Tribal Assets: The Rebirth of Native America

By examining four different tribal communities, this book looks at how Native Americans are establishing multi-million dollar enterprises in order to be less dependent on government support

With a $40-million lands claim settlement, the Passamaquoddy Indians of Maine became entrepreneurs: they own a cement factory, a commercial wild-blueberry farm and a forestry operation, and are still expanding. In Mississippi, an isolated, desperately poor Choctaw tribe has prospered manufacturing electronics. The Ak-Chin community won its battle for water rights and now operates a major agribusiness in Arizona. At Warm Springs, Ore., the Confederated Tribes run a luxury hotel, a timber operation and a sawmill. Freelance writer White presents these four case studies of Native American enterprises that merit attention from readers in the fields of business and sociology. Each case is a record of notable achievement, but the age-old problems remain. Life expectancy is appallingly low due to diabetes and substance abuse, yet these people are fighting vigorously to better their lives and preserve their identity. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Success stories in the area of economic development are emerging from Indian country. Author White has chronicled four of them, relating how the Passamaquoddies of Maine, the Mississippi Choctaw, the Ak Chin Community of Arizona, and the Warm Springs Confederation of Oregon have harnessed available natural and financial resources to improve the economic position of tribal members. While the stories, compiled from extensive interviews in each community, vary, the common threads of self-determination and strong leadership run through all of them. This is a valuable antidote to the generally depressing statistics on poverty in Indian America.
- Mary B. Davis, Museum of the American Indian Lib., New York
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.