Consulting Services
In addition to maintaining the NLIS as a living repository of public data for Tribal decision-making, the Native Lands Advocacy Project provides private, customized support to Tribal Nations, organizations, and citizens. This page highlights the range of our consulting work. Because each consultee’s needs are unique, we encourage you to reach out to us directly so we can together explore how NLAP can help you.
Consulting Services of the Native Lands Advocacy Project
While the Native Lands Advocacy Project (NLAP) was founded in 2019, our team has over 20 years of experience working in Indian Country on Native land tenure, agriculture, climate, and other mapping issues. Every partnership we form begins with questions that arise from the grassroots level. For example:
- Is it feasible for my tribe to introduce a buffalo herd to our lands?
- We have issues with invasive species. Can you help us map them out?
- My tribe wants to create an Agriculture and/or Integrated Resource Management plan, but where do we start?
- Your data platform seems great, but overwhelming. How can I leverage it for my tribe’s decision-making?
- In our tribe, we want to build our own data system. Can you help?
NLAP understands that good data is a cornerstone of Tribal Sovereignty and that tribes need access to quality, relevant information to make decisions. That’s why we create custom data packages, decision-support tools, reports, and analyses to help Tribal Nations, organizations, and citizens answer these critical questions.
Our approach is grassroots-up rather than top-down. Because of this, our commitments to Indian Country include keeping our costs for these services low, especially compared to other GIS firms, and upholding Tribal data sovereignty. At the heart of each consultation is relationship- and trust-building as we seek to grow our ecosystem of partners for the betterment of Indian Country.
Contact us by using the button above or by emailing info@nativeland.info. Read on for more specifics about how NLAP can support you.
Core Competencies of NLAP: Consulting for Indigenous Data, Land, and Food Systems
We help Indigenous Nations, nonprofits, and research partners transform data into tools for land stewardship, food sovereignty, and sustainable futures. Our work blends advanced GIS and data science with community-driven research and Indigenous knowledge systems.
What We Do
Land and Resource Information Systems
We build custom GIS platforms that help Tribal Nations and organizations manage land ownership, resources, and environmental change.
Services include: geodatabase development, interactive mapping tools, and technical design for land information systems.
For example, see: The Pine Ridge Land Information System, a model for strategic Nation-level land governance, developed in partnership with the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Land Office and the Indian Land Tenure Foundation.
Strategic Mapping and Visualization
Maps tell stories that data alone cannot. NLAP turns complex datasets into intuitive, interactive storymaps and atlases that inform planning, policy, and outreach.
Services include: storymapping, map book publication, and interactive web mapping.
For example, see: The Pine Ridge Strategic Land Planning Map Book, one of NLAP’s earliest projects for Native land tenure. For more recent examples of how GIS technology has enhanced this work, see the Treaty Signers Database, a relational mapping tool NLAP developed for the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, and the Environmental Risk dashboard NLAP created for our academic partners.
Applied Research and Policy Analysis
NLAP combines historical records, geospatial data, and statistical analysis to support research and policy development on Indigenous land, food, and sovereignty.
Services include: historical land tenure analysis, feasibility studies, data synthesis, and reporting.
For example, see: Historic land studies and national reports informing tribal policy and advocacy, such as the Historic Loss Assessment for the People of the Sacred Land.
Agricultural and Food Systems Data
Sovereign food systems depend on good data. We collaborate with Tribal Nations, agricultural organizations, and food hubs to evaluate production systems, model land use, and visualize agricultural change.
Services include: data collection and dashboard creation, spatial analysis of food systems, and climate-smart agriculture mapping.
For example: NLAP has produced pasture analyses, buffalo feasibility studies, food hub feasibility studies, and agricultural carrying capacity assessments. These outputs are typically private. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more!
Capacity Building and Training
We help partners gain the skills and confidence to manage their own data, build their own maps, and advocate with evidence.
Services include: GIS, data literacy, and environmental data training; guidance on how to use our open access platform, the Native Land Information System
For example: Hands-on GIS training and data workshops for environmental and agricultural professionals, tribal colleges, etc.
Portfolio
Red Lake Reservation Census Challenge
Successfully challenged the federal census numbers used for Indian Housing Block Grant amounting to a $1,074,880 increase in their allocation for 2018 and $743,417 to their 2019 allocation (retroactively applied)
Pine Ridge Land Information System (PRLIS)
Developed in partnership with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Land Office and the Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Map Consultant for National Geographic’s August 2012 Issue
Consulted on maps and provided fact-checking support for feature “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse”
Cutting Through The Red Tape: An Indian Landowner’s Guide to Reading and Processing Federal Forms
Partnered with the Red Lake Reservation’s office of economic development to challenge the federal census numbers used for formula funding.
Pine Ridge Strategic Land Planning Map Book
Developed in partnership with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Land Office and the Indian Land Tenure Foundatoin
Sicangu Treaty Council Interactive Map
Sicangu Treaty Council Interactive Treaty Map for its website.
Honor the Earth: Stop Line 3 Waterprotector App
NLAP worked with Honor the Honor the Earth to map Line 3 infrastructure and develop a mobile app for volunteer waterprotectors to use to monitor each site.