American Indian Entrepreneurship
Unlocking the Wealth of Indian Nations, Terry L. Anderson ed., Lexington Books (2016 Forthcoming)
30 Pages Posted: 19 Mar 2016
Date Written: March 17, 2016
Abstract
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.
Keywords: reservation economic development, tribal economies, private sector reservation economies, American Indian entrepreneurs
JEL Classification: H00, O1, O20, P16, P41, Z10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation