American Indian Culture and Research Journal

The Indian nations of the United States face a rare opportunity. This is not the occasional business opportunity of reservation legend, when some eager investor would arrive at tribal offices with a proposal ”guaranteed” to produce millions of dollars for the tribe-although such investors still appear, promises in hand. Nor is it the niche economic opportunity of gaming, although that has transformed some tribes’ situations in important ways. This opportunity is a political and organizational one. It is a chance to rethink, restructure, reorganize-a chance not to start a business or exploit an economic niche but to substantially reshape the future. It is the opportunity for nation-building.