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An assessment of native American economic development: Putting culture and sovereignty back in the models

  • Development Research
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Abstract

Economic indicators in the United States document the poor economic straits in which Native Americans find themselves. Historically, scholars have explained delayed economic development using Linear Stage, Structural-Change, Dependency and Neoclassical Counter Revolution Models. All of these, however, are unable to fully explain the Native American case. We discuss the deficiencies of these models and point out the effects of constantly changing United States policies on Native American economic well-being. We present data from a survey of tribal government respondents about preferred business arrangements on the reservation to support greater attention to cultural identity in economic development studies. A model that incorporates cultural and sovereignty variables is presented.

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Authors
  1. Diane Duffy
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  2. Jerry Stubben
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Additional information

Diane Duffy, Ph.D., is assistant professor of political science at Iowa State University. She combines the study of political psychology and public policy by examining citizen perceptions of political issues. Currently she is examining Native American perceptions of “patriotism.”

Jerry Stubben, Ph.D., is an Extension State Communities Specialist and adjunct associate professor in the Professional Studies Department at Iowa State University. He descends from the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and served as Chair of the American Indian Studies Program at ISU from 1990–1995. Presently, he serves as co-investigator on a National Institute on Drug Abuse funded project to develop, implement, and evaluate a tribally based, family oriented substance abuse prevention program on the Mille Lacs reservation in Minnesota and Lac du Flambeau reservation in Wisconsin.

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Duffy, D., Stubben, J. An assessment of native American economic development: Putting culture and sovereignty back in the models. St Comp Int Dev 32, 52–78 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02712505

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