Policy Issues

American Indian and Alaska Native governments, and their citizens, are engaged in a broad range of policy areas. Some issues are completely unique to Native peoples, tribal governments, and nations. In many other instances, tribal governments are important policymakers in partnership with the federal and state governments.

NCAI takes a comprehensive approach to advocating for tribally driven policy solutions at the tribal, federal, state, and local level. While the array of topics impacting Indian Country has evolved since 1944, NCAI’s core focus remains the same—enhancing and protecting the sovereignty of tribal nations.

To advance this mission, NCAI’s advocacy efforts are organized into five policy issue areas: Community & Culture; Economic Development & Commerce; Education, Health, & Human Services; Land & Natural Resources; and Tribal Governance. Each of these five areas serves as starting points for advancing and understanding the cross-cutting and multi-dimensional issues that advance NCAI’s mission.

The policy advocacy and issue education work of NCAI are driven by the resolutions passed by our membership and complemented by the organization’s conferences and events, initiatives and partnerships, campaigns, and other resources.