Hoover’s Project on Renewing Indigenous Economies team traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona, as a cosponsor of the fifth annual All Roads Lead to Chaco Canyon Conference at Twin Arrows Casino and Resort on March 22‒23, 2023. The RIE Project took full advantage of the opportunity to support and learn from Native entrepreneurs, educators, and organizations in Navajo Nation.
Throughout the conference, the RIE Project hosted a table that provided attendees with complimentary copies of the book Renewing Indigenous Economies written by project codirector and Hoover Senior Fellow Terry Anderson and Kathy Ratté (Hoover Institution Press, 2022). Other readings from the project were made available, including research briefings on Labor Market Programs Delivered by Indigenous Organizations Improve Earnings, Fragmented Ownership on American Indian Reservations Limits Gains from Natural Resources, and Economic Growth on Reservations Accelerates When Tribes Adopt Clear Laws for Transacting, along with the essay Renewing Indigenous Culture.
On the second evening of the conference, Terry Anderson spoke on the history of economic activities and trading practices of precontact Tribal Nations (watch the video here). Anderson also discussed the relevance of the All Roads conference and the rich history of the region as a historic location for economic activity for precontact and postcontact trading amongst Tribal Nations and individual citizens.
The mission of this Hoover project—to provide data-driven research to support tribal nations, community leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and individuals in discovering solutions that strengthen Indigenous economies—was reflected throughout the RIE team’s attendance at the two-day event. Providing research that lends itself to applicable solutions has been proven to be a powerful tool in renewing Indigenous economies.
Terry Anderson remarked, “The location on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona was most appropriate given the proximity to Chaco Canyon, where Indigenous people from around the world gathered to exchange their goods, ideas, and cultures. Like the Hoover RIE Project, the All Roads conference helped to emphasize the importance of trade to Indigenous people and the institutions that allowed them to thrive, not just survive.”
In addition to Anderson, the conference included such speakers as conference organizers Adam Crepelle (Houma Nation), Joseph Austin (Navajo Nation), and David Sickey (Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana), who remain involved with the Renewing Indigenous Economies Project. Anderson also noted that this year marks “the third time the RIE Project has co-sponsored the event, thus adding to the number of tribal leaders hearing the RIE message.”
For more information regarding the Hoover Institution's Project on Renewing Indigenous Economies, please click here.
