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
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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
Video
Navigating the American Rescue Plan Act: A Series for Tribal Nations, Session Two
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 second session, titled “Where Other ARPA Monies Live — How to Avoid Tribes Leaving $12 Billion on the Table” featured a range of experts including:
- Stacey Ecoffey, Principal Advisor for Tribal Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Heather Dawn Thompson, HLS 2000, J.D, Director of the Office of Tribal Relations, USDA
- Burton Warrington, President, Indian Ave Group
Moderated by Karen Diver HKS 2003, M.P.A., Board of Governors, Honoring Nations, Harvard Project
Media Release
6 Programs to Advance in 2021 Honoring Nations Award cycle
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
Feature
Megan Minoka Hill on the “Marshall Plan” for Revitalizing Indian Country
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development’s Megan Minoka Hill explains how the American Rescue Plan could bring long-needed aid to Indian Country.
Feature
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Are Key to Environmental Protection, Says Ford Foundation Mason Fellow David Cotacachi
From the Andes to Washington, D.C., David Cotacachi has spent his life advocating for Indigenous rights and lands.
Media Release
National Search Yields Six Innovative Native Programs For Harvard’s 2021 Honoring Nations Awards in Governance
Media Release
New Research Recommends Allocation & Administration of ARPA Funding for Tribal Governments
Policy Brief
Recommendations for Allocation and Administration of American Rescue Plan Act Funding for American Indian Tribal Governments
Policy Brief
Emerging Stronger than Before: Guidelines for the Federal Role in American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes’ Recovery from the COVID‐19 Pandemic
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