Universities and Indian Country: Case Studies in Tribal-Driven Research

“Nation Building” is a strategy by which an increasing number of Native communities have set about reclaiming powers of self-determination, strengthening their cultures, and developing their economies. A piece of this movement has been the establishment of new models for respectful and mutually collaborative relations between universities and American Indian/Alaskan Native communities and organizations. Building on the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development’s experience, the author’s experience with more than 80 nation-building projects over seven years, and Prof Kalt and my recent book Universities and Indian Country, we suggest that the tenets of nation building can provide a strategy for expanding and diversifying universities’ perspectives of knowledge in a multicultural world, while also producing something, at the request of Native communities, that is useful. This work extends the dialogue begun at Harvard, providing another venue to share information. These projects address a wide range of topics, including the regulation of genetic research, human resource development, tribal fund-raising, development of nation-building museums, and freedom of the press in Indian Country, but all share the commitment to building healthy nations. The focus of this work is on the concerns and questions of Native communities themselves, provides insight not only into how projects came together, but also into what significance they have had to the tribal partners. The project reports are a valuable resource for any student, professional, and community member working for nation building and self-determination.