CAMBRIDGE,
Mass. A tribal telecommunications company that brings affordable
phone lines and internet service to an underserved Indian reservation,
a tribal government injury prevention program that encourages healthy
habits, reduces health care costs, and saves lives, and a tribal
court in Alaska that uses peacemaking circles to address juvenile
crime are among the 16 finalists in Harvard's 2003 American Indian
tribal governance awards program.
Administered
by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at
Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Honoring Contributions
in the Governance of American Indian Nations ("Honoring Nations")
identifies, celebrates, and shares outstanding examples of tribal
governance among the more than 550 Indian nations in the United
States. Currently in its fourth year of awards, Honoring Nations
is a member of a worldwide family of "governmental best practices"
awards programs that spotlight innovative public sector initiatives
in order to shift public perceptions about government and to encourage
the replication of effective problem-solving. Since Honoring Nations'
inception in 1999, 48 tribal government programs and initiatives
have been recognized. The Ford and Rockefeller Foundations are the
primary sponsors of Honoring Nations.
"Honoring
Nations is grounded in and inspired by the Harvard Project's 17
years of research and fieldwork, which consistently finds that tribal
success in economic, social, and cultural spheres depends, to a
large extent, on tribes' ability to function as self-governing political
entities," said Andrew Lee (Seneca), who directs the awards program.
This
year's 16 finalists were chosen from a pool of 114 applications
from 61 Indian nations and 13 inter-tribal collaborations. At each
stage of the selection process, applications are judged on the criteria
of effectiveness, significance, transferability, creativity, and
sustainability. On Tuesday, November 18, in Albuquerque, NM, the
finalists will make presentations to the public and the Honoring
Nations Advisory Board, which will then select eight programs to
receive "high honors" and $10,000 to share their success stories
with others.
2003 Honoring Nations Finalists:
Assuring
Self Determination through an Effective Law Enforcement Program
Gila River Police Department, Gila River Indian Community
(Sacaton, Ariz.)
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Serving
a population of 17,000, the 92-employee Gila River Police
Department operates a multifaceted law enforcement program
that includes community-based policing, neighborhood block
watch programs, a citizen's police academy, and bike patrols.
Since assuming control over law enforcement in 1998, the
Department has improved police response times significantly
and seen a reduction in criminal activity on the reservation,
which borders the cities of Phoenix, Chandler, and Tempe.
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Cherokee
National Children's Choir
Cherokee Nation (Tahlequah, Okla.)
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Launched
in 2000, the Children's Choir presents an innovative approach
to promoting and encouraging the use of the endangered Cherokee
language among its youth while also instilling Cherokee
cultural pride. The award-winning choir comprised
of 40 young Cherokee ambassadors has performed in
venues across the US, including the Native American Music
Awards, Ground Zero, and the Smithsonian Institution.
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Choctaw
Community Injury Prevention Program
Choctaw Health Center, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
(Philadelphia, Miss.)
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Responding
to alarming rates of preventable accidents on its reservation,
the Mississippi Band of Choctaw created a comprehensive
community injury prevention program in 2001. Through seat
belt and child safety seat campaigns, strict enforcement
of motor vehicle laws, and community-wide education initiatives,
the Program is successfully changing behaviors, saving lives,
reducing injuries and disabilities, and lowering health
care costs.
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Chuka
Chukmasi Home Loan Program
Division of Housing, Chickasaw Nation (Ada, Okla.)
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Created
in 1998 to increase home ownership among Chickasaw citizens
and other Native Americans in Oklahoma, the Chuka Chukmasi
("beautiful home") Home Loan Program is a secondary market
home loan program that has helped more than 200 families
to realize the dream of home ownership. Collaborating with
investor and lender partners, the Program provides pre-home
ownership education, credit and loan counseling, and down
payment and closing cost assistance.
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Cultural
Resources Protection Program
Natural Resources Department, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation (Pendleton, Ore.)
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Frustrated
by how tribal cultural resources were managed on tribal,
federal, state, and private lands, the Tribes developed
their own cultural resources protection program. The 15-year-old
program is leader in educating non-Indian agencies about
pertinent laws and treaties, strengthening cultural resource
laws and policies, crafting government-to-government relationships,
training other tribes, and incorporating Native knowledge
into a field historically dominated by non-Indians.
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Family
Violence and Victim's Services
Department of Family and Community Services, Mississippi Band
of Choctaw Indians (Philadelphia, Miss.)
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Addressing
the often-stigmatized issues of domestic violence, sexual
assault, stalking, and elder abuse, the Family Violence
and Victim's Services (FVVS) provides a "one-stop-shop"
for victims, providing access to legal services, counseling,
and therapy. In addition, FVVS drafted a strict tribal domestic
criminal code, and it continues to administer re-education
programs for batterers, educational campaigns, and training
seminars for law enforcement, security, and the tribal judiciary.
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Gila
River Telecommunications, Inc.
Gila River Indian Community (Sacaton, Ariz.)
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Recognizing
the need for affordable and reliable telecommunications
services, the Tribe founded Gila River Telecommunications,
Inc. (GRTI) in 1988. A pioneer in telecommunications in
Indian Country, GRTI offers affordable landline phone service,
dial-up and DSL Internet service, and satellite television.
GRTI has seen residential penetration of access lines grow
from 34% to nearly 50% in six years and plays an important
role in meeting the needs of the Community's fast-growing
economy.
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Honoring
our Ancestors: The Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management
Plan
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
(Hayward, Wisc.)
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The
Joint Agency Management Plan brings together three governments
the Lac Courte Oreilles Band, the State of Wisconsin,
and the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service
to co-manage the Chippewa Flowage, a 15,300-acre reservoir
created in 1923 that inundated a tribal village. Taking
into account the cultural, aesthetic, and economic value
of the Flowage, the Plan provides a framework for the three
parties to coordinate management activities and decisions
through a consensus-based approach.
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Kake
Circle Peacemaking
The Organized Village of Kake (Kake, Alaska)
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Restoring
its traditional method of dispute resolution, the Organized
Village of Kake adopted Circle Peacemaking as its tribal
court in 1999. Circle Peacemaking brings together victims,
wrongdoers, families, religious leaders, and social service
providers in a forum that restores relationships and community
harmony. With a recidivism rate of nearly zero, it is especially
effective in addressing substance abuse-associated crimes.
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Menominee
Community Center of Chicago
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (Keshena, Wisc.)
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A
unique partnership between an urban Indian center and a
tribal government, the tribally funded Community Center
serves nearly 500 Menominee tribal citizens living in the
greater Chicago area. The Center and the tribal government
work together to ensure that all of its citizens are actively
involved in tribal affairs by organizing trips to the reservation,
providing full electoral rights for off-reservation citizens,
and by holding official tribal legislature meetings at the
Center.
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Na'Nizhoozhi
Center, Inc.
The Navajo Nation in cooperation with Zuni Pueblo, City of
Gallup, McKinley County, and the State of New Mexico (Gallup,
N.M.)
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Responding
to the distressing rates of accidents, deaths, and other
alcohol-related problems in Gallup, NM, the Navajo Nation
partnered with Zuni Pueblo, the City of Gallup, McKinley
County, and the State of New Mexico to establish the Na'Nizhoozhi
Center in 1992. The Center has been an effective force in
promoting wellness and safety by providing protective custody,
shelter, referral services, and culturally based in-patient
and outpatient substance abuse treatment services to meet
the needs of its Indian clients.
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Navajo
Nation Corrections Project
Department of Behavioral Services, Navajo Nation (Window Rock,
Ariz.)
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Established
in 1983, the Corrections Project facilitates, coordinates,
and advocates for the use of spiritual ceremonies, cultural
activities, and counseling for Navajo and other Indians in
correctional facilities. As the liaison between inmates, their
families, and Indian and non-Indian government agencies, the
Project researches, and implements unmet spiritual, cultural,
and legal needs. In 2002 alone, the Project visited 30 correctional
facilities and served more than 2,000 clients.
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Northwest
Intertribal Court System
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation (Mountlake
Terrace, Wash.)
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The
Northwest Intertribal Court System (NICS) assists tribes
in developing tribal courts that provide fair, equitable,
and uniform justice for all who fall within their jurisdiction.
Owned by a consortium of tribes in Washington State, NICS
recognizes the sovereignty, individual character, and unique
needs of individual tribes. Its services which include
code writing and technical assistance help Indian
nations develop the necessary legal infrastructure for handling
a full array of civil and criminal matters.
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Northwest
Portland Area Indian Health Board
The 43 federally recognized tribes of Oregon, Washington,
and Idaho (Portland, Ore.)
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Serving
tribes in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, the Northwest Portland
Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHN) was created in 1972 to
increase tribes' ability to exercise control over the design
and development of tribal health care delivery systems.
Governed by tribal government delegates, NPAIHB facilitates
intertribal coordination and promotes intergovernmental
consultation. A leader in data collection and advocacy,
NPAIHB also administers the first and largest tribal epidemiology
center.
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Quil
Ceda Village
The Tulalip Tribes (Tulalip, Wash.)
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Developed
to achieve economic diversification while exercising tribal
sovereignty, Quil Ceda Village is the first tribal city
in the US. Chartered under tribal laws and governed by a
council-manager form of government that enacts local ordinances,
the Village has emerged as a thriving retail, recreation,
and hospitality destination. The Village employs 500 Indians
and non-Indians and is home to a business park, a new casino,
and acreage for future development.
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Trust
Resource Management
Office of Support Services, Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes (Pablo, Mont.)
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For
more than three decades, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes (CSKT) have been building capable governing institutions
and taking over management of resources and programs previously
managed by outsiders. Recognizing that self-management both
allows the tribal government to determine its own priorities
and has positive bottom-line effects, CSKT is a leader in
incorporating tribal values into natural resource management
and in delivering first-rate services to its 7,000 citizens.
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