NATIVE NATION BUILDING TV: Segment 6

In this segment, A Capable Bureacracy, interview guests Urban Giff and Joan Timeche explain that good governance requires effective, transparent and accountable bureaucracies. The segment demonstrates how clearly defined organizational structures and roles and responsibilities help make things work and get things done, and how their absence actively hinders Native nation governance and development efforts.In recent decades, American Indian nations have moved to take greater control over their lives and futures and decide key issues for themselves. Increasingly, tribal governments have become the key decision-makers on Indian lands.

But it is one thing to make decisions. It is another to implement them effectively. Legislatures can determine what needs to be done, and courts can resolve disputes. But in many cases, neither of these is the end of the matter. The nation still has to act, and very often, it is the tribe's administrative arm—the tribal bureaucracy—that has to make sure the decisions of the legislature are carried out and decisions of the court enforced. It is up to the tribal bureaucracy to insure that tribal operations are conducted in ways that serve the nation's interests and satisfy the nation's citizens. Getting from decisions to effective implementation is the challenging task facing the tribal bureaucracy.

NATIVE NATIONS INITIATIVES FEATURED

Gila River Indian Community

Entrance to new governance center, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, Ariz.
(Courtesy: Gila River Indian Community)

Related links :
Gila River Indian Community (Official Web Site)
Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.
Gila River Economic Development Department
Gila River Tourism
Article: "Gila Tribe May Build Solar Plant"
Article: "Gila River Landowners Plan Large Development"
Article: "Wild Horse Pass Expands Pima and Maricopa Appeal for Travelers"
Article: "Gila River's Wild Horse Pass Opens Rawhide"

To learn more:
Report: "Can Tribes Manage Their Own Resources?"

URL links verified July 18, 2006