American Indian Culture and Research Journal

A mere four years ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma a knowledgeable group of American Indians and scholars of American Indian topics gathered to forecast the future of American Indian sovereignty, economics, relations with governments, and general well-being. With far too much temerity I stood in front of the gathering to forecast American Indian economic development. As was my wont after nearly forty years of observation and analysis of Indian economic ventures, particularly agriculture, but also recreation, industrial park, mining, energy, and sundry smaller business activities, I assumed that the future of economic developments among America's Indian tribes would be similar to past attempts to develop Indian economies. Indeed, I argued that it was wise to accept David Hume's proposition that the past is the best predictor of the future for social phenomena? Hence, I foresaw nothing but failures, the exception being the maquiladora-like assembly operations owned and managed by the Mississippi Choctaw.