Creating Private Sector Economies in Native America
Sustainable Development through Entrepreneurship

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

Robert J. Miller (Edited by), Miriam Jorgensen (Edited by), Daniel Stewart (Edited by)

9781108481045, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 October 2019

238 pages, 13 b/w illus. 11 tables
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.6 cm, 0.45 kg

Native nation economies have long been dominated by public sector activities - government programs and services and tribal government-owned businesses - which do not generate the same long-term benefits for local communities that the private sector does. In this work, editors Robert Miller, Miriam Jorgensen, Daniel Stewart, and a roster of expert authors address the underdevelopment of the private sector on American Indian reservations, with the goal of sustaining and growing Native nation communities, so that Indian Country can thrive on its own terms. Chapter authors provide the language and arguments to make the case to tribal politicians, Native communities, and allies about the importance of private sector development and entrepreneurship in Indigenous economies. This book identifies and addresses key barriers to expanding the sector, provides policy guidance, and describes several successful business models - thus offering students, practitioners, and policymakers the information they need to make change.

Introduction Miriam Jorgensen
Part I. The Setting: 1. Private sector economic development in Indian Country Robert J. Miller
2. Opportunities to diversify: reservation workplaces and job numbers compared to nearby county areas Randall Akee, Elton Mykerezi and Richard M. Todd
Part II. Policy Barriers and Policy Needs: 3. The challenges of American Indian land tenure and the vastness of entrepreneurial potential Jessica A. Shoemaker
4. Right-sizing use rights: Navajo land, bureaucracy, and home Ezra Rosser
5. Access to credit in Indian Country: the promise of secured transaction systems in creating strong economies Patrice Kunesh and Benjamin Horowitz
6. Retooling Indian Country for economic resurgence: reflections from a native CDFI practitioner David Castillo
Part III. Learning from Business Scholars: 7. Becoming an entrepreneur: essentials for any environment Mark C. Maletz
8. Prototype, validate, pivot, repeat: a short, short course in entrepreneurship Daniel Stewart
9. Mapping the sustainable development goals to Indian nations Carla F. Fredericks
10. Supply chain management and Native American entrepreneurs Stephanie L. Black and Deanna M. Kennedy
Part IV. From Learning to Doing: Examples of Entrepreneurship in Indian Country: 11. Native American food sovereignty and youth entrepreneurship Raymond Foxworth, Krystal Langholz and A-dae Romero-Briones
12. Indigenous arts ecology – a new investment model for Indian Country Lori Lea Pourier.

Subject Areas: Law [L], Economic growth [KCG], History of the Americas [HBJK]