ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

The Institute for Tribal Government has been established in the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. The Institute was founded by its director, former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse. A Tribal Policy Board consisting of elected tribal chairpersons, directors of tribal governmental and policy organizations, and representatives of institutions of higher education provide policy guidance to the Institute. The Tribal Leadership Forum, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was also created to support the work of the Institute in its charitable, literary, and educational capacities. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, PSU President Daniel Bernstine, and Dr. Ronald Tammen, Director of the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government in the PSU College of Urban and Public Affairs, serve in an advisory capacity to the Policy Board. Funding support for the Institute is provided by tribal governments, government agencies, businesses and individuals.

The Institute for Tribal Government serves elected tribal governments from across the nation and also provides training to local, state and federal government agencies and others who are interested in learning more about tribal governments, legal foundations, and tribal governmental authorities and duties.


Need for the Institute

While there are over 560 tribal governments in the United States, each with its own government structure, there is no national institution that provides training specifically designed for elected tribal leaders. Newly elected officials are often unfamiliar with the responsibilities of office and must assume multiple leadership duties with little or no systematic training. At the internal level, this can contribute to tribal community instability. At the external level, tribal government officials are increasingly required to address complex inter-governmental issues with local, state and federal jurisdictions.

Even though a trust responsibility exists between the United States government and federally recognized tribes, it is vital that tribal governments be able to actively protect their rights themselves. Too often tribes must obtain assistance from non-Indian experts, many of whom know little about a particular tribe’s treaty or other legal rights. A primary goal of the Institute, therefore, is to assist tribes who want to cultivate the necessary expertise and governance skills from within their own tribe. Similarly, government agencies with trust responsibilities and programs which interface with tribal programs, seek services from the Institute.

Instructors for Institute classes include Elizabeth Furse, former U.S. Congresswoman and Director of the Institute for Tribal Government; educators who specialize in Indian law and public policy; experts from other institutions of higher education; and nationally recognized tribal leaders

In addition to Elizabeth Furse, the Institute has a staff of four people: Associate Director Jean Edwards; Program Coordinator Marjie Lundell; Kristi Hansen, accounting; and oral historian Kay Reid, who heads up the Great Tribal Leaders of Modern Times Interview Project.


The major activities of the Institute for Tribal Government include:

	Tribal Governance Trainings—designed by and for elected tribal leaders
	Government Agency Trainings—designed for county, state and federal agencies
	Great Tribal Leaders of Modern Times Interview Project—broadcast quality video interviews of contemporary tribal leaders
	The Great Tribal Leaders of Modern Times Curriculum Project—Based on the video interviews, the curriculum explores the role that contemporary Native American leaders have had from 1940 to the present in shaping federal Indian policy, law, natural resource management and other topics of regional, national, and international concern. The Great Tribal Leaders of Modern Times Class is currently offered at Portland State University and there are plans to offer it at other institutions in the future.