Creating Private Sector Economies In Native America

Looks at the underdevelopment of the private sector on American Indian reservations, with the goal of sustaining and growing Native nation communities.

Native American peoples suffer from health, educational, infrastructure, and social deficiencies of the sort that most Americans who live outside tribal lands are wholly unaware of and would not tolerate. Indians are the poorest people in the United States, and their reservations are appallingly poverty-stricken; not surprisingly, they suffer from the numerous social pathologies that invariably accompany such economic conditions. Historically, most tribal communities were prosperous, composed of healthy, vibrant societies sustained over hundreds and in some instances perhaps even thousands of years. By creating sustainable economic development on reservations, however, gradual long-term change can be effected, thereby improving the standard of living and sustaining tribal cultures. Reservation “Capitalism” relates the true history, describes present-day circumstances, and sketches the potential future of Indian communities and economics. It provides key background information on indigenous economic systems and property-rights regimes in what is now the United States and explains how the vast majority of Native lands and natural resource assets were lost. Robert J. Miller focuses on strategies for establishing public and private economic activities on reservations and for creating economies in which reservation inhabitants can be employed, live, and have access to the necessities of life, circumstances ultimately promoting complete tribal self-sufficiency.

Manifest Destiny, as a term for westward expansion, was not used until the 1840s. Its predecessor was the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal tradition by which Europeans and Americans laid legal claim to the land of the indigenous people that they discovered. In the United States, the British colonists who had recently become Americans were competing with the English, French, and Spanish for control of lands west of the Mississippi. Who would be the discoverers of the Indians and their lands, the United States or the European countries? We know the answer, of course, but in this book, Miller explains for the first time exactly how the United States achieved victory, not only on the ground, but also in the developing legal thought of the day. The American effort began with Thomas Jefferson's authorization of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which set out in 1803 to lay claim to the West. Lewis and Clark had several charges, among them the discovery of a Northwest Passage—a land route across the continent—in order to establish an American fur trade with China. In addition, the Corps of Northwestern Discovery, as the expedition was called, cataloged new plant and animal life, and performed detailed ethnographic research on the Indians they encountered. This fascinating book lays out how that ethnographic research became the legal basis for Indian removal practices implemented decades later, explaining how the Doctrine of Discovery became part of American law, as it still is today.

Almost none of the 300 Indian reservations located in the lower forty-eight states possess functioning economies in which reservation residents and visitors can purchase the goods and services commonly available in the U.S. economy. A private, free market economy obviously requires private business owners, i.e., entrepreneurs. The percentage of private business ownership among American Indians, however, is by far the lowest for any identifiable group in the U.S. and this fact alone contributes greatly to the poverty and lack of economic activity on reservations. Consequently, to assist Indian nations and communities to unlock their wealth and to improve their economic and social conditions, tribal governments and others need to focus on increasing the number of on-reservation Indian entrepreneurs and creating more privately owned businesses and private-sector economies on reservations.

What does “development” mean for Indigenous peoples? Indigenous Economics lays out an alternative path showing that conscious attention to relationships among humans and the natural world creates flourishing social-ecological economies. Economist Ronald L. Trosper draws on examples from North and South America, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Australia to argue that Indigenous worldviews centering care and good relationships provide critical and sustainable economic models in a world under increasing pressure from biodiversity loss and climate change. He explains the structure of relational Indigenous economic theory, providing principles based on his own and others’ work with tribal nations and Indigenous communities. Trosper explains how sustainability is created at every level when relational Indigenous economic theory is applied—micro, meso, and macro. Good relationships support personal and community autonomy, replacing the individualism/collectivism dichotomy with relational leadership and entrepreneurship. Basing economies on relationships requires changing governance from the top-down approaches of nation-states and international corporations; instead, each community creates its own territorial relationships, creating plurinational relational states. This book offers an important alternative to classic economic theory. In Indigenous Economics, support for Indigenous communities’ development and Indigenous peoples’ well-being go hand-in-hand. Publication of this book is made possible in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science.

The primary scope of this research is to identify the business and entrepreneurial activity taking place in the Native American community and includes a literary review of ten articles found to be of significant importance in gathering a broader scope of how tribal entrepreneurship is succeeding and evaluating recommendations for improvement. Early on, tribal people shared a similar economy that greatly differed from the market economy of today where entrepreneurship problems loom large in Indian Country. Through this review we will gain a better understanding of where business and entrepreneurship activity stands in Native America. Tribal colleges serve not only as places of education but also offer business assistance and are community hubs, often independent of tribal government. These colleges are vital to economic improvement of tribes and suffer from low retention rates and staff turnover due to inadequate funding. The tribes of the United States are not alone as other tribal people from Canada and New Zealand share many of the same problems of their US counterparts. In particular, Canadian reporting processes are inefficient and create difficulties in getting needed funds where they belong. Individual entrepreneurs also face stiff competition and often are not afforded the needed loans and capital to begin on-reservation business. Individual businesses increase tribal economic development, employ tribal members, and keep valuable tribal dollars on the reservation. Tribal nations have shown the most progress in productive economies by reinvesting dollars back into profitable industries like the cement plant of the Passamaquoddy tribe or the Flexcrete Company of the Navajo nation. Much of this tribal success is attributed to the introduction of gaming and the revenues now provided to tribes. Although gaming has been a profitable solution, it is only a temporary fix as tribes continue to make strides toward independent economic development. Tribes have shown that incorporating culture into the strategic planning process can also be successful if implemented properly. Tribal government remains the largest hindrance to economic growth for Native tribes. Most government agencies still prioritize employment and education as keys to success and are only now beginning to provide more support of economic development endeavors such as loans, regulation, and stability, all of which business owners need for on-reservation start-ups. Research suggests tribes focus on institutional change and transformation while also maintaining a positive relationship with tribal entrepreneurs who share in the economic incentive to provide a growing tribal economy. It is evident that tribes are showing major transformation from transfer-based economies to productive economies. A secondary transformation is also occurring where reservation communities are becoming their own private sectors which are bringing highly skilled tribal members back to their communities and driving economic growth from within. Despite these best efforts, tribes still are facing tough issues today. Tribal colleges are helping to overcome the issues of education and experience. Governments are beginning to provide support for individual entrepreneurs. Natural resources and Indian lands are being utilized to overcome the location and distance from market deficiencies. However, much is yet to be done if Native Americans are to truly establish entrepreneurial success on the reservation.

In A Nation Within, Ezra Rosser explores the connection between land-use patterns and development in the Navajo Nation. Roughly the size of Ireland or West Virginia, the Navajo reservation has seen successive waves of natural resource-based development over the last century: grazing and over-grazing, oil and gas, uranium, and coal; yet Navajos continue to suffer from high levels of unemployment and poverty. Rosser shows the connection between the exploitation of these resources and the growth of the tribal government before turning to contemporary land use and development challenges. He argues that, in addition to the political challenges associated with any significant change, external pressures and internal corruption have made it difficult for the tribe to implement land reforms that could help provide space for economic development that would benefit the Navajo Nation and Navajo tribal members.

A comprehensive resource on the formation of tribal business entities. Hailed in Indian Country Today as offering "one-stop knowledge on business structuring," the Handbook reviews each type of tribal business entity from the perspective of sovereign immunity and legal liability, corporate formation and governance, federal tax consequences and eligibility for special financing. Covers governmental entities and common forms of business structures.

" ... The Report of the Presidential Commission on Indian Reservation Economies ... identifies legal and governmental obstacles to economic development on reservations and offers recommendations to all levels of government, including tribes, intended to promote reservation economic growth."--P. i.