MPC Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	Assessing Transportation Needs on Indian Reservations
Authors:	Thomas L. Anding and R. Evan Fulton
Publication Date:	Aug 1993
Report #:	MPC-93-21
Project #:	MPC-013
TRID #:	00636384
Keywords:	cooperation, data collection, Indian reservations, infrastructure, interviewing, Native Americans, needs assessment, paratransit services, public transit, quality of life, questionnaires, recommendations, state departments of transportation, surveys, transportation, transportation operations, vehicles

Abstract

The involvement of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) in transportation research on Indian reservations began in 1989 when CURA received a small grant from the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies. CURA was asked to submit a proposal to conduct a pilot survey on one reservation in Minnesota and develop an assessment of transportation needs. This initial work was extended to also include reservations in North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Two formal focus group meetings were held with members of the Minnesota tribes in March 1990. The goal of these meetings was to inform the researchers on what the tribes considered to be the relevant transportation issues in their communities. The findings of these sessions were used to develop research methods which would result in successful data gathering and maximize participation by the tribes.