Native Nations Bridging the Gap toward Prosperity

Native Nations Bridging the Gap toward Prosperity
By
Terrance H. Booth, Sr. Tsimshian Tribe Alaska

Introduction

This is a new era and new decade for Indian Country, USA and a new tribal spirit has been set forth by tribal leadership spoken through the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and Jefferson Keel set the tone and established National Native Goals to be accomplished by the Tribes and the elected officials and agencies governing Indian Affairs. Across Indian Country, USA we have models for tribal leadership to consider in brings prosperity and much improved tribal economies and social well being of their tribal people.

Every since the 1700 to the current day across Indian Country, USA American Policies were ands are being written for Native Americans up to this very day. Native Americans more then any other race or group is governed by Congressional legislation, treaties, Indian Polices, Rules and Regulations, and legislative laws created in their behalf and supposedly for their social and economic well being. Each new presidential administration has set the tone on what happens to Indian Country, USA. Tribes as they confront each Presidential Administration either welcome each new President or they prepare for confrontations with their political appointees, Congress and the President’s Cabinet. In the past Indian policies were implemented without no consultation with the Tribes of America.

Some tribes have joined forces to specifically address the social and economic needs of their tribal settings and have diversified their gaming activities in forming new tribal businesses both off and on their reservations. Some tribes joined together creating a Native Organization to met their social and economic needs for example:

Four Fires, LLC
The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians is proud to be founding partner of Four Fires, LLC, an economic partnership between the Viejas Government and those of the Forest Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin and the San Maneul Band of Mission Indians of California. The first venture to arise from this new partnership is the $43 Million 13-story 223-suite Residence Inn by Marriott-Capitol, located in Washington, D.C. This project marks the largest economic collaboration ever for American Indian Tribes. The Four Fires partnership arises from the success that the four member tribes have experienced as a result of casino gaming on their reservations. Four Fires looks forward to more development project in the future as they seek economic diversification for lasting economic and governmental self-sufficiency and independence.
http://www.viejasbandofkumeyaay.org/html/enterprises/enterprises.html

Before us America has a new presidential administration for this new decade will it be one innovation, progress and tribes begin to prosper or like past decades of many, many testimonies by our Tribal leaders making major presentation to specifically address the state of Indian Country. Commissions have been formed, Studies have been implemented, scholars wrote on Alaska Native and Native American Tribes with recommendations to put into place for Indian Country, USA and yet we still are among the Nations poorest of America.

With the current president a new tone has been established, even an appointee at the White House level a first ever by any President He spoke and put into place a Indian Conference meeting with his Cabinet. ABC News wrote, “Convening a conference with 386 federally recognized tribal nations, President Obama today assured the Native American community that "you will not be forgotten as long as I'm in this White House.”
"I get it. I'm on your side. I understand what it means to be an outsider, "The president said recalling that he grew up in Hawaii raised by his grandparents and didn't have a lot of money, "so even though our experiences are different, I understand what it means to be on the outside looking in.”

“Perhaps more than anyone else, the Native American community faces huge challenges that have been ignored by Washington for too long. It is time to empower Native Americans in the development of the national policy agenda.” Barack Obama

The stage has been set and a new era and new decade is before us to start the process of making tribal poverty history.

Background of State of Indian Affairs

The hundreds of Indian tribes in America face a unique set of challenges. Issues like sovereignty, health care, and education—issues that are central to tribes’ future prosperity and embedded in the federal government’s responsibility—are often neglected. Barack Obama is committed to tribal nation building and enforcing the federal government’s obligation to Indian people.
http://www.nativevote.org/images/docs/obama.pdf

John Collier, wrote in 1947 Indians of America: “What, in our human world, is this power to lie? It is the ancient, lost reverence and passion for human personality, joined with the ancient, lost reverence and passion for the earth and its web of life.

This indivisible reverence and passion in what the American Indians almost universally had; and representative them have it still.”

“For the majority of American Indians, the opportunity to develop capacity for self-sufficiency does not exist. They remain the most chronically poor citizens in our Nation; they often lack the resources, technology, and infrastructure to form the broad networks and alliances which can generate solutions to the deleterious impact of poverty.” (Foundation of the American Indian)
The need for economic development in Indian Country is pressing, and gaming casinos won't meet the total need by themselves. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, "Casino wealth transformed a few small Indian communities, but most Indian reservations remain islands of extreme poverty in an ocean of national wealth."
http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/challenges/economic.html

At the other end of the spectrum, Ho-Chunk Enterprises was created in 1994 with profits from the gaming casino owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Ho-Chunk is a separate entity from the tribal council, although two members of the council sit on the company's five-member board. The tribe had seen the state of Iowa authorize several commercial casinos just 80 miles away from them. The tribe's casino profits fell by 90 percent in one month. The company bought a modular-housing manufacturer in Minnesota and a construction company to install the houses. Those enterprises were successful. Then they built or bought 10 grocery stores and convenience stores, taking advantage of the tribe's tax breaks. They also got into the banking business. By 2003, Ho-Chunk was a $40 million business with 12 subsidiaries and 1,100 employees. Unemployment on the Winnebago Reservation dropped from 66 percent in 1998 to 24 percent in 2004. The Winnebago Reservation dropped from 66 percent in 1998 to 24 percent in 2004.
http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/challenges/economic3.html

These are only a few of the diverse Native American enterprises that are springing up all over Indian Country. The Native Americans involved in this push for economic development probably all agree on one thing — as Lakota Express owner Karlene Hunter puts it, "Until you have control of your finances, you'll never truly have sovereignty." http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/challenges/economic3.html
“Sovereignty is the starting point; without it, successful development is unlikely to happen in Indian country. But, as we have argued above, sovereignty has to be backed up with effective governing institutions. These provide the foundation on which development rests. Development itself, however, still needs focus. For most Indian nations, not just any kind of development will do. Most nations have priorities: aspects of their society or situation that they wish to change, features that they wish to preserve or protect, directions they see as compatible with their views of the world, directions they wish to avoid. The crucial issues for societies to decide as they put together a development agenda are these:
• What kind of society are we trying to build?
• What do we hope to change in our society?
• What do we hope to preserve or protect? What are we willing to give up?
• What are our development priorities (e.g., sovereignty, health, employment, income, skill development, etc.)?
• What are our development concerns (e.g., cultural impacts, environmental impacts, changing demographics, out-migration, etc.)?
• What assets do we have to work with?
• What constraints do we face?
The answers to these questions form the basis of a development strategy. They provide criteria against which development options can be evaluated and development decisions can be made. They do not tell a tribe what to do in every case, but they orient decision making to long-term goals and to the realities of the tribe’s situation. Without a sense of strategic direction, there is a danger that the tribe will move into a reactive mode, responding to the agendas of funding agencies or outside investors instead of proactively pursuing its own goals and seeking ways to achieve them.
Finally, there are practical development decisions to be made and implemented: This is the action piece of the puzzle. In our experience, many tribes focus the bulk of their development attention on decisions/action, at the expense of institution-
The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today 207 building and strategic direction. Faced with urgent problems and often-transitory opportunities, tribal councils deal with development on a short-term basis, as a set of decisions that have to be made. A funding agency is willing to provide startup funds for tourism; let’s do that. An outside investor has offered an opportunity to start up a company but needs a decision now; what shall we do? The new tribal planner has put three business proposals before us; which ones should we pursue? Timber prices are up; shall we increase the cut? All of these are real issues that need attention. But without appropriate and effective institutions, the council probably is trying to answer these questions with only limited information. And some may not be council business at all. Moreover, without some sense of strategic direction, it is not clear which options make sense. Under these conditions, development becomes a haphazard affair. In contrast, a tribe that has effective institutions in place and has developed a clear strategic direction not only is in a better position to make development decisions, but
is more likely to see those decisions pay off.” (Sovereignty and Nation-Building:
The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today) Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt http://www.jopna.net/pubs/jopna_2003-03_Sovereignty.pdf

''American Indian/Alaska Native populations are facing a number of serious challenges, including poverty and health-related issues,'' according to the report, which was commissioned by International Relief and Development, a food and welfare advocacy organization. ''Many of these problems have, at their root cause, a lack of sufficient and consistent access to nutritious foods.'' (Hunger in Land of Plenty by Rob Capriccioso

“Tracing the history of U.S.–Indian relations reveals that Native American policy is not actually a coherent body of principles, but an aggregate of policies derived from many sources over time. For more than 200 years, U.S.-Indian policy vacillated between periods of supporting tribal self-government and economic self-sufficiency and periods of forced Indian socio-economic assimilation into the dominant Western culture.” “Native American Policy." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. 2000. Retrieved February 18, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406400629.html

“I THINK WE LIVE IN A PART OF THE WORLD THAT IS GOING TO BE DISCOVERED SOON
AND WHAT WE [MUST] DO [NOW IS] TO ESTABLISH OURSELVES AS BUSINESSES BEFORE SOMEBODY ELSE COMES IN AND TAKES UP THE SLACK.” —NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS OWNER

Census data from the 1997 Survey of Minority- Owned Business Enterprises, found that
■ Between 1992 and 1997, the number of Native-owned businesses grew by 84% to a total of 197,300 and their receipts increased by 179%.
■ In 1997, these businesses generated $34.3 billion in revenues and employed almost 300,000 individuals. (Minority Business Development Agency. (2001). (The State of Minority Business: 1997 Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (SMOBE). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce)

New Begins, New Tribalism

The door has been opened for Indian Country, USA to step forward to bring about social and economic better for our Alaska Native and Native American Tribes. This writer’s late father once said, “To look at the realities of tribal economic development would be a re-discovery of ourselves as a tribe.” He then spoke on the aboriginal trade route of the Tsimshian people that extended up to the ice edge of the Arctic Circle clear down to South America. Once this writer while serving tribal council attending a regional Native conference in Seattle, Washington at that time the Makah Nation of Washington State was announcing the re-introduction of their whaling practices. While registering the audience got quiet and we could hear the whispers in the audience, ”Those are Tsimshian people.” And we saw them pointing at us. We rushed over to see why they knew us and one of the Makah Elders looked at us and said, I might know your great great grandfather, still another I might know your great grandfather and again another said I might know your grandfather for they use to trade and barter with us.

It is time to awaken that spirit of trade that took place among Native people and restructure our ancient trading to bring it in today’s knowledge, technologies and know-how. Some tribes have raw natural resources and other tribe has the ability to value-add those resources. It is time to look within us to see how we can capitalize upon our own tribal ways to bring about substantial tribal wealth. We have tribal agriculture, tribal fisheries, beef and cattle tribes, lumber and timber tribes, mineral and mining tribes, natural gas and oil tribes and all working successfully at what they are doing. Tribal casinos can purchase food and produce from their own tribe or from another tribe. Example Kia restaurant the Wild Horse Casino on the Gila River Indian Community not only buys from Gila River Farms but gets an re-introduction of health foods to the Tribal people of that reservation. Native Construction companies can purchase timber supplies from timber and lumber tribes. Casinos also can purchase beef from beef and cattle tribes. Casinos also can get fresh wild salmon and other seafood from Alaska Native and Native American fishery tribes. Several Native Professional Companies exist across Indian Country and I am sure most tribes utilize these companies for the tribal community and tribal businesses. There are several agriculture tribes and if they join together as cooperatives

All the agriculture tribes form a Regional and National Native Cooperative and a cooperative is a business owned and controlled by the people who use its services. They finance and operate the business or service for their mutual benefit. By working together, they can reach an objective that would be unattainable if acting alone.
The purpose of the cooperative is to provide greater benefits to the members such as increasing individual income or enhancing a member's way of living by providing important needed services. The cooperative, for instance, may be the vehicle to obtaining improved markets or providing sources of supplies or other services otherwise unavailable if members acted alone.

“Co-ops are formed by their members when the marketplace fails to provide needed goods or services at affordable prices and acceptable quality. Cooperatives empower people to improve their quality of life and enhance their economic opportunities through self-help. Throughout the world, cooperatives are providing co-op members with financial services, utilities, consumer goods, affordable housing, and other services that would otherwise not be available to them.”
http://www.ncba.coop/abcoop.cfm Fisheries tribes of Alaska and USA with active fisheries tribes to collectively market seafood to global markets. Same with beef and cattle tribes and other products made by Natives.

Report on agriculture good shows that USA exported $100 Billion dollars of agricultural goods and agriculture Tribes can tap into this and those near large urban centers can market locally with Native Farmers Markets.

In Montana, however, tribal representatives and business leaders have established a new coalition to help private business sectors grow and flourish. The Montana Indian Business Alliance (MIBA) focuses on strengthening tribal sovereignty and economies by drawing attention to the important role the private sector can play in Indian Country.
http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/pub_display.cfm?id=2184

Business models exist in Indian Country, USA example look at what is happening in Montana with the Natives:

MIBA Mission

The Montana Business Alliance promotes private Indian Business development by maximizing developing resources that encourage and support Montana Indian Entrepreneurs.

MIBA Objectives

To be a pro-active network and resource for Indian Business.

To be a catalyst for Indian entrepreneur growth and enhancement

To Promote successful Indian Country business environment

To foster accessibility to financial resources. http://www.mibaonline.org/

Finally some recommendations putting more control in Indian Affairs:

1. Recommendation is privatizing of the Native American Trust Fund putting it in the hands of Alaska Native and Native American Tribes better management and fiscal handling these funds. In addition, it can grow the funds rather then leave it dormant and draw upon the interest to once and for all resolve all social and economic conditions of every tribe in the USA.
2. Recommendation for the formation of a National Tribal Alternative Energy Alliance
If tribal leaders are to gain sufficient support so as to settle the direction of change, he/she will need to form alliances with alternative energy groups or organizations that ensure that they will act in accord with the purposes and directions being advocated by tribes. Alternative energy tribal alliances are common to all change processes because they help the tribes and tribal perspective interests at work to either accelerate or withstand the pressures for change toward substantial tribal wealth development.
Alternative energy tribal alliances occur when there is a convergence of interests between tribes and alternative energy groups such that cooperation and mutual assistance for each other is seen by both as beneficial, and thus becomes more likely. These tribal alternative energy alliances become more probable when the parties share common values, ideologies, purposes and vested interests to further advance the tribes by bring solutions to their life and their existence. Tribal alternative energy alliances make strengthened tribal leadership more possible, just as tribal leaders without allies are likely to be isolated and unable to gain a viable substantial tribal wealth development mandate.
3. National Native Efforts to ensure world class educational goals creating Native professionals to meet and compete globally and locally and creating much diversity from among our Native American population with the ability to cope with the ever changing policies impacting all of Indian Country, USA.
4. A New Decade is upon us and New Tribalism needs to happen to make poverty history this decade and bring a new status of prosperity to all of Indian Country, USA. Create policies from Native perspective to bring betterment for all our tribal people from infants to our honorable elders.
5. We Natives already have available resources to draw from like the agriculture tribes can form Agriculture Cooperatives. What is a Cooperative?

Any business organization can be defined in terms of three basic interests: ownership, control, and beneficiary. Only in the cooperative are all three interests vested directly in the hands of the user. These interests are commonly referred to as the contemporary cooperative principles. The 1987 USDA study, "Positioning Farmer Cooperatives for the Future," listed three basic principles that define the essence of a
Cooperative enterprise and establish a framework for assessing cooperative actions:
The User-Owner Principle. The people who use it own the cooperative.
The User-Control Principle. The people who use it control the cooperative.
The User-Benefits Principle. The benefits generated by the cooperative accrue to its users on the basis of their use.
A cooperative is a business that is owned and controlled by the people who use its services and whose benefits (services received and earnings allocations) are shared by the users on the basis of use. Only an enterprise conforming to the spirit and intent of this definition should be labeled a cooperative.
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RBS/pub/cir-60.pdf

The same can apply with Seafood Tribes, Beef and Cattle Tribes, Lumber and Timber Tribes and other tribal industries that have common products. Advantages for a Native Cooperative? “An advantage of a co-operative business is they are usually more stable, caring and responsible employers. They can give greater job satisfaction and variety, and encourage a strong work commitment. They are more responsible to the customer and the community within the business.”
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_cooperative

6. Rebuild our National Tribal Identity for both Alaska Native & Native American Tribes to strengthen our tribal positions in Indian Policies ensuring that we have full consultation with all federal agencies overseeing Indian Affairs. We have more policies, rules and regulations governing our Indian Affairs it is time to revise these policies to reflect the new generation of Indian Country and not that of a paternal federal government to fulfill tribal self-determination.
7. Tribes join together to invest for not only future generation but in current generation specifically keep dollars on Indian Reservation; thus, building substantial tribal wealth.
8. National Goal for all Tribes is improve standard of living for all Alaska Native and Native American Tribes for those below the norm - health care, education, food and shelter
9. For all tribes of America establish full respect of our tribal values, tribal religions and reconfirm our identities of Native Americans; create realistic tribal policies to improve the Federal government’s relationship with the Tribes and become full partners by consultation with the Tribal nations to gain tribal perspectives in all Indian Polices develop in behalf on all the tribes; and position American Indians and Alaska Natives to compete economically as we move into the 21st century by providing them with the resources to gain full tribal self-determination.

Conclusion

Since the inception of this country America tribes have confronted those that took over this land. They have faced territorial governments, when this country formed they faced state governments and still today they confront the lawmakers in Washington, DC.

In honor of all the great tribal leadership we need to set our course to one of innovation, new tribalism, empowering ourselves yet being ourselves as tribal people. This writer gets his inspiration from his late father, Ira C. Booth, who once said, Tribal Economic Development in reality would be a re-discovery of who we are as tribal people.” (Quote, the Late Ira C. Booth, Tribal Historian, Tsimshian Nation and Chief Judge, Metlakatla Indian Community, Metlakatla, Alaska)

Reference:

1. ABC News Obama to Native Americans: 'No Lip Service....I'm on Your Side'
November 05, 2009 11:25 AM
2. Indian Country Diaries Economic Development
3. Sovereignty and Nation-Building: The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt
4. “Native American Policy." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. 2000. Retrieved February 18, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com
5. Minority Business Development Agency. (2001). (The State of Minority Business: 1997 Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (SMOBE). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce
6. National Cooperative Business Association
7. National Federal Bank Reserve-Minneapolis by Sue Woodrow Community Affairs Senior Project Director
8. Montana Indian Business Alliance
9. Agriculture Cooperatives in the 21st Century – USDA
10. Wiki Answers.com “What are advantages and disadvantages of a cooperative?