The Marketplace
Above: Mining. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, Historical and Statistical Information, Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States (Newberry Library, Ayer 250 .S3h 1851, v. 5, pl. 16). View catalog record
From the time of contact with Europeans to the present, Native people were essential participants in the economy of the Great Lakes region, and they have contributed to the national economy and the global market. Today tribally-owned businesses, including gaming casinos, help to offset endemic poverty that resulted from Indians’ status as wards of the federal government since the mid-19th century. Scholars explore not only the causes of poverty in Indian communities but also the unique forms of development and capitalism there.
Why have Indian communities been the poorest in the region?
Although Native peoples had the legal right to pay no local tax on their allotted land and the right to hunt, fish and gather for subsistence and commercial purposes, the federal government did not enforce these rights until recently. Instead, the states and individual American citizens appropriated for themselves (often exclusively) land, timber, fish, game, and rice. Discrimination against Indians also meant that they were hired in menial positions at low wages. Go to "Commercial Activity" for more detail
How are Indian casinos different from those in Las Vegas?
The tribe (the membership as a whole) is sole owner and primary beneficiary of the casino business. Go to "Casinos" for more detail
What is indigenous capitalism?
Profitable businesses are developed as a means to benefit the community as a whole and in a way that is compatible with protection of the environment, rather than with the sole goal of making profits. Go to "How We Know" for more detail
