Tribal Lending and the Return of Positive Migration
Migration is not a new concept to Native Americans. Whether it was voluntarily following the bison herds across the Great Plains or forced removal across the Mississippi River by the federal government, tribal communities have both persevered and felt the detrimental effects of the Manifest Destiny, termination, and urban relocation. Through government intervention or other forces, nearly three quarters of American Indians and Alaska Natives now live in urban areas, compared to less than ten percent back in 1940.
As people leave tribal communities, it places a greater strain on remaining residents to care for elders, preserve cultural practices, and build reservation economies. A study found that reservations seeing population growth from migration were also located near metro areas where job prospects were stronger. In what the authors believe might be a reaction to the federal policy of assimilation from the 1950s, many of those returning to live on reservations are older generations between the ages of 40 and 79.
The desire to seek greater education is a powerful force driving many young Native Americans to leave tribal communities. Although 32 tribal colleges and universities now service more than 30,000 students, there is still a large gap in educational opportunities for Indian students. Gyasi Ross, a Columbia educated attorney, writer, and member of the Blackfeet Nation and Suquamish Territories, wrote about the importance of connecting education to life on the reservation, maintaining a spiritual bond to land and ancestors, and returning to the reservation after graduation to complete the large investment the tribe expended in the student’s early development.
But what are these graduates coming home to on the reservation? Business development and access to capital on reservations significantly lag behind the rest of America. NAFSA members are doing their part in promoting economic opportunities in Indian Country and bringing jobs back to reservations. NAFSA members are located in areas like northern Wisconsin, Montana, northern Oklahoma, and northern California, often hundreds of miles from major metropolitan economic hubs. Tribal lending entities are creating jobs and giving Native graduates the chance to come home, preserve tribal culture, and make migration a positive event again for tribal communities.
