Exploring Federal Policy and Tribal Nations at the U.S. Senate

As a first-year student in Fletcher’s MALD degree program, Natasha Frazier F25 studied water policy. Now, she’s taking a closer look from Capitol Hill.

This summer, Frazier is a Udall intern at the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Frazier’s internship is administered by the Udall Foundation and the Native Nations Institute, a program designed to give American Indian and Alaska Native students an opportunity to gain insight into the federal legislative process. For Frazier, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the internship is illuminating a 360-degree outlook on water policy and tribal sovereignty.

“While tribes hold senior water rights in the U.S., known as Winters rights,” said Frazier, “tribal nations face significant disparities when it comes to access to clean and safe drinking water.” 

Frazier has chosen to focus on this topic for her Udall internship summer research project, and will present on this topic at the conclusion of the program.

Understanding the Nation-to-Nation Relationship 

Prior to Fletcher, Frazier worked to provide legal services for the public interest in Washington State and North Dakota. She developed another perspective on public policy through her policy and conservation work with environmental nonprofits and employment in local government.

Frazier began exploring water policy from an academic lens during her first year in Fletcher’s MALD degree program; her coursework equipped her with tools she’s now using in the Capitol. Comparative Politics with Katrina Burgess prepared her to think deeply and critically about political topics that she finds fascinating. In Burgess’s Political Economy of Development course, Frazier explored a variety of issues at the intersection of governance and economic development. Regular case exercises and presentations helped prepare her to synthesize complex materials and communicate this information effectively to colleagues. 

Melissa McCracken’s Global Water Security Perspectives and Environmental Problem Solving courses helped teach her about multiple angles and perspectives from which to analyze environmental issues. A final project for her course with McCracken allowed her to examine the water security of a tribal nation

“It has been really gratifying, through several of my classes at Fletcher, to bring tribal nations into my studies,” said Frazier. “We’re an international relations school, but tribes in the U.S. have a nation-to-nation relationship with the U.S. government, and tribes hold a particular legal status within the U.S. that recognizes their inherent sovereignty."

The Udall internship has allowed her to learn more about U.S. policymaking and legislation at the national level and at the intersection of this unique relationship with tribes. Alongside members of her cohort, she has attended numerous Congressional hearings on a variety of policy topics, including a hearing at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. 

Advocating for Tribal Nations

Frazier aspires to work at the intersection of federal and tribal policy and governance with a particular focus on environmental issues and water policy. The Udall Foundation internship has given Frazier opportunities to explore her professional interests and prepare for her career beyond Fletcher. 

Udall internship programming includes an ongoing curriculum and professional development with the Native Nations Institute, which is teaching her about the underlying governance principles of Native nation rebuilding. Frazier regularly attends brown bag lunches with the Native American Bar Association, which has expanded her perspective on how law firms can help tribes achieve their goals within Congress and federal agencies. Additionally, she was selected as a 2024-2025 Switzer Fellow, a program for environmental leaders in New England and California.  

“It’s been an absolute honor to witness tribal leaders representing and advocating for their nations before Congress,” said Frazier. “I am also deeply inspired by meeting Native leaders in top leadership positions within the federal government who seek to fulfill the federal trust responsibility to tribes and are doing incredibly important work in their respective roles.” 

Read more about Fletcher’s MALD degree program.