impacting tribes at a rate four times higher than the US population, the pandemic was testing the limits of tribal public health infrastructures.
Media Release
Researchers Release Proposal for Fair Distribution of Response Funds to Native Nations
Researchers from Harvard, the University of Arizona, and University of California, Los Angeles today released its proposal for fairly allocating the $8 billion of Title V CARES Act monies earmarked for the governments of federally recognized American Indian and Alaskan Native nations.
Policy Brief
Dissecting the US Treasury Department’s Round 1 Allocations of CARES Act COVID‐19 Relief Funding for Tribal Governments
Media Release
Research Critiques Allocations of Federal CARES Act COVID-19 Response Funds to Indian Country
Research finds that Treasury has employed a population data series that produces arbitrary and capricious “over-” and “under-representations” of tribes’ enrolled citizens.
Media Release
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development releases research on allocation of COVID‐19 response funds
Policy Brief
Policy Memo Regarding the Allocation of COVID-19 Response Funds to American Indian Nations
Media Release