The Data That Secures a Yes In an environment where federal funding can shift with the political winds, relying on it as a sole foundation for progress feels increasingly uncertain. For generations, Tribal Nations have shown incredible resilience, but building a...
Balancing Equity in Tribal Workforces: Pay Compression Challenges & Solutions, by Alicia Finley, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, THRP, TMP
Pay compression is a growing issue across many organizations, including Tribal governments, enterprises, and healthcare systems. It occurs when the pay differences between employees become too narrow regardless of differences in skills, tenure, or responsibilities....
From Policy to Practice: Advancing PRC Systems to Meet Tribal Needs | From the Desk of Eric Metcalf
For many Tribal Nations, Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) plays a critical role in ensuring access to specialty and emergent services that fall outside the scope of tribally operated health clinics. While PRC is a federally funded program, its success depends heavily on...
Strengthening the Roots of Governance: Modern Bylaws for a Stronger Tomorrow
For many Tribal Nations, the foundational documents that govern day-to-day decision-making—bylaws—were written in an entirely different era. Some were drafted in the 1930s and 1940s during the early implementation of the Indian Reorganization Act. Others were written...
New FY26 Housing Appropriations: What it Means for Indian Country
The FY26 House Appropriations Bill for Indian Housing Programs offers an unexpected but welcome development: funding levels have remained largely intact, with only a $1.3 million reduction from FY25 Given prior projections of up to a 30% cut, this signals continued,...
Navigating the Big Beautiful Bill: Unlock Housing, Healthcare, and Economic Growth
The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) is one of the largest federal investment packages passed in recent years, touching nearly every sector of government, infrastructure, and public services. While the bill does not target Tribal Nations exclusively, its provisions could...
Why Sovereignty Depends on Implementation
In Tribal communities across the country, strategic plans are crafted with care, grounded in cultural values, and designed to meet urgent and long-term community needs. These plans often represent a shared vision, shaped by elders, elected leaders, program staff, and...
Clear Roles, Stronger Economies: How Ethics Codes Support Tribal Business Success
In Tribal Nations across the United States, economic development is a vehicle for sovereignty, self-reliance, and future prosperity. However, when business operations become entangled with political dynamics, what begins as a strategy for growth can quickly...
NNAHRA 2025 Annual Conference: Join Blue Stone Strategy Partners
We’re proud to announce that Blue Stone Strategy Partners will be attending the 2025 NNAHRA Annual Conference, the leading forum for Tribal Human Resources professionals committed to building stronger, more resilient Tribal Nations. Across Indian Country, many Tribes...
Reclaiming the Wheel: Tribal Strategies to Reduce Long-Term Grant Dependency
"Uncertainty creates uneasiness. Employees don’t know what’s going to happen, families don’t know their financial security. We need to ensure we are prepared and exercising sovereignty in a way that makes us independent of federal uncertainty." - Susan Masten For...
Paddling Together: How Tribal Leadership Collaboration is Strengthening Native Economics in 2025
In Native cultures across North America, the canoe has long symbolized more than transportation. It represents journey, unity, and collective purpose. Today, as economic tides shift unpredictably in 2025, Tribal Nations are once again paddling together, uniting...
50 Years of Self-Determination: The Legacy and Future of the ISDEAA | From the Desk of Eric Metcalf
A Law That Changed Everything Fifty years ago, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) marked a monumental turning point in federal Indian policy. Prior to its passage in 1975, U.S. policy was dominated by assimilation, relocation, and...