American Indian Studies

In 1953 farsighted tribal leaders in the Northwest formed that Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI), and dedicated it to tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Today, ATNI is a nonprofit organization representing 57 Northwest tribal governments from Oregon, Idaho, Washington, southeast Alaska, Northern California, and Western Montana. ATNI is an organization whose foundation is composed of the people it is meant to serve.

The American Indian Health Commission is a Tribal driven non-profit that focuses on American Indian and Alaska Native health in Washington State. Their mission is to bring wellness to Tribal communities and honor the sovereignty of their ways. They work with Washington State government agencies to develop policies that reflect and support Tribal resilience.

Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interest of tribal governments and communities.

Part of an educational project designed to provide information about indigenous people in different U.S. states, this website provides a tribal map of Washington and links to information about the language, culture and history of each Washington tribe. It also provides Washington Indian activities including a wordsearch, fact sheets, and words from the Native American languages of Washington.

The Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium is a non-profit consortium of Tribal nations which strive to assist all Tribal nations to achieve their own goals of self-government and seeks to ensure that the tenets and purpose of Self-Governance are accurately communicated and clearly understood by Congress, the Administration, Tribal nations and all other interested parties.

The Upper Columbia United Tribes ensure a healthy future for the benefit of all by protecting and enhancing the traditional territorial lands of their ancestors. Through the collaboration of five area tribes, they take a proactive, collaborative, and science-based approach to promoting fish, water, wildlife, diverse habitat, and Indian culture in the Northwest.

The Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs is pleased to provide you with this on-line edition of the Washington State Tribal Directory. Every attempt is made to ensure the accuracy of the names, numbers, and links provided within this directory.

The Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Tribal and Native American Affairs is committed to working with tribal nations and Indigenous communities across the United States to improve the economic and social well-being of children and families. ACF oversees more than 60 programs that empower families and communities, improve access to an array of services, and build strong and healthy communities.

The mission of the Interior Library is to promote the goals, policies, and objectives of the Interior Department by providing a full range of professional reference and research services, available to Interior employees in both the Washington, DC, area and nationwide.The Library's collections include Departmental publications, as well as a broad range of related books, journals, and other resources in a variety of formats that support the mission of the Department, its agencies, and bureaus.

Tribes have historically played an important role in environmental issues including air quality and climate change. Tribal citizens are often disproportionately affected by air pollution, while their governments play an increasingly valuable role in controlling and reducing pollution and its adverse health effects. This website contains regulatory resources, policy and planning, tribal air quality analysis, and other related resources.

The U.S. government officially recognizes more than 500 Indian tribes in the contiguous 48 states and Alaska. These federally recognized tribes are eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, either directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts. The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides contact information for each tribe's Tribal Leader through an interactive map.

This website highlights the Census Bureau's relationship with tribal governments and provides important AIAN and tribal resources. The Census Bureau collects data for the AIAN population and publishes specific counts, estimates, and statistics.

This directory describes and provides links to a sampling of organizations and resources for banks interested in lending, investing, or providing retail financial services in Indian Country.

The Office of Native American Affairs mission is to ensure that American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians seeking to create, develop and expand small businesses have full access to the necessary business development and expansion tools available through the Agency's entrepreneurial development, lending and procurement programs.

The Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) administers programs designed to support affordable housing and community development activities for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

In 1977, the Senate re‑established the Committee on Indian Affairs, making it a temporary Select Committee (February 4, 1977, S. Res. 4, Section 105, 95th Congress, 1st Sess. (1977), as amended). The Select Committee was to disband at the close of the 95th Congress, but following several term extensions, the Senate voted to make the Committee permanent on June 6, 1984. The Committee has jurisdiction to study the unique problems of American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples and to propose legislation to alleviate these difficulties. These issues include, but are not limited to, Indian education, economic development, land management, trust responsibilities, health care, and claims against the United States. Additionally, all legislation proposed by Members of the Senate that specifically pertains to American Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Alaska Natives is under the jurisdiction of the Committee.

In 1998, the National Agricultural Library (NAL) began a unique relationship with tribal colleges. Each year, NAL shares a list of recently published books on agriculture and Native American culture with tribal college libraries. The libraries review the list, make selections, and NAL mails the books to the institutions. NAL sends up to 2,000 books to tribal college libraries every year.

The Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) is working under a grant from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance on the Walking on Common Ground website to provide resources for promoting and facilitating Tribal-State-Federal collaborations.

The American Indian Digital History Project is a Digital History Cooperative founded to recover and preserve rare Indigenous newspapers, photographs, and archival materials from all across Native North America. The project seeks to increase access to historical Tribal documents in order to encourage accurate and responsible American Indian research. Furthermore, the project will be seeking partnerships with Tribal governments and archives to create a digital repository for local Tribes.

In 1973, the first six American Indian tribally controlled colleges established the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) to provide a support network as they worked to influence federal policies on American Indian higher education. AIHEC provides leadership and influences public policy on American Indian higher education issues through advocacy, research, and program initiatives; promotes and strengthens Indigenous languages, cultures, communities, and tribal nations.

The American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI), a college-level unit within ASU’s Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, focuses on building strong ties to Indigenous urban and rural governments and communities through emerging trends and tribally driven innovative democratic practices. Recognizing the tremendous potential of AIPI in working with tribal communities to develop tribally driven solutions for a broad range of issues facing Indian Country today, Dr. Morris expanded the vision of AIPI to that of a national-level think-tank institute inclusive of a community advisory board that includes tribal leaders and meets regularly

The Association on American Indian Affairs is the oldest non-profit serving Native Country protecting sovereignty, preserving culture, educating youth and building capacity. The Association was formed in 1922 to change the destructive path of federal policy from assimilation, termination and allotment, to sovereignty, ​self-determination and self-sufficiency. Throughout their more than 100-year history, they have provided national advocacy on watershed issues that support sovereignty and culture, while working at a grassroots level with Native Nations to support the implementation of programs that affect real lives on the ground.

Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities. NCAI has remained true to the original purpose of the organization: to be the unified voice of tribal nations. As outlined in the NCAI Constitution, their purpose is to serve as a forum for unified policy development among tribal governments in order to: (1) protect and advance tribal governance and treaty rights; (2) promote the economic development and health and welfare in Indian and Alaska Native communities; and (3) educate the public toward a better understanding of Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

The National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by members of the National Tribal Chairmen’s Association who called for a national organization focused on the needs of aging American Indian and Alaska Native elders. The mission of NICOA is to advocate for improved comprehensive health, social services and economic well-being for American Indian and Alaska Native elders.

Native American Capital (NAC) is led by a seasoned management team with expertise in equity and debt finance, structured financing, government relations, business strategy, and economic development. Their focus is enterprise-level financing, consolidated into the ‘Tribal Finance Toolkit,’ encompassing a diverse range of financial strategies and structures.