The Native Lands Advocacy Project (NLAP) is initiative of Village Earth a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization with over 20 years promoting tribal sovereignty and self-determination with Native peoples and tribes in the United States.
The extreme economic disparities found on most Native American Reservations are relatively unknown by policy makers and the general public. According to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), "this invisibility is perpetuated by federal and state agencies and policies that leave American Indians and Alaska Natives out of data collection efforts, data reporting and analysis." This also hinders Tribe's ability manage their lands and assess the Government's performance as trustee.
The Native Lands Advocacy Project (NLAP) was formed to address the longstanding need for timely, accurate data in Indian Country. We do this making existing datasets accessible to tribes, developing educational materials for public, and compelling Federal agencies to practice better transparency and accountability. With over 20 years experience in data collection and analysis in Indian Country we have launched a first of its kind web-based Native Land Information System (NLIS).
Both the US Supreme Court and US Congress have affirmed the federal government's moral and fiduciary responsibility to native people. However, the government fails to make data available to tribes and the public to independently assess it's performance as Trustee. By making data available and accessible, we hope to compel the federal government to honor its historic and ongoing commitments to native peoples. We also seek to develop tools that empower tribes to better plan and manage their lands.
