* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Billi A. RainingBird-Morsette is chief executive officer, Plain Green, LLC, Native American Lending Alliance, Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy. The opinions expressed are her own.
We’ve seen all too well the impact of the recent economic downturn in all parts of the United States – rural, urban, and everywhere in between.
And amid the images of shuttered factories, hungry children, and people from all walks of life struggling to make ends meet, one of the many untold tragedies of this recession takes place every day in Indian Country – where I’ve made my home for the past 36 years.
While we can’t downplay the troubles that families across the United States face, on our reservations nationwide, we have an average of 70-80 percent unemployment.
Housing shortages, failing health care services and lack of revenue have left those of us in the Native American community in a more desperate position than ever before. And despite a higher than average unemployment rate, these problems are not new.
Even before the current recession, Indian Country was plagued with some of the worst conditions in the nation.
Higher rates of poverty, hunger, and disease mortality have been common here for generations. Compounding these systemic problems, crime rates are also much higher than the national average.
As Native Americans lose hope in their own futures, and as their tribal societies crumble under the weight of a crippling economic depression, they slowly begin to commit increasingly violent crimes against our own people – many of which have an undeniable impact on the reservation’s women.
Without improved conditions, this cycle of poverty will continue to trap Native Americans generation after generation. We must act now.
While some reservations have experienced rapid economic development by engaging in the gaming industry, rural tribes face more acute challenges.
For tribes like the Chippewa Cree, this enterprise is not possible. Being remotely located in Montana, our reservation does not have the ability to draw tourism and customers for a casino.
Just as the internet and e-commerce has revolutionized the global economy, this technological advancement could hold the key for reviving Indian Country.
Online industries have the power to surmount the challenges of geography – connecting Native American industries to the entire nation, and even the world.
Here on the Rocky Boy reservation, the Chippewa Cree tribe has launched a company called Plain Green. This company is wholly owned by the Chippewa Cree people and reinvests 40 percent of all revenues back into our tribe.
The company, which provides financial services products throughout the United States, is our first step into the e-commerce industry. Using this model, I am confident that we are making progress to overcome the economic difficulties facing our people.
As a Native American woman, I am proud to be the CEO of this company that has experienced unprecedented success in less than one year of operation.
And as a Native American woman, I am proud that we have begun taking on leadership roles for a number of industries throughout Indian Country.
More work is needed; but this is the first step toward preserving our culture and way of life for all future generations.
