Dewees, S., & Sarkozy-Banoczy, S. (2008). Investing in native community change: Understanding the role of community development financial institutions. Longmont, CO: First Nations Oweesta Corporation .
The authors give insights into the role of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) along with the challenges they encounter while serving Native Communities. Dewees and Sarkozy-Banoczy reveal that millions of dollars have been invested by the CDFI Fund of the United States Treasury Department. The aim was to increase their numbers in the respective native communities. To date, however, there is still nothing to show for it. In the article, CDFIs are defined as specialized financial institutions that finance community development projects. The role of CDFIs in native communities includes financing of microenterprise loans, consumer loans, small business loans, and mortgage. In addition, CDFIs provide financial literacy training, credit counseling, and technical assistance for small businesses. Generally, CDFIs help native communities to access financial services.
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Essentials such as diversity and inadequate financial institutions are discussed in the article to give a basis for understanding the research. Dewees and Sarkozy-Banoczy acknowledge that diversity exists among native communities in terms of sovereignty rights, levels of poverty, and the size of land among other things. As such, a single model is not fit to describe conditions in Native economies. Regardless of the diversity, however, native communities have a common challenge when it comes to accessing community development funds. On the other hand, the lack of local financial institutions has resulted in poor infrastructures such as buildings, impassable roads, and telecommunication. Yet society relies on them for doing business. Besides infrastructure, political and socio-cultural issues have posed a challenge to CDFIs among Native Communities.
Further, the authors are keen to note that CDFI is an ongoing process with five phases which include the Start-Up, Emerging, Growth, Established, and Maturity It is important to note that native communities are likely to experience different challenges in different phases depending on what they do. A conclusion that can be drawn from this paper is that there is great diversity when it comes to age, size, and services provided by the CDFIs in the Native communities. Based on the understanding of CIIS datasets, CDFIs have a long way to go in providing financial services among native communities. Future research on CDFIs will benefit from having future rounds in the CIIS data.
Information found in the paper is credible because both authors work with the CDFI research initiatives at First Nations Development Institute and Oweesta respectively. I would recommend the article for use in research revolving around CDFIs in native communities.
Gallagher, B., & Selman, M. (2015). Warrior entrepreneur. American Indian Quarterly , 39 (1), 73-94.
Gallagher and Selman are keen to note that entrepreneurship is playing an important role in the lives of indigenous people. However, these areas have not fully benefited from an economic development standpoint because of issues such as the control of resources and economic benefits, and impacts of indigenous culture. In North America, for instance, entrepreneurs are providing an income that is sequentially beneficial to their families. However, in some other communities, entrepreneurship is highly contentious because of the fact that it could erode the indigenous culture of the Native people.
The highlight of this article revolves around the development of the concept of warrior entrepreneurship. According to Gallagher and Selman, warrior entrepreneurs are anti-colonial actors, rebuilders of the economy of their communities, and are self-determined. However, being an entrepreneur among the Native People is not solely dependent on the need to act based on the above characteristics, but the fact that starting a business itself is a great challenge. That explains why there are few businesses among the Native People. The authors conclude that while recognizing entrepreneurship can be compatible with these roles, gaining the necessary acceptance in Indigenous people, such as those in Canada and the United States of America will contribute to the economic well-being of indigenous communities.
Both Gallagher and Selman work with the University of Nebraska Press, making their research and findings credible. The article is also a reliable source of information for entrepreneurial activities revolving around the Native People.
Miller, R. J. (2008). American Indian entrepreneurs: Unique challenges, unlimited potential. Ariz. St. LJ , 40 , 1297.
Miller, in his article, acknowledges how sensitive an issue it is to create economic developments among American-Indian entrepreneurs. According to the author, entrepreneurship is one of the most controversial issues affecting the Native People. This is because it is an issue that can be viewed from the lenses of both political and socio-cultural perspectives. The article highlights the need of the federal government to put up businesses and create employment opportunities for the Native people in their reservations. This will boost the economy of tribal citizens that live both on and off their reserve lands.
The author notes that a common problem facing entrepreneurs in the Native communities, particularly Indians is the total lack of functioning economies in their reserved lands. It is worth noting that the Federal government has sidelined the Native communities due to the fear that they might overpower the Americans, given economic opportunities within and outside their reserved lands. The lack of functioning economies and opportunities has consequently resulted in high levels of unemployment, poverty, and few or no businesses in some communities. If the Indigenous communities had favorable conditions that would enable them to at least have small businesses and reservations, they would improve the economic status of their families and society at large.
Miller’s article is credible and would recommend it for use in research on topics of entrepreneurship among Native Communities.
O'Neill Jr, G. D., Hershauer, J. C., & Golden, J. S. (2009). The Cultural Context of Sustainability Entrepreneurship. Greener Management International , (55).
The authors of this article examine sustainability entrepreneurship in the Navajo Nation, one of the Native American tribes. Further, the article explores the global nature of society including dominance in global markets. According to O’Neill, Hershauer, and Golden, sustainability is a transition through which the world meets its needs, reduces both hunger and poverty, and at the same time maintains the ability of the planet to support both life systems and living resources. Since innovation and entrepreneurship have been regarded as the primary engines of creative destruction while at the same time primary sources of the world’s economic well-being, sustainability entrepreneurship has been deemed necessary to strike a balance between the two.
O’Neill, Hershauer, and Golden reveal that the Navajo Nation is one of the American Native Tribes whose history, prejudice, remote, location, low investment, and the general cultural context has disadvantaged the nation in terms of development. Navajo Nation is characterized by high levels of unemployment, poverty, poor housing, high incidences of diseases, drug, and alcohol abuse and mental health problems. In addition, the failure to embrace an approach of sustainable development, particularly in entrepreneurship has resulted in the current poor economic state of the Navajo Nation.
The article is keen to highlight that culture plays an important role in sustainable entrepreneurship. Furthermore, for entrepreneurship to bring forth a significant global change, it has to occur in diverse cultural contexts. An example of a project that highlights the role of culture in sustainable development is the Project Globe. The ten-year ongoing project reveals that there are various cultural dimensions pertaining to sustainable entrepreneurship. Based on the findings, cultural influences have a great impact on the process of sustainability entrepreneurship. The Navajo, for instance, has an ongoing project referred to as the Navajo Flexcrete whose core role is to manufacture green materials for use in construction. The process of entrepreneurship that led to the realization of this project was greatly influenced by the cultural context of the nation.
Information in this article is credible and helpful. I would recommend it for research in the context of culture and sustainable development. Furthermore, the authors have tangible evidence from global projects such as Project Globe.
In conclusion, the four sources highlight the issues, challenges, and unlimited potential that exist among the Native People. Comparing the four of them, one can notice the common themes such as the influence of culture in entrepreneurship, and the underlying reasons why Native People are economically disadvantaged compared to other parts of the United States of America. On the issue of culture, for instance, it is evident that most Native People are reluctant to get involved in entrepreneurial activities for the fear that their culture might be eroded in the process. In some Native communities, the issue has been highly contentious.
Based on the findings in the four articles, the underlying factor for the lagging behind of economies of the Native People stems from the political issues of land reservations and low investments in the region. The contrasting differences in the articles revolve around measures that the government in collaboration with native communities can take to improve the well-being of indigenous people. These include increasing the CDFIs, encouraging warrior entrepreneurship, and embracing sustainable entrepreneurship. Such initiatives will be handy in the achievement of sustainable development among Native Communities. To sum up, all the articles are credible sources of information that can be used for future research on issues regarding economic development, entrepreneurship, and nation-building among Native People.
