Are The Similarities Between The Economies Of The Navajo And The Cherokee Indian Tribe

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The state of the nation's economy is typically a hot topic that is frequently brought up in community meetings, politics, and gossip. However, one area of the economy that is not often heard about is the economies of the United States Native American tribes. Federally recognized Native American tribes are unique in our nation in that they are sovereign governments (National Congress of American Indians). Each tribe is unique in it's cultural, diversity, and economy due to the sovereign status of the Native American tribes. We will look at two different tribes, the Navajo and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian (ECBI) and compare their economies and identify the unique challenges of those tribes. The Navajo nation covers an extensive …show more content…

EBCI's economy is focused on small businesses, arts and crafts, and tourism. The Harrah's Casino is the leading EBCI income source. Harrah's Casino opened in 1997 and it didn't take long before realizing the economic help the casino provided. Between 1997 and 2004 retail sales in EBCI grew by 35 percent which means more people are visiting EBCI and spending their money there (Lewis, 2012, 37-38). Since EBCI relies on tourism, one of the challenges they have is attracting outsiders to their reservation. Travel issues related to weather are not uncommon due to the EBCI's location in the western mountains of North Carolina. A unique drawback of opening a business in the EBCI reservation is locating funding for your business. Since the EBCI reservation land is in a trust by the United States, the land cannot be used as collateral for securing loans (Lewis, 2012, 56). The scarcity of land available in the EBCI reservation is another economic problem the EBCI face. Although nothing prevents EBCI citizens from purchasing land outside the EBCI boundaries, the citizen loses benefits such as their tax status when they do (Lewis, 2012,