Explore a reading list curated by the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development at the Ash Center, which is part of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Featuring articles, books, and podcasts. This list was created for students and learners who want to gain a better understanding of Indigenous governance throughout history and into the present day.
The reading list includes topics like intergovernmental relations, history, leadership, blood quantum, energy, economic development, land dispossession, water rights, Indian child welfare, and climate change.
Article Series
“Waiting for Water,” High Country News
Books
“Carbon Sovereignty: Coal, Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation,” by Andrew Curley
“Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory,” by Claudio Saunt
“Thinkin in Indian: A John Mohawk Reader,” edited by Jose Barreiro
“Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe,” by David Maraniss
“Our Beloved Kin: A new history of King Philip’s War,” by Lisa Brooks
“The Great Vanishing Act: Blood Quantum and the Future of Native Nations,” by Norbert S. Hill Jr. and Kathleen Ratteree
“The Grass Dancer,” by Mona Susan Power
“Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” by David Grann
“The State of the Native Nations: Conditions Under U.S Policies of Self-Determination,” by Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
Podcasts
“This Land,” Rebeca Nagle