By
Terrance Henry Booth, Sr. - Tsimshian
Author, Joel Kotkin, wrote about How Race, Religion and Identity, Determine Success in the New Global Economy, called “Tribes.” Kotkin called the economic successes of “Global Tribalism.” He spoke on why these five tribes are having an economic impact on the new global economy of today. He wrote on the Jews, British, Japanese, Chinese and Indians of India. [1]
With this group he writes… “Although each of these five tribes possesses a vastly different history, they all share the following three critical characteristics:
1. A strong ethnic identity and sense of mutual dependence that helps the group adjust to the changes in the global economic and political order without losing its essential unity.
2. A global network base on mutual trust that allows the tribe to function collectively beyond the confines of national or regional borders.
3. A passion for technical and other knowledge from all possible sources, combined with an essential open-mindedness that fosters rapid cultural and scientific development critical for success in the late-twentieth-century world economy. [2]
Conversely, each Indigenous tribe of North America have a very strong ethnic identity and when need for support is put forth confronting adverse legislation or policies confront the tribes there is a united front to eliminate or change or make the adverse legislation or policies more applicable to the tribal social and economic needs. There is an awakening of working together when each new president is elected or in Canada First Nations gets a new Prime Minister. In recent years tribes of Indian Country, USA have an audience with the President’s cabinet and the 44th President chose a White House Native Staff Person as one of his key advisors. Tribes of USA keep abreast of any legislation or policies handed down to them and have key Native staffers making sure that legislation or policies apply to the social and economic needs of Indian Country, USA.
In USA, Indian Country only has to draw upon itself to become successful. A study from Selig Center: Native Americans’ buying power has increased from $19.6 billion in 1990 to $67.7 billion in 2010 and is projected to climb to $90.3 billion in 2015. The percentage change in Native Americans’ buying power between 1990 and 2015 is 361.5%, higher than the percentage change for whites. Native Americans’ share of the consumer market was 0.6% in 2010. [3]
So from among our own self we support our Native Companies, Corporations. Buy our tribal products or produce and purchase products or goods from among our own tribal businesses, companies or corporations. The buying power of our tribal people shows us that purchasing from our own tribal people will greatly bring social and economic improvements to our tribal settings. This writer, in another article has written if we took a look at following our spending whether as a tribal government or Native of a reservation setting we would see our spending goes off of our reservation settings and this gives us a poor tribal economy. If no grocery stores own and operated by our own tribal people the dollars spent for Native families goes off our reservation settings. If a tribe has no tribal utility company the dollars for energy goes off our reservation settings. Dollars spent and a leaves the reservation settings is called economic leakages. Some of our successful tribes recognize these economic leakages and placing their businesses or companies on reservation settings and tribe or tribes buy from these Native businesses or companies creating substantial wealth and some of our Native companies are now among the Fortune 500 companies.
A critical need is to take complete control of our natural resources, farm goods and produce, cattle and beef, citrus growers, lumber and timber Tribes, Native Farmers, Native seafood companies. It is good that we have goods or produce or products to sell; however, we need to not sell the raw product; but we do the value-adding, marketing and sales, establish Native labeling of our Native goods and products, value-add our seafood with Native labeling, take advantage of Minority Diversification Programs of grocery store chains so we put our Native products on grocery store shelves or freezer displays. Or greater still have our own Native Grocery Store chains for in each major city or town we have large number of Natives in urban settings. Added note, some of the grocery store chains does have ethnic food sections because of the diverse ethnic population of America. But you do not see any Native products, yet Native farmers may have grown the food product.
Why participate in having our own Native food products with complete control? For the seafood Native Companies it is good we participate in the harvesting and processing; however, we miss out on more profits. Example, at one of the many Costco stores, wild Alaskan Sockeye fillet (one fillet) selling for $28 dollars and how much did the Native fisherman sell the sockeye for and who is reaping more profits off of our raw products? This writer closes with a quote from his late father, Ira C. Booth, Tsimshian Historian: “To really look at tribal Economic Development, is to look at ourselves as a Tribe.” Then he spoke on our ancestor’s trade route that extended to the ice edge of the Arctic Circle and down most of the Pacific Coast. Trading and bartering so culturally some tribes had commerce and were very wealthy. Awaken our past to build our Native Future.
1. Joel Kotkin, Tribes, Random House, 1992
2. Joel Kotkin, Tribes, Prologue, pg. 4-5, Random House, 1992
3. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, The Multicultural Economy 2010 (Selig Center for Economic Growth: 2010).
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