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//ABOUT/ASSETS |
Saturday
5/17/2008 7:05:03 PM |
Assets - our once and future wealth
Sherry Salway Black
Assets. Our 20 Year Report is about assets.In fact, two decades of work at First Nations Development Institute has been focused on tribal and Native control of assets.
Why are assets so important?
Assets are the fundamental building blocks of wealth and prosperity. Assets are something we value. Assets produce income and jobs. Assets change the way people think about and plan for the future. Assets are both tangible and intangible. Assets are many things to many people and are often determined by our culture.
What are the assets we talk about in our work and in this report? In a strictly Western definition, assets are land, labor and financial capital. To us, assets are Native people, sovereignty, tribal governments, Native institutions, private enterprises, natural resources, land, trust funds, culture, language, ideas, knowledge ... In other words, we are endowed with tremendous assets, and have always been so endowed. Putting these assets to work for us is what development is all about. Let me share a story ...
It was an unusually windy and cold Sunday in June when Oglala Lakota College held its year 2000 graduation ceremonies, but no one minded the weather. It was truly a time for a nation to celebrate itself. One hundred thirty-one students received their degrees. Elders, children, veterans, family members, friends, tribal officials, spiritual leaders, visiting guests, business leaders had all come to the windswept site overlooking the college in Kyle, on the Pine Ridge reservation, to witness the ceremonies and reflect on the promise of the future of the nation. In the midst of the ceremonies, an eagle flew over the graduates, surely the best of omens. The tribal radio station, KILI, covered the ceremonies for all who couldn’t attend but who were still interested in the achievements of the graduates. Vendors were out in full force, selling food and drinks. Children played all around as children do but were respectful of their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins receiving their degrees. They may not have realized that they were viewing role models for their future dreams. I came that day to give an award to a nursing graduate, honoring the memory of my mother who had started her nursing career on Pine Ridge almost 60 years earlier.
Who can exactly pinpoint the dates when tribal nations and their members started to re-emerge from the cloak of federal paternalism and move toward self-determination. Not the ‘self-determination’ contained in federal legislation but the true exercise of sovereignty. Some say it has been 25 years, others put it back to 30 to 40 years. What is important is that this movement is happening and over the past few decades significant change and development has occurred in Indian Country.
How does this story reflect so much significance about the asset-based development occurring in Indian Country? This story not only tells where we came from and are today but a good deal about future development. I share this story because for me it is the epitome of development taking place in Indian Country and the development that is still to come. And it is about our assets.
These graduates constitute the largest graduating class ever at the college. More tribal members with an education can contribute to a more informed and involved tribal membership. The tribal college itself is changing, developing and growing yearly. The college is a vital tribal asset, growing stronger and helping a tribal nation and its members prepare for the future while at the same time instilling the culture. A radio station communicating far and wide to dispersed tribal members serves not only to bring the news, but to integrate the language and culture in its programming. It also serves as a forum for discussion and commentary on current affairs on the reservation. Immediate and extended family members — all my relations — came to support the graduates and acknowledge their achievements, not just as individuals but as the future of the tribe.Government officials supported the college and the graduates through their presence. Private enterprise, on reservation and off, was a part of the day’s activities.
When we think of the exercising of sovereignty, we tend to focus exclusively on the role of tribal government. But being a nation, in the fullest sense, is much more encompassing. It is about members who are engaged, productive and responsible citizens; it is about strong and vital government and other institutions; it is about a healthy and vibrant economy; it is about supportive and loving families and kinship networks; — all grounded in the values provided by a strong cultural foundation. If I could compare where we are in 2000 with 20 years ago, I would note first that the nature of society and the economy are changing. Tribal governments are evolving to self-determination and self-governance through their exercise of sovereignty. Private Native-owned enterprise is growing, providing jobs and income. The Native non-profit sector is emerging to meet needs and support development. Tribal members or citizens are becoming more pluralistic and actively engaged in joint action to make communities better.
For years we have heard about the loss of tribal members, moving off the reservations in search of jobs or an education. While it may be too soon to prove with numbers that this trend is changing, there are early signs. As reservation economies develop, as tribal governments provide a supportive infrastructure and environment for development, as tribal colleges and Indian-controlled schools, health clinics and other community nonprofit enterprises address unmet needs, tribal members will remain in or return to the community or the reservation. Tribal members are starting new businesses — Native-owned enterprises were growing at a rate of 28 percent in 1992 (the last year for which hard data is available). And tribal members are developing nonprofit enterprises — the decade of the 1990s saw a dramatic increase in the number of reservation-based, regional, intertribal and national Native nonprofits. The increases in Native businesses and nonprofits are signs that people are taking control to meet the needs of their families and of their communities. And it is strong and supportive tribal government that will help to continue this trend.
The people, our people, are our greatest asset. We are the fundamental building blocks of our own wealth and prosperity. Youth must be engaged from pre-school or Head Start Programs to the tribal college students and graduates. Elders are the wisdom keepers and provide the foundation of the culture and values we need to move forward. Tribal members who live away from the reservation must be engaged for their knowledge and networks. Tribal government officials must help to provide an atmosphere conducive to broad tribal member participation. A strong, healthy economy is about members who are engaged, productive and responsible citizens, grounded in their culture. Development in Indian Country must be for all, it must be inclusive.
On that windswept plain last June, I looked upon the 131 graduates of Oglala Lakota College and saw our future wealth.
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We believe, that when armed with appropriate resources, Native peoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure the sustainable economic, spiritual, and cultural well being of their communities.
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