NCAI Policy Research Center

One of the key functions of the NCAI Policy Research Center (PRC) is to disseminate data and research on topics of significance to tribal leaders. Over the years, we have developed a range of publications and resources to share information, feature successful tribal initiatives, and identify key strategies for advancing tribal policy and research agendas. All publications and products are the intellectual property of NCAI and all work must be attributed to NCAI with the suggested citation in each resource or publication. 

COVID-19 Situation Summary

View our weekly summary of publicly available data and trends on COVID-19 in Indian Country. This report will be updated each week on Tuesdays or Wednesday.

NCAI COVID-19 Data Situation Summary (June 29, 2022)

View other resources related to COVID-19 data:

AI/AN COVID-19 State Data Disaggregation Review (August 28, 2020)

2020 Census Data Releases

NEW: A First Look at the 2020 Census American Indian/Alaska Native Redistricting Data. The purpose of this data update is to provide Tribal Nations and partners with a first look at American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) population counts collected and released for the 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data File.

NEW:  2020 Census Results: Regional Tribal Land Data Summary. The purpose of this data update is to provide a first look at population data for U.S. Census Bureau tribal geographies (tribal lands) collected during the 2020 Census based on the P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data File.

NEW: 2020 Census Results: NCAI Region Tribal Land Data: The purpose of this data update is to provide a first look at 2020 Census population data for individual tribal geographies (tribal lands) in each NCAI Region as collected during the 2020 Census and based on the P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data File. The reports for each NCAI Region are listed below. 

NCAI 2020 Census Tribal Lands Population Count Generator (2021). This interactive tool provides population counts for Tribal Lands (U.S. Census Bureau geographies) from the 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data File release. Counts may vary in future 2020 Census data product releases due to potential decisions about privacy protection and production choices by the U.S. Census Bureau and based on tribal consultation and stakeholder input. 

2020 Census Response Rates

We published weekly reports on 2020 Census self-response rates for tribal lands (geographies) as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The final reports are listed below.

2021- 2022 Native Vote Reports

Native Vote Report - 2020 AI/AN Voter Turnout and Registration Data

Native Vote Report - 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial Race

Native Vote Report - 2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data File and the AI/AN Voting Age Population

2020 Native Vote Reports

View our final Native Vote Election Report posted on 12/15/2020.

We posted Native Vote Reports for each NCAI Region that provide an overview of the percent of AI/AN voting age population, close national and state elections where the Native vote could impact the race depending on turnout, and information on Native candidates. The final pre-election reports are listed below.

PRC Research Updates

*As of 2022, these research updates will no longer be published. The NCAI Policy Research Center will provide updates in the new NCAI Convention Magazine and on twitter at @ncaiprc.

Research Policy Updates on the Common Rule

These updates provide a brief overview of some of the recent changes to the Common Rule, or the HHS Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects. 

• Final Rule: Part 1 - Human Subjects Research and Protections (January 2019). This update provides background information on human subjects research protections and information for individuals considering volunteering to participate in research.

• Final Rule: Part 2 - Overview of Changes to the Common Rule (January 2019). This update provides a brief overview of some of the main changes to human subjects research protections in the Final Rule.

• Final Rule: Part 3 - Informed and Broad Consent (January 2019). This update focuses on changes made from the Final Rule to informed consent and the addition of Broad Consent. For tribes and tribal members, this is particularly important to understand before volunteering for and approving research.

• Final Rule: Part 4 - Overview of Single IRB (sIRB) (January 2019). This update focuses on the new requirement for a single IRB in multi-site studies, and options for Tribes to still require tribal review.

• Final Rule: Part 5 - Options for Tribal Review and Tribal Research Codes (January 2019). This update emphasizes the importance for tribes to have tribal research codes. The Final Rule now requires federally-funded researchers to follow tribal law.

• Final Rule: Part 6 - Exempt Research (June 2019). This update reviews changes in exempt research categories in the Final Rule.

• The Final Rule: Part 7 - Examples of Tribal Research Laws (July 2019). This update reviews the importance of tribes developing their own research laws and provides some examples of existing tribal research laws.

• DOWNLOAD all documents - Parts 1-7 - in one document here.

Research and Policy Briefs

These publications serve to clarify a policy issue or identify a policy strategy through an analysis of current data and research. 

• Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Research Needs (2022). This update provides a broad overview of the findings of a recent literature review on the research and data needs on environmental sustainability/climate change for Tribal Nations and provides recommendations for future research. 

• Watt S, Record I, Roubideaux Y (2022). Twenty Years of Research Into the Health Impacts of Native-themed Mascots: A Scoping Review. Am Indian Alsk Native Ment Health Res. 2022;29(1):92-129. doi: 10.5820/aian.2901.2022.92. Read our Mascot Research Overview document.

• Lucero JE, Roubideaux Y (2022). Advancing Diabetes Prevention and Control in American Indians and Alaska Natives. Annu Rev Public Health. 2022; 43:461-475. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-093019-010011.

• Research Policy Update - The American Community Survey (2022). This update provides a broad overview of the ACS and its importance to Tribal Nations. 

• Research Policy Update - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Partnering with Tribal Nations on Research (2021). This update provides answers to frequently asked questions from those interested in partnering on research studies with Tribal Nations and AI/ANs. The answers are intended as general advice, and researchers should work directly with Tribal Nations and understand and follow their priorities, laws, policies, and research oversight mechanisms. 

• Research Policy Update - 2021 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report - What is it? Why is it Important? This research update provides an overview of the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group 1, with highlights on data related to climate change and additional resources.

• Research Policy Update - State of the Data on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Girls. This document is an update of our 2018 Research Update on Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and summarizes the latest data on this topic.

• American Indian and Alaska Native Youth in the Juvenile Justice System - Policies and Practices (2021). This research report provides an update on a landscape analysis of state policies on arrest and confinement of AI/AN youth to determine if there were differences in states with over-, equal-, and under-representation of AI/AN youth in the justice system.

• Review of Available Data and Literature on Services for American Indian and Alaska Native Victims of Crime (2020). This research report provides a review of available data and literature on services for AI/AN victims of crime, provides a visual timeline of the crime victimization process, and highlights gaps in information available for the analysis of crimes, victims, and victim services.  

• Decennial Census: Key Uses of the Data (2020). This research policy update identifies key differences between the 2020 Decennial Census and other U.S. Census Bureau surveys, and also highlights key uses of the Decennial Census, including apportionment, federal funding formulas, tribal governance and policy decisions, and research. This information can be communicated to AI/AN individuals to encourage them to complete the 2020 Census.

• American Indian and Alaska Native Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: A Guide to the Data (2020). This research policy update describes the methodology and findings of the 2018 GAO report Native American Youth: Involvement in Justice Systems and Information on Grants to Help Address Juvenile Delinquency, identifies potential research questions and provides a data guide to sources of AI/AN juvenile justice data. 

• Intellectual Property Rights and Tribal Nations (2019). This research update provides an overview of intellectual property rights in research and what tribal nations can do to protect their intellectual property when they are involved in research studies.

• Becoming Visible: A Landscape Analysis of State Efforts to Provide Native American Education for All (2019). This report reviews the results of a landscape analysis of current state efforts to implement high-quality educational content about Native Americans for all K-12 students. The report also includes recommendations for implementation of Native American education policies, curricula, and professional development. A toolkit of resources for tribal nations, education leaders, and policy advocates is included to provide resources for work towards Native American Education for All.

• Differential Privacy and the 2020 U.S. Decennial Census: Impact on American Indian and Alaska Native Data (2019). The purpose of this research brief is to describe the U.S. Census Bureau's adoption of Differential Privacy methods that will help protect the confidentiality of individuals who respond to the 2020 Census but may cause certain AI/AN data products and tables to not be available to the public. The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting a tribal consultation on this issue at the 2019 NCAI Annual Conference.

• First Kids 1st Data Resource Book (2019). The purpose of the First Kids 1st Data Resource Book is to provide a resource to tribal nations and others on the latest research and data that can be used to help implement systems of support for Native youth to thrive. The Data Resource Book includes a review of recent literature on protective and risk factors in helping Native youth thrive, and examples of data indicators that can help tribal nations see whether Native youth are thriving in four areas: healthy lifestyles; successful students; supportive environments; and vibrant communities. View the annotated bibliography from the literature review in the Appendix.  VIew our new Native Youth Data Brief based on data in the Data Resource Book.

• Will You Count? American Indians and Alaska Natives in the 2020 Census. This policy brief was developed by The Leadership Conference Education Fund, the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law, and NCAI's Amber Ebarb contributed to this useful and important document. While its last update was in 2018, the information is important as we begin work to encourage all AI/ANs to be counted in the 2020 Census. For information on NCAI's Census work, visit: http://indiancountrycounts.org/

• Climate Change: Definitions, Impacts, Data (October 2018). This monograph reviews definitions of climate change, indicators of climate change, regional impacts, and data resources for tribes to measure and track as they take action for their communities.

• Education Data Checklist (October 2018). This checklist is a part of the new NCAI Tribal Leaders Toolkit: Education Choice for Indian Country and the checklist includes links to data and information on schools and student data available for tribes. 

• Diabetes and Behavioral Health Comorbidites: Advancing the Tribal Behavioral Health Agenda (May 2018). This monograph reviews the literature for the latest research on diabetes and behavioral health conditions in AI/ANs when they are comorbid i.e. occur together in an individual and makes policy recommendations. 

• Disaggregating American Indian & Alaska Native Data: A Review of the Literature (July 2016). This report reviews a variety of sources to assess the potential and possibility of disaggregating AI/AN data to improve health outcomes. This report was created in 2016 as a part of a series of reports now recently launched for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's initiative: Making the Case for Data Disaggregation to Advance a Culture of Health. 
  

• Research Policy Update: The Opioid Epidemic: Definitions, Data, Solutions (March 2018). This update provides information on the complexity of the opioid epidemic, and provides information on definitions, current data for the U.S. and AI/AN overdose deaths and discusses the origins of this epidemic along with possible solutions.

• Research Policy Update: NIH All of Us Research Program: An Update for Tribal Leaders (Winter 2018). This update provides detailed information on the NIH All of Us Research Program and encourages tribal leaders to participation in consultation on this research program. 

• Research Policy Update: Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women (Winter 2018). This update provides a summary of data trends related to violence against AI/AN women, non-Native perpetrators of violence against AI/AN women and access to services & justice.

• The National Tribal Behavioral Health Agenda: Improving the Behavioral Health of American Indians and Alaska Natives (October 2017). This brief provides a summary of the National Tribal Behavioral Health Agenda which was developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration after conversations and consultations with tribal leaders and includes policy recommendations. 

• Research Policy Update: Tribal Implications of the Revised Common Rule and NIH single IRB Policy (Fall 2017). This update provides information on two federal policies with implications for research with tribal populations. The PRC, along with several tribes and tribal organizations, have tracked revisions and advocated for respect for tribal sovereignty within the research process.

• Responding to the Opioid Crisis: An Update for Tribal Leaders (Summer 2017). This brief summarizes impact trends of the opioid crisis in Native communities and provides tribal leaders with recommendations for prevention and intervention to protect the health of their citizens.

• Policy Insights Brief: Statistics on Violence Against Native Women (Spring 2013). This brief synthesizes available data on violence against Native women to guide policy decision-making and media reporting. This brief stands alongside supplemental materials compiled in NCAI's Violence Against Women Act Toolkit.

Research Reports

These reports feature data points and syntheses of insights from tribal case studies to guide the work of other tribes. The objective of these publications is to highlight tribal policies and interventions and to foster nation-to-nation collaboration and information sharing to replicate success. 

• The State of Tribal Data Capacity in Indian Country: Key Findings from the Survey of Tribal Data Practices (2018). This monograph describes the results of a survey of tribal data practices across Indian Country.

• Recommendations from Tribal Experiences with Tribal Censuses and Surveys (2017). This monograph discusses lessons learned from the experience of tribes funded to plan and conduct their own censuses and surveys.

• Meeting the Reporting Requirements of Federal Agencies (2017). This monograph estimates the time and cost of tribes as they work to meet federal reporting requirements.

• The Geospatial Dimensions of Tribal Data (2017). This monograph reviews the use of data by federal agencies related to tribal and program service populations and geographic services areas.

• Human and Sex Trafficking: Trends and Responses across Indian Country (Spring 2016). Increasingly, communities across Indian Country are being directly impacted by labor and sex trafficking of their women, men, and children. This report compiles data trends and shares tribal codes designed to combat these heinous crimes.

• Translating Science: Research and Communities Addressing Diabetes in American Indian and Alaska Native Populations (Fall 2015). This report describes the evolution of diabetes in American Indian and Alaska Native communities in order to emphasize the systemic levers that are essential in combating this disease and to support tribal nations in promoting health for their citizens.

• Tribal Transportation Insights: Preventing Unintentional Injury and Death (Fall 2014). In a continuing effort to draw attention to matters of public health in tribal communities, this report focuses on the complex transportation safety challenges and opportunities facing tribal communities. 

• Preventing Unintentional Injury & Death on Reservation Roads (Summer 2013). Unintentional injuries (e.g., motor vehicle accidents, falls, poisoning) are the second leading cause of death for Native people. This report presents data and discusses prevention efforts, summarizes 18 tribal safety codes, and provides recommendations.

• Higher Education and Workforce Development: Leveraging Tribal Investments to Advance Community Goals (Summer 2012). This report features six tribal case studies detailing innovative approaches to encouraging the pursuit of higher education and bolstering tribal workforce development.

Resources

These resources serve a more general purpose, providing research and background on critical policy topics for tribal leaders and/or tips and data for researchers, tribal programs, and practitioners.

• Tips for Researchers: Strengthening Research that Benefits Native Youth (Fall 2016). The meaningful inclusion of youth in research often requires particular protocols and methodologies given the unique status of youth as “vulnerable populations.” This resource provides guidance for improving research with Native youth, highlighting successful case studies of community-based participatory research.

• Resilience & Trauma Backgrounder (Fall 2015). This backgrounder provides an overview of key statistics and concepts relevant to understanding trauma in Indian Country, a summary of available evidence on the health impacts of trauma, and examples of how tribal communities are engaging in efforts to heal and build resilience. 

• Analysis of Towns in Reservation Lands (Spring 2015). This analysis includes the overall population, both Indian and non-Indian, living in towns/cities inside reservations. According to Census data, there are hundreds of towns and cities within the boundaries of reservations that are predominantly populated by non-Indians.

• Marijuana Policy in the U.S.: Information for Tribal Leaders (Spring 2015). In response to the U.S. Department of Justice's Cole Memorandum concerning tribal control over marijuana policies on their lands, the PRC produced a one-pager with data points and research to support tribal leader decision-making.

• Native Boys and Young Men Backgrounder (Spring 2014). In an effort to provide a portrait of the status of Native boys and young men and to complement the My Brother's Keeper Initiative, the PRC produced a synthesis of data and programming efforts focused on this group.

• Impact Study of Gaming Per Capita Distributions (2014)

• Native Languages Backgrounder (Fall 2013). Responding to a request by NCAI’s Native Languages Task Force, the PRC developed a synthesis of research information on models for Native language instruction.

• Jobs Backgrounder (Summer 2013). This resource highlights employment data trends and the workforce development efforts in place at the United Tribes Technical College, Sealaska Corporation and Sealaska Heritage Institute, and the Economic Policy Institute. 

• Walk Softly and Listen Carefully: Building Research Relationships with Tribal Communities Report (Summer 2012). In partnership with Montana State University’s Center for Native Health Partnerships, the PRC developed a resource guide to provide insights for researchers committed to developing research that benefits Native peoples. 

Data Profiles

These profiles provide a snapshot of key demographic data in some of the top legislative areas where national figures and trends guide NCAI’s policy work. The NCAI Policy Research Center aims to feature strengths-based measures wherever possible. 

• A Spotlight on Native Two Spirit (LGBT) Communities (Fall 2015). The NCAI Policy Research Center wanted to highlight the status of Native LBGT and Two Spirit communities by sharing data and reports that show where we are gaining ground and where further support is needed.

• Our Native Youth Being Pushed Into Prison? A School to Prison Pipeline Infographic (Spring 2015). This infographic highlights trends in school suspensions and expulsions, as well juvenile arrests and detentions, among Native youth. 

• A Spotlight on Native Women & Girls (Spring 2015). Coinciding with the release of the Status of Women in the States Report, the Policy Research Center synthesized research relating to Native women and girls across the country. Data relating to their education, economic opportunity, health, political representation, and other key policy areas are shared.

• A Spotlight on Native Boys & Young Men (Fall 2014). This infographic reviews health, education, and employment outcomes for Native boys and young men. It also addresses voting patterns and rates of military service. 

• Demographic Profile of Indian Country (Fall 2012). This profile provides a snapshot of 2010 Census data on tribal populations, economies, housing, energy, public safety, health, and education. 

Tribal Data Drum

The Tribal Data Drum Newsletter featured updated for the NCAI Policy Research Center.

Summer 2016 Tribal Data Drum
Spring 2016 Tribal Data Drum
Winter 2015 Tribal Data Drum