Sovereign Data Alliance

The Federal government does not collate and publish spending data for tribal programs on a year-over-year, tribe-by-tribe basis with sufficient granularity. This lack of data analytics results in arbitrary Federal measures of progress for tribal programs, complexities and inefficiencies in developing tribal budgets, and information asymmetry disfavoring tribes during the appropriations and budget formulation process. Data is published each year, but generally compares only prior year to current year amounts.

To begin to solve this issue, I created a comprehensive baseline dataset measuring 21 years of Federal appropriations for U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs programs. My first application analyzed the dataset to measure whether program funding has kept pace with inflation.

Expanding this dataset would provide Federally-recognized tribes with information to produce improved tribal budgets and Federal funding advocacy tools at a drastically lower cost to each tribe or tribal organization.

In December 2018, the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) released its report titled, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans. The report found that tribal programs remain chronically underfunded and that the Federal government has failed to keep accurate, consistent, and comprehensive records of Federal spending on tribal programs, making monitoring of Federal spending to meet its obligations difficult. Further, this lack of data makes budgeting at the tribal level more complex and costly. 

According to 2019 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, approximately 7 million American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) live in the U.S. Between 2010 and 2019, the AI/AN population grew at a rate more than twice that of the U.S. population as a whole (13.1 percent compared to 6.3 percent, respectively). The total landmass under the control of tribes is about 100 million acres, and would make Indian Country the fourth largest state in the United States.

Tribes are vibrant, resilient, and growing; but the failure to keep comprehensive Federal spending records has harmed and continues to harm all tribes and their people. Collating this data for tribal use directly relates to addressing inefficiencies at the tribal and Federal government level. 

I have already produced a 21-year proof of concept. However, collating Federal spending data takes time, and any true measure of the progress of Federal spending on trust and treaty obligations should include a measure of non-tribal programs, so that tribal spending is measured against overall Federal spending. Federal spending data is published and available online, which allows for the remote automation of this data collation process using computer programming.

My solution uses personal experience, expertise, and Python programming to scrape the internet for this data, read and locate the information within a PDF, and enter that data into an excel spreadsheet for analysis. Currently, I have created a web scraper and PDF search engine using Python. The web scraper combs directed websites and download PDFs into a central folder. The PDF search engine relies on a PDF reader and keyword search command to produce requested results within that folder. Since I have manually completed the project as a proof of concept, I need to expand the program to locate specified data and enter that data into an excel spreadsheet. Automating this function will drastically reduce time in producing program datasets, accelerating the project and allowing more time for analysis.

The target population whose lives I am working directly and meaningfully improve are all 574 Federally-recognized tribes, each with a unique government-to-government relationship with the United States that includes certain trust and treaty obligations to each respective tribal government and their people. Currently, I engage with tribes and tribal advocates from across the Nation to demonstrate the dataset, its features and capabilities, and to receive input on improvements that would help tribal governments. 

Collating and analyzing this data on a year-over-year, tribe-by-tribe basis will allow for each tribe to utilize the data to better produce budgets for the current year and future years. This will be made possible by calculating each tribe's Federal share of a program to produce estimates of disbursements ahead of Executive Branch communications and by creating predictive funding models to estimate future program disbursements based on political and economic conditions. Further, spending models and methodologies can be developed that are unique to each tribe to automate reasonably identifiable and quantifiable costs and revenues across program recipient operations. 

Tribes utilizing the data would also be able to put forward improved funding advocacy requests that identify specific dollar amounts backed by quantifiable data evidencing the amount of spending necessary to address unmet trust and treaty obligations within funded programs at a particular tribe or in the aggregate. These tools could also be utilized to improve the collaborative effort and reduce the requisite labor input of tribal advisory councils throughout the Federal government, resulting in cost savings for tribal and Federal governments. 

Effectively, analyses provided by the Sovereign Data Alliance can put a budget analyst with specific Federal funding expertise and experience at every tribe in the country at a lower cost than recruiting and maintaining that personnel at each respective tribe - a labor pool that is already extremely limited and in current and future need. With an expanded dataset and improved analytics developed by the Sovereign Data Alliance, I seek to solicit sponsorship from tribes, tribal organizations, tribal citizens, economic enterprises, and the general public to grow the business' assets and to recruit and maintain a board of directors for the Sovereign Data Alliance represented by duly elected tribal leaders from across the United States. Each tribe has a unique relationship with the United States that is premised on the political, historical, cultural, and geographical significance of each respective relationship. Maintaining a meaningful and direct connection with tribes and tribal communities on an ongoing basis is a cornerstone of the Sovereign Data Alliance's mission to advance the trust and treaty obligations owed to each tribe by the United States.

The Federal government is filled with tribal-specific programs that address trust and treaty obligations across all of the fellowship's dimensions within the U.S. Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Commerce, Labor, Agriculture, Energy, Justice, Homeland Security, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Treasury, the Small Business Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Federal Communications Commission. Collation and analyses of tribal program data can support improved budgets and budgeting that affect nearly all aspects of tribal lives and livelihoods. This effort can improve the lives of millions.

This solution is in the prototype phase because an initial proof of concept has been completed, its application and value have been demonstrated to tribes and the general public, and proprietary software is in development that addresses the time constraints of expanding the dataset and subsequent analyses.

My solution provides a significantly improved approach to tribal budgeting for the operation of Federal programs and tribal advocacy for Federal budgeting and spending because no one has published the collation of Federal spending on tribal programs over time in a holistic way. Creating predictive trend models and advanced policymaking analytics based on a novel dataset can result in improved budgets for tribal programs, improved tribal advocacy and advocacy tools, and reduce time and labor inefficiencies in the development of local tribal budgets. Producing improved analytics based on quantifiable data with less time and labor input reduces opportunity costs lost to uncertainty and information asymmetry. Potential savings and growth in federal spending could be repurposed to new ventures that improve the lives of tribal communities and surrounding areas. 

Collating this data for tribal and public use could be the catalyst to dramatically improve Federal spending on the United States' trust and treaty obligations to tribes and their citizens. Analyzing tribal shares of federal programs in a holistic way could reveal inequalities in historical federal spending decisions that harm some or all tribal governments both in the past and currently. Access to this holistic dataset could also improve the negotiating power of tribes by reducing information asymmetry during negotiations. Collating federal spending data could enable broader positive impacts from other tribal advocates by providing key data, analytics, and trend models that bolster tribal advocacy in other federal Native American policy areas.

The core technology that powers my solution is communication and experiential learning, but the solution is facilitated by proprietary software that accelerates the collection and organization of large aggregate data on federal spending for Native American programs. Where data analytics rely on methodologies developed through collaboration and experience, proprietary financial formulas accelerate my solution, reducing time and labor input while increasing value to the end user and intended beneficiaries of my solution.

The use of Python and other computer programming languages to automate research and collation tasks is well evidenced by the proliferation of software applications; constant advancements in computer hardware; and increased technology adoption across economic, educational, and governmental sectors. However, application of these methods to the collation of federal spending data for Native American programs is a novel application of this technology. Budgeting software has existed for decades, and improving the application of budgeting methods by expanding the data that is available and relied on is a tested solution to reduce time and labor input to achieve similar or improved outcomes. Applying custom created analytics relies on math and logic functions that are published and taught from grade school to graduate school. 

The computer programming methods proposed by this solution are all evidenced in Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 2d., by Al Sweigart. https://automatetheboringstuff...

Since the federal spending data is already published, risks to collation of this data are relatively minimal. Collating client data in the future presents privacy and security risks that must be mitigated by storing client data securely through encryption methods. However, this solution is in the prototype phase, where the proof of concept is being expanded using only publicly available data. There is a risk that poorly coded programming for actions such as web-scraping will crash target websites or result in an IP address ban of the requestor, but this risk can be mitigated by testing programming on a model of the intended target webpage or webpages. There is a risk that the encoding of financial data is imputed incorrectly, but this risk can be mitigated by programming a compliance check that compares the values entered into data management software with information found in the source published data. This risk could be further mitigated by personnel with specific experience and expertise that verify that the compliance function is accurate and effective. The collation of publicly available data could reveal information that is perceived as private but is actually public and not as easily quantifiable by an individual without the assistance of computers. This risk can be mitigated by not wholesale publishing the dataset and protecting the dataset with encryption. There are business risks that another entity could collate the data and provide similar services, but this risk can be mitigated by cultivating collaborative partnerships with clients to maintain business relationships.

I expect my solution to have an impact on the problem of the United States' failure to upholds its trust and treaty obligations to tribes in the United States and to empower tribal stakeholders and tribal communities by increasing federal spending on those obligations and reducing time and labor inefficiencies within tribal and federal operations. I believe my solution will do this by revealing an otherwise fractionated picture of progress in fulfillment of these obligations that has contributed to the chronic underfunding of Native American programs cited by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) in both 2003 and 2018. Eleven of the 12 regular annual appropriations bills include funding for the benefit of tribal governments, education, economic enterprises, and communities. Throughout each year, tribal representatives negotiate, advocate, plan, and implement based on the best available data in hopes of improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of tribal communities and the people they serve. My solution will provide never-before-seen datasets and analytics to a broader audience with reduced costs, which are poised to reduce opportunity costs associated with achieving the same community and individual progress outcomes without access to my solution.

USCCR, A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country, (2003), https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/na0...

USCCR, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, (2018), https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/201...

The nature of my solution inherently serves all tribal governments and their citizens. My proof of concept federal spending dataset, original analytics, and a custom built program allocation calculator through Microsoft Excel are currently in use by the Tribal/Interior Budget Council for the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Council is comprised of 24 primary tribal leader delegates from each of the 12 Bureau of Indian Affairs regions. The Council serves to represent all 574 Federally-recognized tribes and their citizens. Tribal citizenship enrollment is a fluctuating number and is not currently made publicly available in the aggregate. 

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that in 2020, approximately 7.14 million American Indian or Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) live in the United States. However, race for the U.S. Census is based on self-reporting and may be different than the number of citizens eligible to receive services for certain Native American programs, while still being eligible for other services by virtue of their self-identification. As of May 9, 2021, AI/AN statistics for the 2020 Decennial Census have not been made publicly available. In 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau published national population projections estimating through 2060. https://www.census.gov/data/da... Relying on this data as the best available data on the number of people served by my solution, the following estimates are provided: 

• Currently, approximately 7.14 million
• In one year, approximately 7.23 million
• In five years, approximately 7.57 million

My impact goals are to improve federal spending on Native American programs and reduce time, money, and labor input by tribes and tribal advocates in achieving this outcome. 

In the next year, I will expand the dataset to include 21 years of President's Budget Requests to Congress for Indian Affairs programs; include distribution data for each tribe; and expand the dataset to include, at least, all tribal and non-tribal programs within the jurisdiction of House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, Subcommittees on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. I intend to achieve this impact goal by completing my Python program to automate the collation of this data and accelerate collection and organization of the data for further analysis. 

In the next five years, my impact goals are to expand the dataset to include as many years of data as are available for federal spending on tribal and non-tribal programs across the 11 of 12 regular appropriations bills. My impact goals within the next five years also include implementation of the data for prospective client use and to generate capital to grow the assets and personnel of the Sovereign Data Alliance. 

Certain programs rely on distribution methodologies that are found in the U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, or Department/Agency manuals and guidance. Within five years, I will expand available datasets to include those formulas and the underlying data they rely on through collaboration with clients.

I am currently measuring progress toward my impact goals based on the published spending data for tribal programs across the 12 regular appropriations bills. Since the nature of the solution is to collate spending data on a year-over-year, tribe-by-tribe basis, the progress of this impact goal is easily quantifiable - how many years have been collated, for how many Native American programs, and for how many individual tribes. I am also measuring progress toward these goals by measuring whether budgets and spending for Native American programs improve within the programs that my proof of concept dataset currently measures, analyzes, and advocates for. 

Another measure of progress toward my impact goals is the amount of time that is saved by automating collation of data. This is another easily quantifiable measure - how much time did it take for me to create and finalize the same amount of data as the proof of concept?

Progress toward my impact goals is also measured by prospective client interests and the number of clients served by the Sovereign Data Alliance. Since the Sovereign Data Alliance is in its initial start-up phase, it does not have a dedicated web presence to measure information like site visits, clicks, or use of words and phrases that would strongly indicate a nexus in its work. Development of an online presence with standard interest metrics and sound records keeping of client transactions will quantify progress toward my impact goals. Currently, several tribal leaders have praised the project and its goals.

The most pressing barrier to accomplishment of my goals in the next year and five years is finalizing the programming that automates the research and data collation effort, which is controlled by time and financial constraints. More specifically, I work full time+ for a national tribal advocacy nonprofit and have been going to law school part-time for the last four years. In late July 2021, I take the Bar Exam. The data necessary to accomplish my goals is readily available in a relatively uniform format. The research and collation methods have been confirmed and implemented. Analyses of the existing dataset have been produced and published for tribal and Federal use. However, expansion of the dataset, including improved research and collation methods through automation, take time that has been difficult to afford until recently. These time and financial constraints on my ability to advance the Sovereign Data Alliance are coming to an end, and I do not expect these barriers to persist. While I individually possess the physical and intellectual resources to continue to complete the project "by hand," finalizing and fully implementing programming to reduce labor are cornerstones of accomplishing my one year and five year goals with this solution.

To overcome the previously identified barriers, I have graduated from Law School and expect to be finished with Bar Examinations on July 28, 2021. This will drastically free up my time outside of my current employment to finalize the programming to automate research and collation of the expanded dataset. Should I run into any programming issues, I will pursue collaboration with experienced computer programmers to resolve any issues that I may run into that are beyond my skill to resolve or become a labor sink such that it becomes a better business solution to seek collaborative partnership. I currently have a server class computer that I built with a friend that can carry the workload of the program, necessary source data, and created work products. However, I could also use cloud computing platforms that would far outpace the capabilities of my server, as well as provide security and client access services as the idea scales. Right now, I own the assets with enough power to accomplish my contemplated one year goals, but paying for enterprise-grade cloud services is an option for scaling that addresses some risk concerns previously identified.

I am currently the only person working on my solution team.

Growing up in Oklahoma, I remember stories from my family that the local lumber yard would not provide my tribe a few thousand dollars of lumber on credit to construct wheelchair ramps for our community. They weren't sure that our tribe could pay them back. I watched our government grow from unable to afford basic necessities to the fourth largest employer in Oklahoma. I remember what it did for my family, for my neighbors, for our community, and for our spirit. I had never been further away from home than the next state over to see grandma, but I remember so vividly when my uncle showed pictures of his trip to Washington, DC on behalf of the Chickasaw Nation. I was proud of him, of our people. I wanted to help people like he did. 

I currently serve as a Policy Analyst for the National Congress of American Indians covering federal budgets, appropriations, and self-determination and self-governance policy. I began my national service to Indian Country in 2014, when I was hired by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Self Governance (OSG). During my time with OSG, I developed a specific understanding of the unique historical, cultural, and geographic distinctions that are the inherent underpinnings of the need for strong government-to-government relationships between tribes and the United States. Before joining NCAI, I also served in the Indian Affairs, Office of Budget and Performance Management developing predictive spending models for use in formulation of the President's Annual Budget Justification.

My experience at the national level of tribal advocacy informs the core mission of the Sovereign Data Alliance. With respect to Federal funding of the United States' trust and treaty obligations to tribes, a 'one size' solution does not fit all and is one of the key concepts that drove me to begin this mission. Trust and treaty obligations vary from tribe to tribe; and historical, cultural, and geographic differences drive the value of the various Federal programs in each respective tribal community. Without a detailed analysis of program inputs and outcomes from fisheries to forestry, to electrification, communication, or public safety and justice, we lose the definition that is necessary to address funding solutions in a diverse, equitable, and inclusive way. The Sovereign Data Alliance seeks guidance from its sisters, mothers, bothers, fathers, cousins, aunts, uncles, and elders across the globe, both Native and non-Native, of all genders and those with two spirits, so that we can build a better future for all people. It respects its elders and the many heads they wear to guide us. The Sovereign Data Alliance knows that when we give breath to our ideas they no longer belong to us, but to the people, and that we have an obligation for our words to represent the people. 

I am applying to Solve for support and partnership to help bring a marketable solution to market more quickly and to have a greater positive impact on the world we share. I firmly believe in the power of my solution to promote transformative change for the betterment of society. I have specific experience and expertise with federal budgets and appropriations and reputation and rapport with tribal governments, the federal government, policy advocates, and businesses throughout the United States. However, I lack the experience of starting and growing my own business and recognize that my solution is still in its early stages. I also recognize that education is a life-long endeavor that is catalyzed through communication and collaboration. Support from Solve can accelerate implementation of my solution; improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Native Americans; and contribute to solutions to some of the greatest existential threats of our lifetime, such as climate change and social inequality.

Solve can help me overcome business development barriers through access to mentorship, coaching, and strategic advice from experts and peers within the Solve and MIT networks. Media and industry exposure through Solve would serve as a platform for further collaborative and partnership opportunities both within and approximately outside of Solve and MIT's networks of support. Solve can also help me with access to initial start-up resources to promote accelerated development and improvements to my solution such as access to financing and in-kind resources such as software licenses and legal services. 

The Sovereign Data Alliance welcomes all forms of support mentioned above, as it is in its early start up phase and firmly believes that collaboration, partnership, and support improve performance and outcomes. The solution has value in a for profit model, but could also serve in a nonprofit capacity. The proposed solution has support for Native American programs as its primary mission, but development of the dataset has marketable opportunities outside of the context of Native American programs. While the solution exists as a proof of concept, the Sovereign Data Alliance hopes to accelerate its solution through the use of technology. Currently, the Sovereign Data Alliance has a tested solution that has been implemented with support and acclaim, but it needs partners and support in turning a good idea into a business.

The Sovereign Data Alliance would like to partner with knowledgeable and experienced organizations to further develop the business model and explore business model options, address legal and regulatory matters associated with business development, develop a website, develop and implement a public relations strategy, expand its client base, and further develop its technological solutions. It is open to a variety of organizational partners and partnership models to achieve these outcomes. 

Tribal lands and tribal communities are American lands and American communities. These communities and economies serve Native and non-Native residents and visitors, alike. Due at least in part to the failure of the federal government to adequately address the wellbeing of Native Americans over the last two centuries, Native Americans continue to rank near the bottom of all Americans in terms of health, education, and employment. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, 1, https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/201.... The federal government continues to fail to keep accurate, consistent, and comprehensive records of federal spending on Native American programs, either for a given fiscal year or for longer time periods, making monitoring of federal spending to meet its trust responsibility to Native American governments and their peoples difficult. Broken Promises at 206. While this federal expenditures data does not exist in an accurate, consistent, and comprehensive manner, much of the data can be located and collated through federal publications on expenditures.

The Sovereign Data Alliance utilizes its experience, expertise, and technology to unify these fractionated datasets into an altogether more cohesive and accurate picture. When the overall picture is brought into greater clarity, we can utilize the detail to develop better solutions and reduce the labor and resources necessary to achieve these health, safety, and wellbeing outcomes in tribal and surrounding communities. This prize would help accelerate a proven and implemented concept with support and acclaim that requires resources and collaborative partnerships to continue to scale. 

Tribal lands and tribal communities are American lands and American communities. These communities and economies serve Native and non-Native residents and visitors, alike. Due at least in part to the failure of the federal government to adequately address the wellbeing of Native Americans over the last two centuries, Native Americans continue to rank near the bottom of all Americans in terms of health, education, and employment. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, 1, https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/201.... The federal government continues to fail to keep accurate, consistent, and comprehensive records of federal spending on Native American programs, either for a given fiscal year or for longer time periods, making monitoring of federal spending to meet its trust responsibility to Native American governments and their peoples difficult. Broken Promises at 206. While this federal expenditures data does not exist in an accurate, consistent, and comprehensive manner, much of the data can be located and collated through federal publications on expenditures.

The Sovereign Data Alliance utilizes its experience, expertise, and technology to unify these fractionated datasets into an altogether more cohesive and accurate picture. When the overall picture is brought into greater clarity, we can utilize the detail to develop better solutions and reduce the labor and resources necessary to achieve these health, safety, and wellbeing outcomes in tribal and surrounding communities. This prize would help accelerate a proven and implemented concept with support and acclaim that requires resources and collaborative partnerships to continue to scale.