5 pillars of effective governance
The National Centre for First Nations Governance promotes effective First Nations governance based on five important pillars:
1. The People
2. The Land
3. The Resources
4. Laws and Jurisdiction
5. Governing Systems and Resources.
Resources
05.
Land
02.
People
01.
Governing Systems
04.
Laws + Jurisdiction
03.
5 core principles of native nation building
The Native Nations Institute’s understanding of Indigenous nation building emerges from 35 years of research by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (founded in 1986) and NNI (founded in 2001). Our research efforts have sought to understand the conditions under which sustained and self-determined community development can be successful in Indigenous nations. The results indicate that five elements are particularly important:
1. The nation makes the major decisions:
Native nations that have been able to assert self-governing power have significantly increased their chances of sustaining development on behalf of their own goals.
2. The nation backs up authority with competence:
The chances of sustainable development rise as Indigenous nations put in place effective, non-politicized dispute-resolution mechanisms and build capable bureaucracies.
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3. Governing institutions match community beliefs about how authority should be organized:
Institutions that reflect Indigenous conceptions of appropriate ways of governing are more effective at creating and sustaining thriving Indigenous communities.
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4. Decisions are made with long-term priorities in mind:
Native nations that are successful in achieving their goals tend to approach development not as a quick fix but as a means of building a community that works.
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