SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 4 - Fourteen tribal governments were honored and held up as examples of excellence last night by Harvard's Honoring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations (Honoring Nations) awards program. These programs and initiatives accepted the awards in recognition of their good governance achievements and will receive up to $10,000 each to share their stories of success. Hundreds of guests attended the ceremony held in conjunction with the 63rd Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians in Sacramento, California.

"The world is changing quickly and in major ways. The Native nations we are honoring are teaching us all how to succeed and lay the foundation for seven generations to come," said Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Indian Nation and chairman of the Honoring Nations Board of Governors. The Honoring Nations program identifies, celebrates, and shares exemplary tribal governance programs among the 560+ Indian nations in the U.S.

This is the sixth year of the Honoring Nations awards program. Since the program's inception in 1998, more than one-quarter of the tribes in the U.S. have applied for an award and 92 initiatives have been honored. "Tribes are solving complex governmental issues in meaningful ways. Their work is inspiring, and each holds examples for other governments to learn from," noted Amy Besaw, director of the program.

Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska received an "Honors" award for their Winnebago Community Development Fund (WCDF) program. The award was accepted by Matthew Pilcher, Winnebago Tribal Council Member on behalf of the Tribe at the recognition ceremony. The WCDF establishes a framework for community development based on the goals of the government and its citizens. It builds toward long-term development by matching funds for grants, building community projects, supplementing community infrastructure, increasing educational opportunities, and providing financial leverage to community projects. By having a dedicated fund, tribal governments can better address essential government responsibilities with the security of knowing the needs of many individual groups - each wit their own unique focus - are being met. Additionally, the program fosters local and regional partnerships.

This was the third Honoring Nations award for Winnebago. In 2002 the Winnebago Tribal Health Department won a "High Honors" award for the Whirling Thunder Wellness Program and in 2000 the Winnebago Tribe won "High Honors" for the creation of Ho-Chunk, Inc. as a model for economic development.

This year the seven "High Honors" that will receive $10,000 and seven "Honors" that will receive $2,000, were selected from a pool of 86 highly competitive applications representing more than 60 tribes. At each stage of the selection process applicants are evaluated on the criteria of effectiveness, significance to sovereignty, cultural relevance, transferability, and sustainability. The final round of evaluations, also held in Sacramento, included public presentations followed by questions from the Board of Governors. Modeling ideals of good governance, the Board then deliberated in a session that reflects traditional councils of many Native nations by building consensus while weighing the most pressing issues today. In addition to the awards, the Harvard Project prepares reports, case studies, and instructional materials based on the honorees' successes.

Based at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Honoring Nations is administered by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. The Harvard Project's goal is to understand the conditions under which self-determined social and economic development is achieved among American Indian nations. Honoring Nations is funded by the Ford Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and private donors. For more information about Honoring Nations, visit the Harvard Project's web site call 617-495-1480.

2006 "High Honors" (* denotes "High Honors")

*Alternative Sentencing Program
Tulalip Tribal Court, The Tulalip Tribes

*Tribal Land Title & Records Office
Housing Department
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan

*Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation
Citizen Potawatomi Nation

*Red Lake Walleye Recovery Program
Red Lake Department of Natural Resources
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians

*Navajo Methamphetamine Task Forces
Navajo Department of Behavioral Services
Navajo Nation

*Morongo Tutoring Program
Social Services Department
Morongo Band of Mission Indians

*Hopi Education Endowment Fund
The Hopi Tribe

Winnebago Community Development Fund
Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska

Indian Child Welfare Services
Department of Indian Child Welfare Services
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians

The Hopi Child Care Program
The Hopi Tribe

Homeownership: Financial, Credit & Consumer Protection Program
Umatilla Reservation Housing Authority
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Task Force on Violence Against Women
National Coalition of Native Nations and Organizations
Affiliated Through the National Congress of American Indians

Cultural Education & Revitalization Program
Makah Cultural and Research Center
Makah Nation

Bad River Recycling Solid Waste Department
Bad River Band of Lake Superior Band of Chippewa

Ho-Chunk Healthy Village
Ho-Chunk Community Development Corp. of Winnebago, Nebraska received a two-year SEDS grant for $203,635 from the ANA. The funds have been used to develop the Ho-Chunk Healthy Village, a 40-acre site designed to promote a healthy environment by blending three unique development concepts: culture, new urbanism, and active living.

Ho-Chunk Inc., which is the business arm of the Winnebago Tribe, will construct and incorporate walking paths, diverse retail and office space, tribal offices, a civic center for community gatherings, a wellness center, and multi-family homes into its Ho-Chunk Village. This project will create new jobs and economic opportunity for Tribal and community members. The Ho-Chunk Healthy Village serves as a role model for future development projects.

On Tuesday, January 20th, an exciting event occurred in Ho-Chunk Village. Kiva Harden and her brother William Harden along with Kiva's three children, ages 9, 6, and 2, moved into their new home. Manufactured by Dynamic Homes in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, their home was set and finished by HCI Construction. (Dynamic Homes and HCI Construction are subsidiaries of Ho-Chunk, Inc.) The home features 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, over 2,900 square feet of living space and a three bay attached garage.

Prior to the Harden's moving into their new home, they occupied a small, 3 bedroom mobile home in Walthill, NE. Kiva reported that their old home was too small, hard to heat, and because of inadequate insulation, frozen plumbing pipes was a constant problem every winter.

We congratulate Kiva and William on their new home!