Native Nations Institute

Reconnected. Very mindful. Very demure.💅 After a week of all-hands retreats, the UC Environmental Policy Program and Native Nations Institute teams are back on campus, realigned and ready for another year of impactful research and community events! During those meetings, we discussed our values and culture as an organization, planned for the next year of collaboration and looked for ways to bring both UC houses closer together. Stay tuned for the results of those programs as we rollout another year of impact in public policy research here at U of A!! 🐻⬇️

It's good to be back in our on-campus community!! 🪶 NNI participated in a welcome event for Native American faculty and staff at the newly remodeled U of A Campus Store last week. We mingled, brunched and discussed priorities for the coming year, including plans for a followup to our Native American faculty and staff convening that took place earlier this past April. Special thanks to Native American Initiatives for their coordination and to Native SOAR for sponsoring the gathering!! Pictured in the group photo are (from left to right): Naomi Tom (Tohono O'odham; Manager NNI Tribal and Direct Services); Joan Timeche (Hopi; Executive Director NNI); Odette Vargas (Event Planner, Office of the Provost); Tessa Dysart (Muscogee; Assistant Vice Provost for Native American Initiatives); Martha S. Lee (Program Coordinator, Native American Initiatives); Miguel Flores, Jr., LISAC (Pascua Yaqui / Tohono O'odham; Licensed Substance Abuse Counselor); Felisa J. Tagaban Gaskin (Diné/Tlingit, Director of Native SOAR); Kevin Fortuin (Outreach Specialist, NNI Tribal and Direct Services)

Britnee and Kyra represented NNI at the 8th annual Freedom and Justice Conference! Research Analyst Britnee Johnston (Blackfeet) delivered a presentation titled “Experiences of Native American Entrepreneurs and Accessing Capital for Small Business Loans” and Research Specialist Kyra James (Diné) spoke on "The Economist and Indigenous Peoples: A Study of Representation.” The conference took place at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Learn more about the conference here: https://lnkd.in/gw7hf-cj

We were honored to present at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's first annual Tribal Enrollment and Enhanced Tribal Card Program Conference! More than 80 Native Nations were represented at the event at Casino Del Sol. NNI's Tribal and Direct Services team prepared a full day of educational content on enrollment criteria to set the stage for three days of discussion and learning. Learn more about PYT's Tribal Enrollment program Sacred Path here: https://lnkd.in/gwdch493

How can traditional Indigenous Knowledge contribute to the scientific study of geography? This 2023 essay by Kawena Elkington for Society + Space leans on Indigenous Hawaiian geographical knowledge to illustrate how Traditional Ecological Knowledge and other types of Indigenous Knowledge can contribute to a more robust and thorough understanding of the histories of places and spaces. From the article: "By utilizing ʻŌiwi (Indigenous Hawaiian) geography as an example, I argue how meaningful integration of place-based Indigenous knowledge is not only ethically necessary but also intellectually enriching, and propose strategies for universities to more fully incorporate Indigenous geographies into their teaching practices and curriculum." Find a link to the full article in our Indigenous Governance Database here: https://lnkd.in/gprHXX93

Congratulations to the new cohort of 2024 Udall Scholars! 55 students from 50 colleges and universities were selected from 406 eligible nominees to join the cohort. Of those, 37 Scholars intend to pursue careers related to the environment, 9 Native American/Alaska Native Scholars intend to pursue careers related to Tribal public policy, and 9 Native American/Alaska Native Scholars intend to pursue careers related to Native health care. Each Scholarship provides up to $7,000 for eligible academic expenses for the Scholar’s junior or senior year of academic study. Since the program’s inception in 1996, the Udall Foundation has awarded 1,953 Udall Scholarships totaling over $10.36 million and 1,344 Honorable Mentions. The 2024 Scholars met with UC + NNI staff as well as AZ Congressional Rep Juan Ciscomani in Tucson for their orientation last week. Learn more about the Udall Scholars program and the 2024 cohort here: https://lnkd.in/g-Zu5cxh

🌎 A new $1.5M grant from NSF will connect Indigenous Data Sovereignty orgs around the world! “What we’ve seen from Tribal governments is that being able to work and connect with other entities internationally and connect over some of the same experiences has been beneficial,” said principal investigator Stephanie Russo Carroll, DrPh, MPH. “This grant provides funding in an arena where we’ve never had funding before: linking up existing research and policy-focused networks toward advancing Indigenous data sovereignty,” Carroll said. Learn more about the new National Science Foundation award and how the funds will be utilized here: https://lnkd.in/gSvj47je . . #databack #idsov #idgov

📢 Applications for our Tribal Professionals Cohort open in 2 weeks!! Want to learn more about Native Nation building with a focused and dedicated Indigenous peer group? Apply to take part in the 2025 TPC! This year-long professional development program was created in 2016 to respond to the realities, challenges, and opportunities of Tribal Professionals serving Native communities. Open to members of any U.S. state or federally recognized Tribe! Details here: https://lnkd.in/gZnVBMRt

🛡️ #DataBack scholars unite! 🌐 Members of the Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance (Collab) gathered online and in person at the University of Arizona Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy for a three-day retreat and strategy session this week. Pictured in the group portrait from left to right are: - Cassidy Schoenfelder (Oglála Lakȟóta), PhD Candidate in the @School of Geography, Development, and Environment (SGDE); Collab Research Associate & SGDE Graduate Associate - Jewel Cummins, PhD Candidate in American Indian Studies; NNI and Collab Graduate Research Assistant - Bree Lameman (Diné), PhD Candidate in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH); Collab Graduate Research Associate - Caleigh Curley (Diné, Hopi), PhD Candidate in the Public Health Policy and Management program at MEZCOPH; Research Program Administrator at the MEZCOPH Community, Environment, and Policy department - Ibrahim Garba (Karai-Karai), Assistant Research Professor at MEZCOPH, NNI Senior Researcher Learn more about the Collab here: https://lnkd.in/g-DwF2em #idsov #idgov

How does the Osage Nation govern membership? Short answer: Lineal descendants of members listed in the 1906 Roll are eligible to enroll as citizens. The Osage Nation also allows their citizens to dual enroll with another Tribe if they are eligible to do so. Find the section of the Osage Constitution dedicated to membership + access to the full 2006 version of the Constitution at the link below. For Native nations wrestling with questions about membership criteria, dual enrollment and all of the other things that might find their way into a revised (or newly made) constitution, our Constitution Resource Center is chock full of free resources and guidance to help you build and live with a constitution that works for YOUR NATION! More here: https://lnkd.in/g6A25DMv