Native

Native Americans have the highest poverty and highest unemployment rates in the nation.  They are the single poorest population in the United States.

The role of assets, and the history of asset ownership in Native American communities, is different from any other low-income community. Native American tribes and individuals technically own many assets, including land, but often they do not control these assets and thus do not reap the benefits. For example, American Indian tribes are the single largest private land holders in the country. In the lower 48 states, reservation lands account for over 55.7 million acres. Yet, these possessions do not provide the amount or type of wealth that one might imagine. Moreover, although a Native American tribe may own significant assets, this does not mean that such assets have trickled down to individual members of the tribe.

Asset building policy in Native communities therefore must have a dual focus:  (1) assisting tribal nations in controlling, building and benefiting from their assets, and (2) assisting tribal members with individual asset building opportunities in order to prosper from tribal and general US wealth.

- Adapted from First Nation Institute’s “Asset-building in Native Communities: An Asset-Building Framework”