Policy Brief  

Dissecting the US Treasury Department’s Round 1 Allocations of CARES Act COVID‐19 Relief Funding for Tribal Governments

This study dissects the US Department of the Treasury’s formula for distributing first-round CARES Act funds to Indian Country. The Department has indicated that its formula is intended to allocate relief funds based on tribes’ populations, but the research team behind this report finds that Treasury has employed a population data series that produces arbitrary and capricious “over-” and “under-representations” of tribes’ enrolled citizens.

 

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Self-Government, Taxation, and Tribal Development: The Critical Role of American Indian Nation Business Enterprises
Figure 1: Growth in Real (inflation-adjusted) Per Capita Income: Indian Country v. the U.S. as a Whole (1989=100)

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.

Indigenous Governance Summer Reading List
A compilation for book covers from the summer reading list

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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.

More on this Issue

Self-Government, Taxation, and Tribal Development: The Critical Role of American Indian Nation Business Enterprises
Figure 1: Growth in Real (inflation-adjusted) Per Capita Income: Indian Country v. the U.S. as a Whole (1989=100)

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.

Indigenous Governance Summer Reading List
A compilation for book covers from the summer reading list

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.

Tribal Sovereignty in Focus Back-to-School Reading List
A collage of book covers

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.