Tax incentives investing with North America’sIndigenous

By

Terrance H. Booth, Sr. – Tsimshian Tribe Alaska

 Investments with America’s Indigenous population canbe beneficial for both the investor and the tribes. Over the years like amongAlaska Native and Native American Tribes there are in place several taxincentives to entice potential investors, joint ventures or partnerships todevelop a working relation with the Tribes.

 ”Sustainable economic development is critical for Indian communitiesacross the United States. Contrary to what the mainstream media reports onIndian Gaming, the reality is that Indian reservations have a poverty rate of26%– the highest poverty rate of any ethnic grouping in America. Indianunemployment is disproportionately high. Indian health, education and incomestatistics are the worst in the country. While a few tribes have achieved ameasure of success, the vast majority of tribes continue to be mired in asevere economic depression caused by decades of marginalization. Tribes arestriving to achieve economic stability and self-sufficiency by using thegrowing tools of self-governance. The strength of sovereignty is beginning tobear fruit in many Indian communities. Yet, it is critical that economicdevelopment and job growth in Indian communities have a high priority (NCAI Economic Development) ”The Indian nations of the United States facea rare opportunity.  This is not the occasional business opportunity ofreservation legend, when some eager investor would arrive at tribal officeswith a proposal “guaranteed” to produce millions of dollars for thetribe—although such investors still appear, promises in hand.  Nor is itthe niche economic opportunity of gaming, although that has transformed sometribes’ situations in important ways. This opportunity is a political andorganizational one. It is a chance to rethink, restructure, reorganize—a chancenot to start a business or exploit an economic niche but to substantiallyreshape the future. It is the opportunity for nationbuilding.

This opportunity has been unfolding during the last two decades. It is aproduct of changed relations between Indian nations and the federal government,relations with roots in the Indian politics of the 1960s and in the failure ofa century of United States Indian policies that established the federalgovernment as the primary decision maker in Indian country. Since themid-1970s, partly in response to the demands of Indians themselves, federalpolicy has shifted toward something called “self-determination”: a belief,often more stated than acted upon, that Indian nations should determine theirown futures.

This shift toward self-determination has allowed those nations thathave been willing to do so to engage in genuine self-governance, to turnsovereignty as a legal matter into de facto sovereignty: sovereignty in factand practice. They still face many constraints, not least the power of thecourts and of the United States Congress, but since 1975 a significant numberof Indian tribes have become the effective decision makers in their ownaffairs, often with strikingly positive results.” (Soverreignty andNation-Building: The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today. By StephanCornell and Joseph P. Kalt

In Consultation with the Alaska Native and Native American TribesCongressional Legislation got enacted to specifically address the social andeconomic state of Indian Country, USA.  Alaska Native and Native AmericanTribes being economically depressed areas and some tribes became an EnterpriseCommunity, Empowerment Zones and other definitions under US Department ofAgriculture – Rural Development Programs giving these tribal communities with alisting of several tax incentives.  All listed under Publication 954 – TaxIncentives for Distressed Communities.(http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p954.pdf)

There are several programs working to enhance Tribal Businesses acrossAmerica.  The US Department of Commerce goal: Department ofCommerce Tribal Consultation Policy Plan

Economic Development—serves as the facilitator of the Office of NativeAmerican Business Development by assisting and consulting with Indian Countryin leveraging the combined efforts of the federal programs, tribal governments,private sector businesses and financing in order to promote economic growth forTribes and Native Americans.  US Economic Development Admiinstration hasbeen workiing with tribes for a very long time and their dollars can beleveraged with investment dollars creating realistic projects for Tribes. EDA Mission: “To lead the federal economic development agenda bypromoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growthand success in the worldwide economy.”  Projects includeplanning, infrastructure, expanding existing tribal businesses, marketing andjob development. 

 Several Tribes have established their own tribal business ordinancesto attract businesses to their reservation settings. Creating a businessfriendly environment for potential business opportunities to happen on triballands.  Also, existing with some tribes located near large urban citiesthey have established industrial or commercial parks to bring and establishbusinesses working directly with corporations or companies that desire to workwithin an American Indian Community.  Plus, several tribes have a tribalentity that specifically engages with companies or corporations separate andapart from their tribal councils keeping arms length away from Councils andallowing economic development projects to take there full course toimplementation. 

Potential investors work directly with tribal economic development entitiesthat have staff outlining the process, and tribal protocol and steps towardimplementing funded programs upon tribal lands.  Several Alaska Native andAmerican Indian Companies also exist on or near Tribal lands.  The latestinformation is: “Over the last decade Native-owned businesses nearly doubled to200,000 and gross incomes increased to $34.5 billion.” (Native AmericanCalling)

American Indian- and Alaska Native-Owned Businesses

The number of American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses totaled237,386 in 2007, up 17.9 percent from 2002; total receipts of these businesseswere $34.5 billion, up 28.3 percent from 2002. In 2007, 30.5 percent ofAmerican Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses were in construction,repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services. American Indian- andAlaska Native-owned businesses accounted for 10.0 percent of businesses inAlaska, 6.3 percent in Oklahoma and 5.3 percent in New Mexico. 

Book Review

The State of the Native Nations / Edition 1 by The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development

Synopsis

Media filters and personal preconceptions can make it hard to get a clearview of present-day Indian America. The reality is that the 500+ Native nationsin the United States confront many of the same day-to-day challenges that arefaced by other nations and communities—raising children with strong identities,practicing religion, providing economic sustenance, strengthening culture,managing business and governmental affairs, and protecting public health andsafety—but they are doing so from foundations built on their distincthistories, cultures, and circumstances. The State of the Native Nations:Conditions under U.S. Policies of Self-Determination chronicles the efforts,obstacles, and accomplishments that are shaping Indian Country undercontemporary federal policies and responsive tribal strategies ofself-determination.

In The State of the Native Nations, the Harvard Project on American IndianEconomic Development brings together scholars and Native leaders to produce themost comprehensive, cohesive interdisciplinary study available on currentconditions and trends in Indian Country. Broad in scope and thematicallyorganized, the volume features twenty-three chapters covering issues rangingfrom tribal governance, land and natural resources, and economic and socialdevelopment, to arts and culture, the large off-reservation Native population,and federal Indian policy. Fourteen accompanying essays bring to life thepersonal perspectives of noted national leaders in Native affairs. The resultis invaluable insight into the universal challenges of creating resilient,sustained, and self-determined communities.

FEATURES:

* Balances first-person accounts and field findings with extensive andup-to-date data and facts

* Emphasizes the critical issues of Native self-determination andnation-building

* Puts contemporary issues in their historical and policy contexts

* Integrates case studies that highlight successful examples of the practiceof Native nation self-determination

Potential opportunities for tribes in Alternative Energy

Some Samples of what tribes doing in Alternative Energy

Tribal lands have the potential to produce 17.6 trillion kilowatt hours ofelectricity a year from solar power, about 4.5 times the total amount ofelectricity generated in the US in 2004. The lands also are capable ofproducing an estimated 535 billion-kilowatt hours of electricity per year fromwind power.

The Campo Kumeyaay Nation outside San Diego hosts the only wind farm ontribal land in the country. It plans to invest $60 million in a second one,securing 20 percent ownership. The tribe will acquire full ownership of bothwind farms after 25 years of operation. (http://tinyurl.com/y9c2cxn)

Every Tribe in North America has Solar, Wind, Water, and Biomass that can beconverted into energy.  Why energy?  All of America will need 70%more electricity by the year 2016.  And tribes can readily see Americastill has to get rid of its fossil fuel addiction before America even makes amove in the alternative energy needs.  Population growth dictates a needfor more energy.  Arizona from 1990 to 2000 nearly doubled in size and thecurrent US Census Report will reveal the growth in some areas of America. Who will provide the energy needs?  Tribes can through the formation ofalternative energy parks and sell needed energy to utility companies. 

Some Tribal Successes

25 Businesses and Counting Mississippi Choctaw

Today the tribe oversees 22 businesses and is majority owner in threeadditional joint ventures. Its biggest endeavor is Pearl River Resort, whosetwo casinos make the tribe the third-largest Indian gaming operator, behindConnecticut\’s Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans. The tribe has created 8,000jobs, more than 60 percent of which are held by non-tribal members, andestimates its annual economic impact on Mississippi at $1.2 billion. (NativePeoples Magizine -Growing REZ BIZ)

 So this writer concludes investment with North America’s Indigenous inseveral areas: health initiative, new tribal businesses individual owned,education initiative in creating tribal professionalism and opening up way toglobalization, cultural preservation in dances, songs, stories, and NativeArts, economic analysis studies to show what needs to be in place for tribes toprosper, joining of forces in area of Native Products instead of selling tobuyers who benefit by value adding Tribes create their own products andlabeling for different markets like all the agriculture products it is saidthat 2/5 of food in America originate from American Indians  What shouldbe happening with Native Foods:

About American Indian Foods

 The American Indian Foods (AIF) program administeredby the Intertribal Agricultural Council (IAC) will introduce Native Americanfood products to the Asian food trade during FHA2010.

The American Indian Foods Export program markets food products produced byNative American Indigenous Tribes or peoples; promoting the Native use ofNative resources for the benefit of American Indian people. The program isdesigned to work with Tribal and individual American Indian owned businesses toprovide export education and to facilitate global market penetration.

Nathan Notah & Tina Voigt who administer the program have a primary goalto improve the economic situation for the thousands of American Indian farmersand ranchers. “We aim to pursue and promote the conservation, development anduse of our American Indian agricultural resources for the betterment of ourpeople,” states Notah. He continues to say, “We appreciate this excitingopportunity for us to include American Indian Foods that have been grown forcenturies on menus and store shelves in Asia. We continue to stress highquality, natural production, food-safety standards, diversity andconsistency.”

Native Natural Southwest Native Foods located in Albuquerque, New Mexico ispromoting Anazasi beans, red chili powder and parched blue corn. The Anzasibeans are a perfect side dish and the red chili powder is used as a seasoningon foods.

Wilderness Delights located in White Swan, Washington is promoting wildmorel and bolete mushrooms and wild huckleberries. The company harvests theseproducts in the wild with the mountain ranges of the Pacific Northwest.

Swinomish Fish Company from the Swinomish Indian Nation in Washington willbe showing fresh seafood products. The company harvests these products from theTribal waters in the Pacific Ocean in the North Eastern United States.

Foods from Native American Indians come from tribes in the United States andare grown on lands of the Native American Nations or from their natural waters.Many of the products sold are still harvested in ways defined hundreds of yearsago by the American Indian Tribes.

Food products from participants in the American Indian Foods export programinclude beef jerky, chillis, popcorn, wild rice, fry bread, produce, berries,American Bison meat, seafood/fish, mushrooms, apples, cranberries, seasoningsand other agricultural products.

Products are labeled with the respective Tribal affiliation, illustratingthe respective homeland where the product is produced and the authenticitylabel “Made/Produced by American Indians” Trademark. Our goal is to putTribally owned businesses in contact with International buyers interested infood & agriculture products. American Indians have contributed to theworld’s diet and have a unique connection to nature while taking great pride inthe foods they produce.

In addition to exhibiting at food shows, American Indian Foods sponsorsNative Tastes cooking demonstrations, foreign buyer missions and pressmissions. Native Tastes activities have been held in various parts of Asia inthe past to introduce the food trade to American Indian Foods products. Theprogram included a presentation on American Indian Foods, dishes prepared withNative American products and a cooking demonstration by a Native AmericanChef.

To learn more about American Indian Foods and the participants in FHA2010,visit our booth at 7c3-o1 in the USA Pavilion.

We are continually informing the international food markets of AmericanIndian Culture and the availability of American Indian Food Products. This is aunique opportunity for Tribal interaction with international buyers, brokersand distributors to set-up deals, establish communications and gain access toforeign markets. To experience these Native American Tastes, always watch forthe authenticity label “Made/Produced by American Indian trademark.  Addedemphasis by writer national grocery store chains have their diversificationprograms whereby minorities and more so our American Indians in Agriculture canmarket their products at local grocery stories by signing up to get theirproducts in the market places of the globe.

For more information after the show our Website or contact Mike Moretti,American Indian Foods’ Asia consultant.

For Alaska Native, American Indian and First Nations fisheries there shouldbe formation of an International Alliance for their fisheries.  ProposedAlaska Native and BC First Nations: Preliminary steps was talking to the Haidaand Tlingit fishermen of Southeast Alaska and they readily indicated that theypreferred going with direct marketing concepts and liked the idea of createseafood volume my the joining of the International Alaska and British ColumbiaNative Fisheries Alliance. Other outreaching included Haida Nation of BC andPort Alberni which is known as the “Salmon Capital of the World.” Both areas inBC wanted more direct control and have the ability of creating seafood volumefor China and gain better prices. With the information collected InternationalAlaska and British Columbia Native Fisheries proceed to seeking investors forthe four Native groups. This is first time Natives have joined forces in aSeafood Alliance and they see it as an opportunity to benefit not only them butbring economic stability to their Native Communities. Not only will it benefittheir communities in brings financial benefits to create seafood volume forChina, which has a growing seafood consumption and as its population grows thehigher the seafood consumption. Both area fishermen are looking for asuccessful effort of finally having control of their fisheries with management,marketing and sales and caught and harvested and processed by Natives to feedthe world.

The mindset of Tribal leaders of North America is there exists ia dire needto improve the quality of life for their current generation and that into thefuture.  So any investment with America’s Indigenous will benefit both thetribes and the investor for they both can experience providing solutions to thesocial and economic status of all tribal people

References:

1.      National Congress of American Indians –Economic Development

2.      Let 560 Nations Bloom within the Boundariesof the U.S.

3.      US Department of Commerce Native AmericanAffairs

4.      Report: American Indian tribes key inrenewable energy development

5.      Native Peoples Magazine – REZ BIZ – GrowingNative Economies

6.      American Indian Foods April 2010 SingaporeExpo