Jamestown 400th Anniversary

This past week Jamestown, VA has had a series of events to commemorate the 400th anniversay of the founding of Jamestown, including the well covered visit by the Queen of England.  What did not recieve attention was how Indians are doing in the U.S. from an economic standpoint, and with that in mind (and because I teach Indian law), this seemed like a good moment to post some resources related to Indian poverty and economic development:

• President Nixon, Special Message on Indian Affairs, 1970
  • "The first Americans - the Indians - are the most deprived and most isolated minority group in our nation. On virtually very scale of measurement employment, income, education, health - the condition of the Indian people ranks at the bottom."
• Indian Housing Fact Sheet, National American Indian Housing Council

  • Overcrowded and Substandard Conditions

  • In tribal areas, 14.7% of homes are overcrowded, compared to 5.7% of homes of the general U.S. population. (Census Bureau, 2000)
  • Lack of Plumbing: On Native American lands, 11.7% of residents lack complete plumbing facilities, compared to 1.2% of the general U.S. population. (Census Bureau, 2000)
  • Lack of Telephone Service: 16.9%, compared to 2.4%. (Census Bureau, 2000)
  • Lack of Kitchen Facilities: 11%, compared to 1% (Government Accounting Office, 2005)
  • Lack of Utility Gas: 72%, compared to 49% (Government Accounting Office, 2005)

• Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
  • Miriam Jorgensen & Jonathan B. Taylor, What Determines Indian Economic Success?
• Clarkson, Gavin, "Tribal Bondage: Statutory Shackles and Regulatory Restraints on Tribal Economic Development" (September 2006). Michigan Legal Studies Research Paper No. 06-006 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=931486
  
• Ezra Rosser, This Land is My Land, This Land is Your Land: Markets and Institutions for Economic Development on Native American Land, 47 Ariz. L. Rev. 245 (2005). 

Hopefully at some point non-Indians will recognize the obligations that come from how the U.S. was acquired.  -E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu