Franklin Delano Roosevelt's election to the presidency in 1932 signaled a mandate for sweeping reform at the federal level to lift the nation out of the economic turbulence of the Great Depression. Under Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) joined other agencies in launching policies to rebuild economic…

Legal gaming operations are permitting various Indian nations to build strong economies and well-managed tribal governments that fund education and social services as first priorities. Experiences of the Wisconsin Oneida and Mashantucket Pequot (Connecticut) demonstrate that when access to resources and markets is not prevented, Indians have a…

The political status of First Nations peoples as sovereign nations under federal control creates unique opportunities for developing social and educational programs with revenues from Indigenous gaming ventures. In response to unmet human and social needs, strength-based approaches that empower Native people are especially critical in overcoming…

The article discusses the sovereignty of tribal communities in the U.S. Tribes are not simply ethnic neighborhoods but actual nations with a land base, a unique "government-to-government" relationship with the federal government, and a status. In the 1970s, the federal government gave tribal governments more responsibility to manage programs that…

The article analyzes the ultimately unsuccessful political strategies of the tribal president of the Quechan Indians in his 1974-76 attempts to remain in office and obtain resources for his tribe, while operating within the constraints of the often contradictory expectations of tribal members and federal officials. (SB)

After years of hardship and despite owning only 12 percent of its own reservation, the Nez Perce tribe is successfully pursuing community development. Factors include energetic tribal government, good intratribal communications, integrated planning for economic development and forest resource management, and emphasis on cultural preservation and…

This article discusses the water problems faced by the people of the Pima tribe. On June 17, 1902, after more than a decade of political debate and maneuvering, the National Reclamation Act became law. This legislation provided direct federal subsidies for the development of irrigation projects across the arid West. The Reclamation Act generated…

The Presidential Commission on Indian Reservation Economies was established by Executive Order 12401 on January 14, 1983 to identify obstacles to Indian reservation economic development and to promote the development of a healthy private sector on Indian reservations. Nine appointed Commissioners, six Indians and three non-Indians, spent more than…

The collection of six papers provides information on the history and culture of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians that has not been readily available before. The papers, written by college-bound Choctaw high school students, concern three legends of Nanih Waiya, the Mother Mound of Choctaws in Mississippi; the traditional Choctaw courtship…

In 1980 the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Portland Area Office served 43,500 Indians of 33 federally recognized tribes, bands, and groups living on or near 4 million acres of reservation land in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Highlights of the fiscal 1980 BIA/tribal partnership included the joint review of overall Office operations and…

In fiscal year (FY) 1984 the Administration for Native Americans awarded 227 grants for social and economic development strategies (SEDS) which would help Native American communities move toward self-sufficiency. More than half the grants were primarily for economic development; approximately one-third were for improving tribal governments, and…

Designed to renew the relationship between the Canadian government and the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, this action plan contains a statement of reconciliation, a statement of renewal, and four key objectives for action. First, renewing partnerships includes community-based healing to address the negative effects of the residential schools…

An Aleut community leader from the Pribilof Islands (Alaska) reflects on what he learned from the economic crisis that threatened the viability of his community during the 1980s. He suggests that the spiritual healing of the individual is central to the healing of the whole community, elimination of conflict, and fulfillment of any vision for the…

The first full year of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 was fiscal 1976, after which $91 million had been appropriated for the Revolving Loan Fund, the Loan Guaranty and Insurance Fund, and the Indian Business Development Grant Program. The Revolving Loan Fund, consolidated from 4 previous funds, was underutilized. Only $13.3 million was loaned to…

The Indian Financing Act of 1974 was vital legislation to Indians, previously prevented from obtaining credit from non-Indian lenders who customarily categorized Indians as poor credit risks or set interest rates prohibitively high. Problems in preparation of the administrative regulations delayed initial implementation of the Act until December…