Roadmap To Repair: A Guide to How Cities Can Acknowledge and Address the History of Harm to Indigenous Peoples, Rebuild Trust, and Repair Relationships

The National League of Cities envisions cities and towns that are welcoming and that equitably meet the needs of all their constituents. We want to create a world in which Indigenous Peoples’ contributions, culture, and history are respected, and where policies, practices, and procedures improve outcomes for Indigenous People and Communities. Local leaders are strongly encouraged to explore the history of Indigenous Peoples in their cities, towns, and villages so they can reconcile their past and proactively promote healing and justice for Tribal Nations.

The Roadmap to Repair offers guidance to municipal leaders on acknowledging past harm and intentionally moving toward repair. This resource will help guide critical work and efforts in repairing relationships, but also help frame discussions on how to create a more equitable world for everyone.

Municipal Action Guide Highlights

  • Healing the Harm: Engaging in the Conversation  
  • Guiding Principles 
  • Account for Historical and Modern Diversity  
  • Account for History of Harm and Erasure  
  • Supreme Court Decisions 
  • Today’s Indigenous Community Challenges

Municipal Case Studies

  • Keeping Communities Safe 
  • Restoring the Environment 
  • Keeping Communities Healthy 
  • Achieving Land Return 
  • Addressing and Resolving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons  
  • Expanding Housing and Social Services 
  • Supporting Economic Development 
  • Formal Nation-to-Municipal Relations 
  • Land Acknowledgements 
  • Recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day 
  • Improving Outcomes for Native Residents 

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has supported NLC’s Race, Equity And Leadership (REAL) department since 2017 through the foundation’s initiative on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. Kellogg’s support has allowed REAL to advance the training curriculum that our city and state municipal league team provides. Kellogg’s funding also supported the research and development of REAL’s publication of this new NLC Municipal Action Guide.