Tribal College Contributions to Local Economic Development

I. INTRODUCTION“With determination, many Native Americans areworking to rekindle lost cultural values, restore asense of community, and find practical solutionsto the needs of their tribal nations.”— Paul Boyer, 1997Contributing to the economic development of AmericanIndian reservations is an essential goal of AmericanIndian Tribal Colleges and Universities, unique institutionsthat were created over the last three decades to respondto the higher education needs of American Indians, especiallythose living in geographically isolated areas. 1 TribalColleges combine the preservation of tribal history, culture,and traditions with academic preparation, vocational training,and basic adult education. The development efforts ofthe 32 colleges in the United States and Canada are just oneexample of the vital roles they play in the local communitiesthey serve. (See Figure One.)In the past, most economic development initiatives on Indianreservations were devised and implemented by externalagencies such as the federal government, and nearly all failedto bring about lasting change. To an extent, this failure wasdue to a lack of understanding of the structure of localeconomies, including inadequate infrastructure andwidespread microenterprise. Within the context of theAmerican Indian self-determination movement, tribes noware resolved to take control of their own economies (Boyer,1997). “American Indian tribes today shoulder moreresponsibility for their economic development than at anyother point in this century” (Tootle, 1997, p. 100). Thisresponsibility represents an opportunity for real progress,because research suggests that self-determination is vital tothe success of development initiatives. Successful developmentdepends on tribal sovereignty, and most cases of sustainedeconomic development on American Indian reservations haveinvolved the leadership of the tribe in making economicdecisions, rather than outsiders (Cornell and Kalt, 1990). Inaddition, a strong link exists between cultural values andsuccessful economic development efforts. Tribal Colleges areleaders in the development process because they areautonomous American Indian institutions that strengthenand encourage the preservation and integration of culturaltraditions such as consensus-building, thereby ensuring thecultural relevance of the development process.This report—part of a series sponsored by the Tribal CollegeResearch and Database Initiative, a collaborative effortbetween the American Indian Higher Education Consortium(AIHEC) and the American Indian College Fund—describes some of the economic development efforts of theTribal Colleges. Although the data needed to perform a comprehensiveanalysis of the economic impact of Tribal Collegesare not available, the report argues that the collegesaffect local community development on many levels. Specificdata from national sources, as well as examples fromthe Tribal Colleges and the reservations on which they arelocated, are used to illustrate these effects. In the first section,background is provided on the economic circumstancesof Indian reservations and the potential forpostsecondary institutions to help. The focus is then narrowedto the impacts of Tribal Colleges in particular, includingboth direct economic effects—such as expenditures—andlong-term effects such as the development of1As used in this report, the term “Tribal Colleges” includes tribally controlled postsecondary institutions, as well as congressionally and federallychartered Indian colleges.