Equity-centered design with American Indians and Alaska Natives

Creating a framework for Federal agencies to better engage Tribal governments and communities in more equitable consultation and collaboration.

• Visit the Equity-centered design Guide for details on the framework.
• Download the Phase 3 pitch deck for how this work could be continued in a new phase.

10x project framing

Phase 1 project Description: Today, 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives belong to 570+ federally recognized tribes. However, tribal consultation (i.e., user research with tribes) is not conducted consistently across federal agencies, or even within individual agencies. This leads to products, services, and policies that don't meet tribes' needs, as well as reporting/administrative burdens disproportionate to the support tribes receive. There is a need for clear, plain language guidance, as well as a standardized platform for engaging tribes in meaningful consultation, which would help create more consistent and equitable engagement with, and better services for, American Indians and Alaska Natives. 10x will explore plain language guidance and other tools to create a more consistent and equitable engagement with American Indians and Alaska Natives.

During Phase 2: we uncovered challenges Federal employees face with having meaningful consultation and ongoing relationships with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. We learned by listening to and reading about the experiences and perspectives of people from both communities and sought their input through workshops and discussion to see what might help. Based on our findings, the Phase 2 team created a series of resources and guides to help federal teams shift the relationship and power dynamics between themselves and community they seek to serve and create the conditions for participants to become collaborators in the design process.

Phase 3 Proposal: Fund a team of both Federal employees and members of Tribal nations to pilot this guidance. As part of this partnership, we believe that part of the Phase 3 funds should be dedicated to compensating members of Tribal nations for their time and expertise. Phase 3 is essential to prove out the research that informed the guide and to make sure the process works for and is informed by the community.

The problem being addressed

Currently the practices that Federal agencies use to consult on digitally implemented policy do not do enough to uphold our commitment to Tribal sovereignty or advancing racial equity. Designers and Federal employees usually fail to:

• Consult with Tribal communities
• Respect informed consent or Tribal research safety protocols
• Measure inequity or attempt to address it
• Compensate people for their time and expertise
• Contextualize history or understand culture
• Let people know what their data will be used for
• Invest in relationship building or trust-building

Why this matters

Equity-centered design engages communities from problem statements to solution development and is focused on meeting the needs of both Federal agencies and Tribal governments

Building better relationships through respect

• Culture, sovereignty, and historical context
• Data sovereignty—transparency and control of collected information
• Compensation for time and expertise

  Better products and services

• Direct input into Federal products and services
• Reduced bias in design and research

Potential impact

Federal agencies are better able to meet their mission, improve nation-to-nation relationships, create better products, and uphold US law when consultation requested from Tribal nations is approached with an equitable framework. Tangible impact looks like:

• Self-determination: Allows community more control and input into federal policies and programs
• Informed consent: More touchpoints in place to focus on information consent
• Respect for culture: Requires designers to approach problems with historical context and cultural sensitivity
• Data sovereignty: Explains what information is being collected, how it will be used, how it will be kept safe, and how it will be given data back to the community
• Reduced bias in design and research: by having collaborators directly involved as an integral part of the team and involving the people impacted in a repeated feedback loop over time

Thank you!

The Phase 2 team would like to thank:

• All the people with spoke with who were generous with their time and shared their perspectives
• The Phase 1 team, Allison Norman and Julie Strothman
• The 10x team for their support and encouragement