WHAT WE DO

Curriculum Development

Contemporary Native nations in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere face daunting challenges.

They are working to reclaim control over their communities and lives, to overcome generations of poverty and dependence, to develop vigorous economies that fit their cultures and circumstances, to build effective governments, to solve difficult social problems, and to balance cultural integrity with change.

Over the last three decades, many Native nations have made extraordinary strides in meeting these challenges, transforming the promise of self-determination into a reality for their citizens and seizing control of their own futures in the process.

Taking an approach often described as “nation building,” they are asserting their rights of self-rule through the development of capable, efficient, and culturally legitimate governing institutions, proving time and again that practical sovereignty and economic development go hand in hand.

NNI has launched an innovative, multi-pronged curriculum development initiative that will supply state-of-knowledge educational resources designed to advance the nation-building objectives of Native nations and their citizens.

Grounded in the actual experience of Indigenous communities and informed by systematic, hands-on research in Native nation building, this initiative is designed to provide tribal and other educational institutions with the resources they need if they are to address the real governance, policy, and development needs of contemporary Native nations and provide tribal leaders with easily accessible sources of practical information about the pressing issues they face.

For more on NNI’s specific curriculum development projects, please see the curricular resources page.

For more information about curriculum development at NNI, please contact Ian Record at recordi@u.arizona.edu or (520) 626-0664.