Benefits to participating tribes

CICD heard from tribal leaders across Indian Country that they need better information to make evidence-based decisions about their finances. State and local governments have long had access to public finance data that enable them to compare their revenues and expenditures to those of peer governments, but similar information has not been widely available to tribal governments.

Read a sample report

Tribal governments participating in the Survey of Native Nations receive a comprehensive, confidential report (view a sample) benchmarking their revenue and expenditure data for a given fiscal year against aggregate (unidentifiable) data for all participating tribes. The report also provides comparisons and analysis of the tribe’s revenues and expenditures in relation to those of selected state and local governments in their geographic region.

Tribes can use this information to make evidence-based decisions about their treasuries and communicate areas of financial opportunity and challenge to community members, policymakers, and other decision-makers.

Reports are confidential and shared only with those designated by the tribal government to have access to the information.

To participate

The Survey of Native Nations is open to all tribes across the country. There is no monetary cost to participating in the survey.

Our process

1. We will contact you and answer any questions you may have about your potential participation. We are available to provide briefings on the survey opportunity to tribal governments.
2. We will honor your tribe’s approval process before entering into a Survey of Native Nations collaboration.
3. We will work with you to identify three to four local and state government comparisons that are meaningful to your tribal government.
4. You will designate an individual from your tribal government to complete the survey using the secure portal.
5. We will provide your designated recipient with a comprehensive, confidential report benchmarking your tribe’s revenue and expenditure data for a given fiscal year against that of your comparison local and state governments and all tribes participating in the Survey of Native Nations (in aggregate).
6. We will work with aggregated data from the Survey of Native Nations to advance research that enhances understanding of Native economies.

Ask us to contact you about the Survey of Native Nations ›

Benefits to Indian Country

Tribes participating in the Survey of Native Nations not only enhance their understanding of their own treasuries but also contribute to a growing research base that benefits all of Indian Country by increasing understanding of public finance in tribal communities. With appropriate permissions, CICD works with data collected through the Survey of Native Nations to provide research-based insights that shed light on the distinctiveness of tribal economies. CICD’s public research publications present Survey of Native Nations data only in aggregate, with strict safeguards in place to preserve the confidentiality and anonymity of individual tribes’ data.

How the survey works

CICD honors each tribe’s approval process before entering into a Survey of Native Nations collaboration. Once a tribal government has authorized participation, CICD provides the designated tribal staff with information and one-to-one technical assistance to complete their survey.

Participating tribes enter their revenues and expenditures for a specified fiscal year into the secure survey portal. Designated respondents can complete the survey at their own pace and start and stop the survey at their convenience. Tribes can generally plan on four to eight hours to complete the survey. Once a tribal government has completed their survey, they can expect to receive their confidential report in as early as a few weeks.

Public finance data on tribes’ terms

The Survey of Native Nations was designed to honor tribes’ inherent right to govern the collection and use of their own data. The Survey of Native Nations advances public finance data in Indian Country in collaboration with tribal governments.

Sample Survey of Native Nations report charts

Initial survey pilots were conducted with tribal governments in Montana and a larger group of tribes from the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast. Based on input from tribal leaders, the survey has a flexible design enabling participating tribal governments to choose the specific revenue and expenditure data they want to provide.

CICD also offers participating tribal governments a data memorandum of understanding which details data access and use procedures, CICD’s obligations to the tribal government, and how data might be used in aggregate forms to further Indian Country economic research priorities.

CICD is responsible for safely stewarding data gathered through the Survey of Native Nations. Data entered into the Survey of Native Nations are safeguarded in the Federal Reserve System’s secure data infrastructure. The Federal Reserve has a long history of gathering and protecting confidential economic and finance data for research purposes.

The Survey of Native Nations is part of CICD’s broader work to address long-standing economic data gaps in Indian Country. As part of this work, CICD has also developed a suite of data tools that can empower Native individuals and communities to shape their economic futures by identifying needed investments and opportunities.