Rebuilding Native Nations:
Strategies for Governance and Development

 

A groundbreaking distance-learning course for Native nations

    

 As part of the Pueblo’s commitment to achieving its self-determined community and economic development objectives, the EDD is providing Nation Building services to foster capable, culturally appropriate governing institutions, and cultivate effective YDSP leaders.  In order to directly engage YDSP citizens EDD continues its Nation Building process, and is taking the Nation Building program of study one step further.  To reach a larger community target and ensure greater access the EDD is introducing a technology based curriculum. 

 

     Utilizing the Tigua-IBM Technology Center as the educational venue, the Rebuilding Native Nations Distance-Learning Course (RNN-DLC) Pilot Project partners YDSP with the Native Nations Institute at University of Ariziona and the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (NNI-HPAIED) to educate Tigua citizens and employees about their role in Tigua Nation Building through the dissemination and piloting of a cutting-edge distance-learning course called “Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development,” currently being designed by NNI-HPAIED.  This project is funded by the Department of the Interior (DOI).  The DOI has been extremely instrumental and supportive of YDSP Economic Development and Tigua Nation Building projects. 

 

    

 

      The RNN-DLC project is also dependent on YDSP collaboration and support from the Empowerment Program, EDD, Tribal Operations and Tribal Council.  The RNN-DLC project also includes upgrades to the YDSP website to support a web-based extra-net that will permit tribal members and employees to log-in from remote locations and access future curriculums.

     As explained by Native Nations Institute in its RNN Course Study Guide, “this course examines the critical self-governance and development challenges facing Native nations, and explores what is working, what isn’t, and why.”  The course is intended to strengthen a Tribe’s ability to design self-guided strategies to reassert their command over their own tribal affairs. 

     Relying on a state-of-the-art educational interface created specifically for this DVD-ROM course, Rebuilding Native Nations provides a dynamic learning experience, weaving together video lectures by course instructors, the perspectives of more than 60 Native leaders and scholars, curricular materials from NNI’s “Native Nation Building” and “Emerging Leaders” executive education seminars, illustrative graphics, the Rebuilding Native Nations course textbook (University of Arizona Press, 2007), and original readings drawn from the NNI-Harvard Project research.

     The project is a partnership between the Empowerment Program and Economic Development Department.  Patricia Riggs is serving as project manager.  Ruben Carrillo of the Empowerment Department is a lab technician. The Native Nations Institute project team consist of Ian Record, Ryan Seelau and Tarissa Spoonhunter. The NNI Executive Director is Joan Timeche.

     Ysleta del Sur Pueblo was chosen as a test pilot site to assess the course and determine its feasibility as a Nation Building tool for other Native American communities.  Due to its current Nation Building efforts the Pueblo was chosen as the first reservation based community to have access to the Rebuilding Native Nations course.  It is an honor to have been selected for this cutting-edge project that will foster capacity building for tribes throughout the United States.

For more information regarding the Rebuilding Native Nations curriculum and project contact Patricia Riggs at priggs@ydsp-nsn.gov. 

Anyone interested in  registering for Rebuilding Native Nations curriculum please contact Melissa Senclair at msenclair@ydsp-nsn.gov or call the Economic Development Department at 915-858-8151.

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