NATIVE NATION BUILDING TV: Segment 9

Strategy and Leadership: The Path to Self-Determination ties together the themes discussed in the previous segments into a discussion of how Native nations and their leaders move themselves and their peoples towards nation building. It seeks to answer the question all Native nations have: How do we get where we want to go?

NATIVE NATIONS INITIATIVES FEATURED

The Crow Tribe of Montana

(photo) Crow riders travel to dedicate a memorial to Native participants of the Battle of Little Bighorn, 2005 (Courtesy: Associated Press)

Until recently, the Crow Tribe of Montana operated with a 1948 constitution that was modeled after a moose lodge charter. This model of government proved highly ineffective, in part because it had no separation of powers or checks and balances, and short term limits for elected officials. Despite the tribe's abundance of natural and human resources, the tribe's ineffective governing system fostered an unfriendly business environment, making sustainable economic development all but impossible.

In 2001, the tribe and its citizens sought to reform their inadequate and outdated constitution. A majority of Crow citizens voted to repeal the 1948 constitution and replace it with a new constitution and bylaws mandating three branches of government; notably, it empowered the tribe's judicial branch, insulating it from political interference by the legislative and executive branches. In addition, it requires the tribe to develop personnel policies, natural resource management ordinances, and procedures for expenditures of tribal funds. Crow's elected leaders and citizens believe this new governing document will lead to a more efficient government and will foster on-reservation business development.

Links

Crow Tribe Constitution and Bylaws
Initiative on American Indian Constitutional Reform

Navajo Nation Permanent Fund

In 1984, the Navajo Nation won a crucial U.S. Supreme Court case, Kerr McGee v. Navajo Nation, that affirmed the authority of the Navajo Nation to tax businesses doing business on Navajo land. The judgment awarded Navajo Nation over $200 million, leaving then-Navajo Nation Chairman Peterson Zah with a very important decision to make. Zah and the Council opted to take a strategic approach to the nation's sizeable windfall, establishing the Navajo Nation Permanent Fund. The Navajo Nation invested a large portion of the judgment's proceeds into the fund, decided to allocate 12% of its total revenues into the fund annually, and agreed not to touch the fund for 20 years. As of 2006, the fund has grown to nearly $1 billion. The Navajo Nation will soon hold a voter referendum to decide how to use the money.

Peterson Zah waves to supporters at his inauguration ceremony as chairman of the Navajo Nation, 1983. (Courtesy: Associated Press)

Links
Navajo Nation

URL links verified July 19, 2006