The Full Story
About
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Sovereignty First Native Consulting Firm was founded by Dr. Crystal Miller, an enrolled citizen of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, as a direct response to the urgent and personal need she witnessed growing up amid political unrest within her own Tribal Nation. Her lived experience, coupled with her academic journey at the University of Arizona, where she earned her PhD focused in Federal Indian Law and Policy, Tribal Constitution Reform and Governance Strengthening, revealed the deep, structural challenges posed by the Indian Reorganization Act and the widespread imposition of constitutions that failed to reflect the governance traditions or priorities of Native Nations. Through this dual lens, Dr. Miller came to understand how sovereignty could be reclaimed, expanded, and practiced in modern governance by grounding reform in Tribal values, lived community needs, and Tribal self-determination.
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Sovereignty First was born from this vision. As a Native woman-owned firm, we are committed to advancing Tribal sovereignty through comprehensive, culturally grounded services. We work directly with Tribal Leaders, Elected Officials, and Native Nations to support strategic planning, policy development, governing document reform, and the protection of Tribal lands and resources. Our approach centers citizen engagement and education sovereignty, helping Tribes design governance systems and educational structures that reflect Tribal knowledge, priorities, and the futures they envision. We also support Tribal governments in managing their internal operations, offering executive and leadership coaching, mediation, facilitation, executive project support, and strategic analysis to enhance effectiveness and align action with sovereign intent.
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With experience in drafting law and order codes, training federal agencies on government-to-government consultation, and assisting Tribes in establishing consultation protocols that assert their legal and political rights, Sovereignty First serves as a trusted partner in strengthening the full expression of Tribal governance.
Our team is composed entirely of Native professionals who understand sovereignty not just as a political concept, but as a lived practice that informs the protection of land, people, and future generations.
Sovereignty First is more than a consulting firm, we are a movement rooted in the inherent right of Tribal Nations to govern themselves by their own laws, languages, and lifeways.
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Mission
At Sovereignty First, we believe that traditional Tribal governance is not only the foundation of Tribal sovereignty, it is the future. Our mission is to support Native Nations in reclaiming, strengthening, and expanding their sovereign rights by grounding governance in Tribal knowledge systems, cultural values, and community-defined priorities.
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Founded by a Native woman with lived experience and academic expertise in Federal Indian Law and Tribal constitutional reform, Sovereignty First exists to confront and overcome the structural limitations imposed by federal policies like the Indian Reorganization Act. We partner with Tribal Leaders, Elected Officials, and Native Nations to transform governance systems, protect land and resources, and cultivate the next generation of Indigenous leadership.
Through a full suite of services, including strategic planning, policy development, governing document reform, consultation design, operational capacity-building, and citizen engagement, we empower Tribes to lead with autonomy, integrity, and vision. Our mission is rooted in the unwavering belief that sovereignty must not only be protected, but fully lived and fiercely exercised, in every corner of Tribal life.
Vision
Sovereignty First envisions a future where every Native Nation governs in full alignment with its cultural values, traditional systems, and sovereign authority, free from imposed structures that have long constrained Tribal self-determination. Our vision is to equip Tribal Leaders, Elected Officials, and communities with the tools, knowledge, and frameworks to reclaim, revitalize, and redesign governance on their own terms.
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We strive to be a transformative force in Indian Country, where constitution reform, policy development, strategic planning, and civic engagement are driven by Indigenous methodologies and grounded in the lived realities of Tribal communities. We see governance not as a one-size-fits-all model, but as a living, evolving expression of each Nation’s identity, responsibilities, and vision for future generations.
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Sovereignty First is committed to building the next era of Tribal governance. One that is culturally rooted, politically powerful, and unapologetically sovereign.
