Robert Maxim

Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag) leads Brookings Metro’s work on Tribal economies. Maxim’s research has focused on an array of different research and policy issues in Indian Country. On Tribal economies, Maxim has written about the impact of federal investments and federal funding cuts on Tribal communities; the need to reform federal funding for Tribal nations; Native workers’ ability to access to remote work; the role of Native American community development financial institutions in Tribal economic development; the exclusion of Native Americans from economic data; and how state and regional policy can improve data about Tribal nations, citizens, and communities.

Maxim has also researched and written on Native American education, including policy responses to remedy the lingering impacts of federal Indian boarding schools on Tribal communities, ideas for improving federal higher education data about Native American students, and policy proposals to support Native students and Native American-serving higher education institutions. His work on identity in Indian Country has explored how federal data misrepresent Native American identity. Within Brookings, he has led efforts to resurface the Institution’s historic engagement in Tribal communities, including the Meriam Report, and engage with Native-led organizations on enabling future research centering Native American people.

Maxim’s research and commentary on Native communities have appeared in numerous national, regional, and Native-led media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, Marketplace, Time, Federal News Network, Indian Country Today, Native News Online, Native America Calling, and others.