Research Guides: Native American Studies: Governance & Advocacy

What is Grey Literature?

Grey literature is research and materials produced by individuals or organizations outside of the traditional academic or commercial publishing and distribution channels. Examples of grey literature include:

Dissertations and theses
Reports and technical reports
Conference proceedings and working papers
Unpublished & ongoing studies and preprints
Patents

Finding Grey Literature

Think Tank Search (Harvard Kennedy School)
A curated Google search of more than 590 think tanks and research centers.

Global Think Tanks This link opens in a new window
A database of reports, papers, and other resources published by NGOs, think tanks, IGOs and research centers from across the world. It also includes a directory of thousands of organizations involved in public and social policy in most subject area. A module in the Policy Commons database.

Tribal Governance

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
Serves the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.
NCAI Policy Research Center
A division of NCAI, their mission is to lead, conduct, and translate high quality policy research and data to improve outcomes for Indian Country.

Governmental Organizations

Bureau of Indian Affairs
Part of the US Department of the Interior, their mission is to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.
California Native American Heritage Commission
The California State Government established the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) as the primary government agency responsible for identifying and cataloging Native American cultural resources.
Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission
The primary purpose of the Commission is to increase the acquisition and application of funding resources to the socioeconomic problems of American Indians in Los Angeles City and County.
Indian Health Service
A federal health program for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Includes some data under the menu item Community Health - Data Visualization.

Advocacy Organizations

Numerous advocacy organizations also conduct research and issue a variety of reports, publications, advocacy briefs, policy documents, fact sheets and more. These websites can typically be navigated by topic, though you may also look for a Resources or Publications page as well. This is a small selection of organizations to demonstrate the breadth of advocacy taking place.

The Association on American Indian Affairs
Their mission is to lead the grassroots fight to protect Native American Cultural Sovereignty.
Indian Law Resource Center
Provides legal assistance to indigenous peoples of the Americas to combat racism and oppression, to protect their lands and environment, to protect their cultures and ways of life, to achieve sustainable economic development and genuine self-government, and to realize their other human rights.
NDN Collective
An Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. They create sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change.
Center for World Indigenous Studies
CWIS is an organization of activist advancing indigenous rights and knowledge in areas such as environment, medicine, education, government, law, and economic development.
National Indian Law Library
Legal and research resources related to federal Indian and tribal law.
Reclaiming Native Truth
Reclaiming Native Truth is a national effort to foster cultural, social and policy change by empowering Native Americans to counter discrimination, invisibility and the dominant narratives that limit Native opportunity, access to justice, health and self-determination. Reclaiming Native Truth’s goal is to move hearts and minds toward greater respect, inclusion and social justice for Native Americans.
Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF)
ILTF is a national, community-based organization serving American Indian nations and people in the recovery and control of their rightful homelands. They work to promote education, increase cultural awareness, create economic opportunity, and reform the legal and administrative systems that prevent Indian people from owning and controlling reservation lands.
Native Governance Center
a Native-led nonprofit dedicated to assisting Native nations in strengthening their governance systems and capacity to exercise sovereignty.
First Nations Development Institute
Their mission is to strengthen American Indian economies to support healthy Native communities. They invest in and create innovative institutions and models that strengthen asset control and support economic development for American Indian people and their communities.

Research Institutes

California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center
Fosters collaborative research and community service relationships between the faculty, staff, and students of CSU San Marcos and members of Tribal communities, for the purpose of developing and conducting research projects that support the maintenance of sovereignty and culture within those communities.
UCLA American Indian Studies Center
The core objectives of AISC are to: facilitate and disseminate research about indigenous peoples; strengthen graduate and undergraduate education; seek extramural funds to support student and faculty research; and carry out university and public service programs related to the Center’s mission.

Web Resources

CRT Collective
A community of international, interdisciplinary, and intersectional scholar-activists who are committed to cultivating knowledge and information across borders. Our community’s vision is to develop knowledge justice tools for dismantling white supremacy and oppressive hierarchies as they manifest in spaces of work, education and society.

Associations

Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA)
An interdisciplinary, international membership-based organization comprised of scholars working in the fields of Native American and Indigenous Studies broadly defined. They produce the NAIS Journal.
Native American Journalists Association
Serves and empowers Native journalists through programs and actions designed to enrich journalism and promote Native cultures.