Data Governance for Tribal Government
Case StudyHarnessing Data Governance for the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
Challenge
Before application modernization efforts began, the Tribe relied on an outdated tribal enrollment system that was limited by a rigid data structure. Paper-based processes made delivering government services entirely manual. Member information was often outdated and scattered, which made it difficult to compile accurate reports for grant applications.
The government’s IT department oversees the technological infrastructure and data sovereignty for the Tribe. Limited visibility into member data, reliance on manual workflows, and concerns over the information security drove the department to seek a better solution.
“We weren’t able to dig into the data the way that we were operating,” commented Benjamin Dixon, IT Director for the Tribe.
Solution
The Tribe made the decision to implement Arctic IT’s Tribal Platforms®; a cloud-based solution built for tribal governments on the Microsoft Power Platform, to transform how they manage and view their tribal member data. The migration to the new platform was completed in phases to meet the various needs of the Vital Statistics & Enrollment, Health & Social Services, and Vehicle Registration & Tags departments.
At a platform level, the Tribal Platforms system is designed to centralize member contact information while keeping department-specific data separate and confidential. Role-based security adds another layer of protection. The system’s browser-based interface provides all departments with a responsive dashboard accessible from anywhere via secure single sign-on (SSO).
The first application to launch was Enrollment. Arctic IT worked closely with the IT department to migrate member data from the legacy solution and configured the new platform to collect, manage, and report on detailed member information, including
- membership status and enrollment
- vital statistics
- contact details
- blood quantum tracking
- secure document management via SharePoint
- household data
- education and employment
- military service records and more.
The system supports the entire membership process – from application submission to changes, revocations, or relinquishments – ensuring all required lineage, legal, and documentation checks are completed before staff approval. It also integrates member profile management with ID card printing and provides specialized reporting views, such as age groups, geographic radius, and newsletter distribution.
After experiencing the platform’s capabilities with the Enrollment application, the Tribe prioritized deploying the Family Wellness application along with a new app for Member Claims and Benefits. The Family Wellness app is a comprehensive Indian Child Welfare (ICW) case management system that streamlines tracking for
- client records
- home assessments
- incident management
- child placements
- support programs (LIHEAP, burial assistance, childcare assistance, and school expense support)
- secure document management via SharePoint.
The system also offers case notes and activity tracking for holistic client support. Health & Social Services staff use role-based dashboards to manage applications, monitor service delivery, track outcomes, and evaluate program performance.
The Member Claims and Benefits app was designed to track and manage expenses for the Tribe’s government services, including childcare, utilities, and school expenses. Specialized workflows were built-in to simplify the process for
- applications
- service requests
- eligibility verification
- benefit distribution.
In parallel, a Member Portal was developed to allow members to securely access government services from any web-enabled device. While earlier attempts to implement a portal were unsuccessful, the flexibility of the Microsoft platform and close collaboration between the Tribe and Arctic IT enabled the team to deliver a solution that members are successfully using. Through the portal, members can
- Request changes to contact information.
- Request ID cards.
- Apply for programs and services.
- Check the status of requests.
- Submit documents to the Tribe.
The combination of the Family Wellness app and Portal is moving the Tribe’s government departments and members away from paper-based processes and into a secure, digital, and accessible environment.
“Now we can interact with the members and get them the data at their fingertips. They can go to the portal, they can see where their budgets are, what’s being processed, and what’s been processed…We had a request to create another member section on our portal to provide resolutions and ordinances regarding tribal budgets. We were able to easily add that feature to the site and get that information out to those members,” said Dixon.
- dedicated tables for vehicle titles, fee transactions, liens, repossessions, and renewals
- automated fee calculations
- duplicate plate number detection
- SharePoint integration for document storage
- custom SSRS reports for daily receipts, revenue summaries, registration renewals, lost title processing, repo/towing, vehicle registration, title printing, and tag data reporting to the State of Oklahoma.
With real-time dashboards visualized by Power BI, the Titles and Tags module enables efficient, accurate, and compliant processing of motor vehicle registrations, while providing leadership with up-to-date operational insights.
Results
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe now enjoys greater visibility into member demographics and program performance. Instead of relying on outdated applications with inaccurate data, authorized employees can now access real-time, visualized reporting for the Vital Statistics & Enrollment, Health & Social Services, and Vehicle Registration & Tags departments.
“Tribal Platforms has allowed us to really see the data. It’s more than just operating day-to-day. We can now start answering questions. We get more and more requests like, ‘How many people are within this range?’ When we write grants, we need a lot of this information, and we’re able to find it now,” remarked Dixon.
Centralized member data increases data accuracy and productivity across the Tribe. The portal allows members to update contact information and apply for government services from the comfort of their homes.
Looking ahead, the Tribe and Arctic IT are developing a 477 Services module within the Family Wellness application to manage grant reporting for compliance under the Public Law 102-477 (PL 102-477).
Dixon added, “I love how flexible the solution is – it gives us everything that we need, but it also adjusts as needed. Arctic’s support team is always there to back us up. So, if a modification is beyond what we can do internally, we know we have a good team to help.”
When asked about his advice for other tribal governments considering a cloud platform, Dixon responded, “After getting in and really working with the solution, and seeing what Microsoft is doing on their end to help us protect our data, I feel safer now that we’re in the cloud. I’m able to monitor, report, get alerts. I feel more connected with that data now than I did when it was in the room right next to me. The integrity of everything, being able to see what we can see now. It changes everything for me.”
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