Rob Maxim

Those of us with toddlers are also acutely aware of the “Doggyland” figurine for the Tonie player

If you or someone in your network is interested in working at @brookings.edu on issues affecting Native Americans and Tribal economies, I am hiring for a (paid!) summer intern. You can find more info or apply here:

I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:

"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."

The government shutdown shows the need to reform how the federal government funds Native American Tribes and communities | Brookings This piece summarizes the challenges that the congressional funding process and government shutdowns present to Tribal Nations, citizens, and communities.

You can read our full @brookings.edu article on how government shutdowns affect Indian Country here:

The latest shutdown exposed real problems in how Washington funds Indian Country "[I]n some areas, the federal government may be appropriating only about one-tenth of what it actually owes to tribal communities," Robert Maxim said.

In the wake of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history last year, I spoke with Terry Gerton at @federalnewsnetwork.com about how shutdowns affect Tribal nations, and the problems that relying on discretionary funding create for Native Americans.

the horror of this is compounded by the fact that the whipple building sits on the same military fort where 1600+ Dakota, mostly women and children were held in a concentration camp in 1863, where over 300 died

A federal grant freeze could disrupt over $24 billion to Native American communities and undermine US obligations to Tribes | Brookings What's at stake for Native American Tribes and people when the federal government stymies grant funding.

Our @brookings.edu research found that a federal funding freeze would affect over $24 billion in federal grants and cooperative agreements going to Tribes and Native organizations. This disruption of federal funding would harm Native people and undermine U.S. trust and treaty obligations to Tribes

U.S. must fulfill obligations by protecting programs - Native American Rights Fund On December 24, 2025, NARF filed an amicus brief supporting an injunction that has blocked the destructive, broad-based freeze of federal funding that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directe...

Proud that @nativerights.bsky.social cited my @brookings.edu research with Glencora Haskins in their amicus brief for National Council of Nonprofits v. OMB. This federal case is challenging the Trump Administration's attempted blanket funding freeze, which would significantly harm Indian Country

The Sen̓áḵw residential complex, developed by the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation, continues to rise by the Burrard Bridge in #Vancouver. A really impressive manifestation of indigenous urbanism (with a little sustainable futurism thrown in…)

The Absence of October's Job Report Shows Why Native American Communities Need Better Data Guest Opinion. On November 19, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that, as a result of the government shutdown, it would not release its October jobs report—the first time in the report’s 77-yea...

Last month’s lack of jobs report showed the importance of reliable federal economic data. However, Native communities have never had access to high-quality federal data, with significant negative impacts for Tribal governance.

My new piece for @nativenewsonline.bsky.social with Steven Estrada:

YouTube video by Minneapolis Fed CICD 2025 Data Summit

And if you’d like to watch my conversation with Casey Lozar, the Director of the Center for Indian Country Development, about how data shortcomings affect Tribal nations, citizens, and communities, you can do so here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jta5...

At milestone CICD event, tribal leaders reflect on leveraging economic data as a tool of sovereignty | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Speakers at the Center for Indian Country Development’s tenth-anniversary commemoration and fifth annual data summit described how in the modern era, economic data support tribes in governing their na...

Last month I had the honor of giving the fireside keynote at the @minneapolisfed.bsky.social’s Center for Indian Country Development data summit.

@camohrwriter.bsky.social has put out a great new article overviewing the summit and its takeaways for Indian Country:

The government shutdown shows the need to reform how the federal government funds Native American Tribes and communities | Brookings This piece summarizes the challenges that the congressional funding process and government shutdowns present to Tribal Nations, citizens, and communities.

The government shutdown revealed a major flaw in how the U.S. funds Native American Tribes.

@robmaxim.bsky.social and co-authors outline why reform is needed—and what Congress can do to ensure stability.

CICD 10th Anniversary and Data Summit | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Braiding the past and future of Native economies

As part of today's Center for Indian Country Development Data Summit, Director Casey Lozar will give remarks followed by a fireside chat with Brookings Metro's @robmaxim.bsky.social. Tune in live 10:15-10:50 a.m. CT to listen: https://www.minneapolisfed.org/live

The importance of credible government economic data to business YouTube video by Brookings Institution

A good conversation about the importance of maintaining the integrity of government economic data -- and investing in improvements. @brookings.edu Here's the video
www.youtube.com/live/SnccjSu...

“Charlene Aqpik Apok launched Data for Indigenous Justice in 2020 after trying to collect the names of missing and murdered Indigenous people to read at a rally, only to discover no government agency had been keeping track”

Colonialism is also when the state makes it hard to gather data on MMIWP

IFPTE Condemns Trump Administration’s Latest Attack on Federal Workers and Their Unions — IFPTE As the nation prepares to honor and thank working families across the nation this Labor Day weekend, the Trump Administration has issued another Executive Order (EO) attempting to strip collective bar...

"It is obviously disappointing that the Trump Administration continues to attack federal workers and their Unions. It is particularly upsetting that this administration has done so on the eve of Labor Day, a federal holiday intended to honor and thank workers."

Good data, stronger Tribes | Brookings This analysis aims to identify the role that regional organizations can play in solving data challenges that exist for Native nations and Native American people.

While the ideas in the report won’t solve every outstanding data challenge facing Tribes and Native American people, they would be important steps for creating data ecosystems that better support the well-being of Native and non-Native people alike.

You can read all of the ideas for action here:

Finally, federal, state, and regional policymakers should work to make government data more accurate and relevant to Tribes and Native American people. This includes by expanding the number of Native people working in data positions across all levels of government.

He whata kai, he whata kōrero, inā he māramatanga | Iwi Data | Te Whata | Te Whata Te Whata is an iwi data platform tailored specifically by iwi for iwi – by us for us. Te Whata is for iwi members, technicians and leaders – designers and users of data.

Third, federal, state, and regional partners should work to support Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

One way to do so would be to expand Tribal access to data about their lands and citizens. Policymakers could emulate New Zealand’s Te Whata, a national data platform for Maōri Tribes.

Next, the federal government, states, and regions should invest in Tribal data capacity.

This could include providing funding to help Tribes develop their own in-house data expertise, and to design new data tools to meet their specific needs.

To start, federal, state, and regional governments can implement data strategies for interacting with Tribes and Tribal data.

These efforts could build on international best practices, such as Indigenous-led movements across Canada, New Zealand, and Australia that have resulted in national policy.

Good data, stronger Tribes | Brookings This analysis aims to identify the role that regional organizations can play in solving data challenges that exist for Native nations and Native American people.

In response to these challenges, our report provides a robust set of ideas to improve data about Tribes and Native Americans.

While federal action is essential, it may not be likely over the next several years. Given that, the report also provides ideas for state and regional governments to pursue.

These challenges have a variety of impacts on Tribes and Native people. Inadequate data makes it harder for Tribes to access federal funding, a key source of revenue for government services. Ongoing data challenges can also contribute to misunderstandings about Tribes as government entities.

CDC Data Removal Threatens Native Health, Violates Treaties, UIHI Says The Centers for  Disease Control and Prevention has stripped crucial health data from its website that tribal nations rely on to protect their citizens’ health, prompting immediate pushback from Nati...

Finally, some federal, state, and local data remains inaccessible to Tribes.

Moreover, many public data sets about Tribes and Native people, including demographic information and public health data, among others, are now being removed.

Fourth, data sets are often designed without Tribal input, and data sets do not always reflect Tribal needs or interests

For example, many indicators that Tribal governments may have interest in tracking, such as Indigenous language proficiency, aren’t captured in existing federal or state surveys

Pie chart showing that 63% of Native American people in California identify as Hispanic, 26% of Native American people in California identify as non-Hispanic but multi-racial, and just 11% identify as Non-Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native alone.

Third, many data sets treat Native Americans as just a race, a decision that reflects misunderstandings about Native identity and Tribal governance.

In California, nearly 90% of Native American people identify as multi-racial or Hispanic, illustrating that Native people aren’t just one “race.”

Map showing the path of the Southern Pacific Railroad through Southern California. The path of the railroad weaves through the Morongo, Agua Caliente, Twenty-Nine Palms, Torres Martinez, and Cabazon Reservations, contributing to non-contiguous land in these reservations, and the overall “checkerboard” appearance of many of the reservations.

Next, the relative remoteness and noncontiguous geography of Tribal reservations make data collection and aggregation difficult.

In Southern California, the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad led to the breakup of many reservations. Policies like allotment also eroded Tribal land bases.

Bar chart showing the population of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States varies by over 24% across three different Census Bureau data sources: the 2020 Decennial Census, the 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, and the 2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

First, sample sizes for data about Native Americans are often too small, which affects the quality of many data sets

To illustrate this, look at the total Native American population across three different Census data products. The data sets vary by over 24%, despite measuring the same data point