The Hoover Institution hosted its third annual Indigenous Student Seminar, from Monday, August 8, to Friday, August 12, 2022, for high-achieving students and young professionals who aspire to be the next business and tribal leaders from various American Indian nations.
The seminar, directed by Daniel Stewart, professor of entrepreneurship at Gonzaga University and a member of the Spokane Tribe, is a program of Hoover’s Renewing Indigenous Economies Project, co-led by John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow Terry Anderson and Ilene and Morton Harris Visiting Fellow Dominic Parker. The project’s mission is to provide data-driven research toward solutions on how Native Americans can reclaim their freedoms, reestablish self-reliance, and have access to the level of prosperity enjoyed by other Americans.
The highly selective seminar hosted thirty-one participants, including college and university students as well as recently graduated young professionals, originating from twenty-five Indigenous communities in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and representing a diverse set of academic disciplines and career interests.
"We have called this the Indigenous Student Seminar, but it really is the Future Tribal Leaders Seminar,” said Anderson. “We instructors were as moved by their thinking and potential as they were by our teachings."
Throughout the week, participants mostly convened in the commons of Stanford’s Escondido Village Graduate Residences Pavilion. Sessions were led by scholars and policy practitioners including economists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, tribal chiefs, and historians.
After welcoming students with a reception and dinner on Monday, August 8, at Hoover’s Fairweather Courtyard, Anderson kicked off the seminar’s sessions on the morning of Tuesday, August 9, with a presentation on the history of Indigenous economies, providing insight on how tribes, prior to European contact, historically protected private property and prospered from networks of trade they had forged across the continents of the Americas. His presentation was based on his Hoover Institution Press book Renewing Indigenous Economies, coauthored with Kathy Ratté. Presenters also included Bart J. Wilson, Chapman University professor of law and economics, on his study The Property Species, which explores why human beings inherently value private property, how they have historically acquired it, and the customs that have defined what it means to have ownership over something.
Also headlining the first day of sessions were Richard Monette, University of Wisconsin professor of law and director of the Great Lakes Indian Law Center, on the relationship between property law and indigeneity; and Michael LeBourdais on the importance of Indian nations’ achieving “fiscal power,” that is, the capacity to raise revenues and spend those monies in a manner that best serve their communities. Tuesday concluded with a presentation of artifacts by Elizabeth Konzak Phillips, head of research, education, and operations at Hoover’s Library & Archives.
The proceedings on Wednesday, August 10, began with a presentation by Adam Crepelle, professor and director of the Tribal Law and Economics Program at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Crepelle was also a Campbell Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution in October 2021. During his presentation, Crepelle outlined stereotypes that undermine tribes’ ability to achieve true sovereignty.
Crepelle was followed by C. Matthew Snipp, professor in the humanities at Stanford University, who described how perceptions of the Native American identity impact the economic opportunities of tribal members across the country; Daniel Stewart, who explained how American Indians can find success as entrepreneurs by holding fast to their cultural identity; and Derrick Watchman, a Navajo business executive, who provided his perspectives on effective tribal governance and leadership.
Wednesday concluded with a panel discussion featuring Adam Crepelle, Dominic Parker, Arizona State University law professor Bob Miller, and Stanford law professor Elizabeth Reese on the implications of the 2020 US Supreme Court case McGirt v. Oklahoma, in which a majority of justices ruled that states do not have jurisdiction to prosecute alleged crimes that occurred on tribal reservations.
On Thursday, August 11, Bob Miller started the morning with a lecture on how sovereignty and jurisdiction of Indian nations are defined under federal law. Other presenters that day included Deanna Kennedy, associate professor of business at the University of Washington–Bothell on innovative strategies American Indian nations can pursue in building small businesses and strengthening their commercial sectors; Donna Feir, associate professor of economics at the University of Victoria (Canada), on the economic conditions of First Nations in Canada; and André Le Dressay, professor of business and economics at Thompson Rivers University, on what elements are needed to create sustainable and resilient Indigenous economies for the future.
That evening, Mark Trahant, award-winning journalist and editor at large of Indian Country Today, provided keynote remarks about weaving a narrative of excellence for Indigenous communities that can inspire current and future generations of Native Americans to achieve prosperity and build meaningful lives.
The seminar concluded on Friday, August 12, with sessions featuring Elizabeth Reese, who lectured on public safety issues in tribal jurisdictions; and Dominic Parker, on what data reveals about the potential of Indigenous economies.
Daniel Stewart provided closing remarks for the seminar on Friday afternoon. Participants were presented with a certificate of completion and were invited to comment on the learning environment. As one participant put it, “The flow of ideas was electric.”
Another participant said, “the seminar exceeded my expectations in every way! It was amazing. I’d like to deeply thank everyone who contributed towards making this event possible, and for creating such a supportive and encouraging learning environment. I was able to expand my knowledge on Indigenous economies and was fortunate enough to also learn from my peers and their experiences. I leave this seminar with a newfound hope for the future of our Indigenous communities across the world, and motivation to continue on my personal journey too.”
“The seminar had a powerful effect on the participants,” said Stewart. “On the last day, I had a student well up in tears after explaining to me that this was the first time in her life that she had been surrounded by so many others who shared her beliefs in the future of her people. These students believe that Indigenous communities are at an inflection point, and it will be their job to usher in a new era of prosperity and revitalization. The seminar provided students with the inspiration they will need to become the next generation of our Indigenous leaders.”
The Hoover Institution Indigenous Student Seminar is made possible by the generosity of the Fred Maytag Family Foundation, the Koret Foundation, and the Gianforte Family Foundation. The application process for the 2023 seminar will open in January. Please check back at Hoover.org for updates.
