Tribal Planning Research Articles

Lambs of Sacrifice: Termination, the Mixed-blood Utes, and the Problem of Indian Identity

Lambs of Sacrifice: Termination, the Mixed-blood Utes, and the Problem of Indian Identity

Reframing Tribal Planning–Re–Building Our Own Communities for Local Development

ABSTRACT Tribal planning is reframed in the second decade of the 21st century adjusting to the changing environments of the planning field, recently grounded in economic development, as a catalyst for these changes. Tribal planning, when led by tribal citizens, is the catalyst for sovereign decision-making. With tribal nations identifying economic development as a priority and gateway toward prosperity, other essential functions of the government attached themselves to this opportunity. Planning when aligned with economic development is much broader than defining tribe communities’ economic returns, but supporting the progress of a culture and developing all systems that influence the economy. The article examines the role of community, economic and cultural capitals to examine the planning capacity of tribal communities.

Evaluating Geodesign for Community-Based Tribal Planning

Problem, research strategy, and findings Geodesign is a technology-supported planning approach that combines community collaboration and engagement with geospatial analysis to make land use decisions quickly. In this study we tested the role of Geodesign in improving the quality of local plans through community participation and collaborative decision making supported by geospatial analysis. Our research evaluates Geodesign as a tool and process in establishing community engagement in planning decisions by applying and analyzing Geodesign in two Navajo Nation communities in Arizona to use scientific and community knowledge to make consensus-based decisions for land use planning. There are three critical components to this analysis. First, we evaluate the use of Geodesign as a plan-making tool. Second, we examine how Geodesign can be inclusionary for planning using Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation with marginalized American Indian communities. Finally, we look at the planner’s role and required planning expertise in developing successful Geodesign plans. We conclude that Geodesign can empower historically marginalized Indigenous communities to make community-based land use plans that leverage local knowledge/values and geospatial analysis. Takeaway for practice Planners can use Geodesign approaches to collaborate and guide marginalized communities to engage in the planning process and incorporate diverse perspectives and cultural values in decision making. A planner should judiciously apply their expertise in their role as a planning facilitator, trainer, and knowledge resource. Using geospatial data and community engagement, Geodesign produces community-based land use plans.

Planning the American Indian reservation: from theory to empowerment

American Indian reservation planning is one of the most challenging and poorly understood specializations within the American planning profession. Charged with developing a strategy to protect irreplaceable tribal homelands that have been repeatedly diminished over the ages through unjust public policy actions, it is also one of the most imperative. For centuries tribes have faced historical bigotry, political violence, and an unrelenting resistance to self-governance. Aided by a comprehensive reservation planning strategy, tribes can create the community they envisioned for themselves, independent of outside forces. In Planning the American Indian Reservation , Zaferatos presents a holistic and practical approach to explaining the practice of Native American planning. The book unveils the complex conditions that tribes face by examining the historic, political, legal, and theoretical dimensions of the tribal planning situation in order to elucidate the context within which reservation planning occurs. Drawing on more than thirty years of professional practice, Zaferatos presents several case studies demonstrating how effective tribal planning can alter the nature of the political landscape and help to rebalance the uneven relationships that have been formed between tribal governments and their nontribal political counterparts. Tribal planning's overarching objective is to assist tribes as they transition from passive objects of historical circumstances to principle actors in shaping their future reservation communities.

A Geographical Analysis of Core and Peripheries of Tribal Population in Maharashtra

The present paper based on the 1991-2001 Census data insights into the distribution of tribal population and intends to identify the core and peripheries of five major tribes, in the state of Maharashtra. For the comprehension and identification of core of a particular tribe along with its periphery , the composite index has been computed for the year 1991 only. The five major tribes viz. Bhils, Gonds, Mahadeo Kolis, Varlis and Kokanas are considered for the identification of their core and periphery in the state. Apart from this, the percentage distribution of tribal population has also been worked out and depicted on the map to highlight their concentration in different districts of the state, both for 1991 and 2001. It is found that the proportion of tribal population in the state as a whole, barring two districts of Dhule and Aurangabad, has declined from 9.27% in 1991 to 8.85% in 2001, due to the under enumeration and derecogniton of some tribes. The core of Gond tribe is confined to Chandrapur and Gadchiroli district and its periphery in adjoining districts of Nagpur and Bhandara. The core of Bhils is identified in Dhule, Varlis in Thane, Kokanas and Mahadeo Kolis' core is commonly identified in Nashik district, and the peripheries of these tribes are also found in the immediate adjoining districts. This sort of study of distribution and regarding their core and peripheries is useful for the tribal planning.

Research Article: Reweaving Earth: An Indigenous Perspective on Restoration Planning and the National Environmental Policy Act

Tribal restoration planning, based on indigenous ideas and practices, evolved with the self-determination and self-governance initiatives of tribal governments in the United States. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementation was roughly concurrent with the return of management authority over Indian trust lands to tribes in the 1970s and 1980s. Many, but not all, of the 556 federally recognized tribal governments have assumed responsibility for NEPA planning processes. Other planning processes pursued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Indian trust lands and those of the State of Washington for educational trust lands offer significant contrasts; to further delineate these contrasts, the author overlays tribal planning activities with a four-point methodological framework. The tribal restoration planning approach begs the question of how to maintain a dynamic range where human and natural environments are connected in past, present, and future. Tribal resource planning supports ecosystem proce...

Community Mental Health and Family Issues in Sociohistorical Context

A review of the pertinent literature and interviews of key informants provided the basis for an exploration into the historical antecedents of some of the mental health and family issues of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw (CTCLUS) Indians of Oregon. This project was originally commissioned by the CTCLUS community to be a chapter in their Tribal Plan, explaining the historical context of this tribe in relation to national American Indian events. Key historical events that have impacted this community include boarding schools, termination, the Dawes Act, and racism. Key mental health issues that have followed these events include substance, abuse, domestic violence, and a lack of parenting skills.

Planning the Native American Tribal Community: Understanding the Basis of Power Controlling the Reservation Territory

Native American tribes possess sovereign powers of self-government over their internal affairs and over their self-reserved territories, in order to support their continued existence. The powers of tribal land use jurisdiction, however, are not clearly understood. This paper explores the evolution of tribal governance and the problems that tribes face in advancing their community goals through reservation planning. The context of tribal planning is examined with the practical aim of formulating approaches that overcome obstacles to attaining tribal objectives. It is necessary to understand the historical interferences confronting tribal communities before identifying planning strategies to overcome opposition and advance tribal goals.

A comparative study of the planning and management of Monument Valley Tribal Park and Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Monument Valley Tribal Park and Canyon de Chelly National Monument are two world class sites that are both situated within the Navajo Reservation. The former is a Navajo Tribal Park and the latter is a unit in the United States National Park System. A review of legislative and administrative histories reveals that most Navajos did not understand the significance of land withdrawal at the time of park establishment and that after unsure beginnings each site is currently managed with greater responsiveness to local residents. In recent years there have been significant increases in visitation at each site. As a direct result of tribal planning and management policy changes, Monument Valley has substantially increased visitor services and park employment opportunities while Canyon de Chelly has been subject to federal budget cutbacks. Problems associated with oral promises to local residents are also discussed.

Changing Political Organization in the Jicarillo Apache Reservation Community

The purpose of this article is to examine changes in political organization which have taken place in the past few years on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation. This has been a period of intensified change on the reservation, marked by innovations in a number of areas, and in consequence the authors were invited by the Jicarilla Apache tribe to develop a research project to assist in the evaluation of programs in progress. Although major emphasis in Tribal planning was focused on economic contexts, the responsibility for decisions was vested in the two major reservation governing bodies—the Tribal organization and the local Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Necessarily, we devoted attention to the organization and operation of these political agencies, both because of their crucial role in decision-making and because of their intimate involvement in the complex of changes typical of the reservation scene.