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Publications

Native Nation Building: It Helps Rural America Thrive

November 15, 2021
Community Strategies Group
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Native Nation Building report cover

When Native nations thrive, they tend to lift up the non-Indigenous communities that are their neighbors.

This is particularly true in rural areas, where Native nations, Tribal businesses, and Tribal citizens constitute a larger share of the local governance infrastructure, economy, and population than in urban areas and thus generate a larger share of local jobs, spending, and tax revenue.

This report shows that when Tribes center sovereignty, Indigenous institutions, and culture in their development processes, they increase the likelihood of achieving their development goals and can build community wealth more aligned with Tribal values and lifeways. The authors also highlight how Native nations and rural communities, working side-by-side and together, can strengthen the potential for thriving rural regions.