cover image Tribal Assets: The Rebirth of Native America

Tribal Assets: The Rebirth of Native America

Robert White. Henry Holt & Company, $24.95 (291pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-0846-3

With a $40-million lands claim settlement, the Passamaquoddy Indians of Maine became entrepreneurs: they own a cement factory, a commercial wild-blueberry farm and a forestry operation, and are still expanding. In Mississippi, an isolated, desperately poor Choctaw tribe has prospered manufacturing electronics. The Ak-Chin community won its battle for water rights and now operates a major agribusiness in Arizona. At Warm Springs, Ore., the Confederated Tribes run a luxury hotel, a timber operation and a sawmill. Freelance writer White presents these four case studies of Native American enterprises that merit attention from readers in the fields of business and sociology. Each case is a record of notable achievement, but the age-old problems remain. Life expectancy is appallingly low due to diabetes and substance abuse, yet these people are fighting vigorously to better their lives and preserve their identity. Photos. (Oct.)