Building assets is becoming widely accepted as an important economic development strategy in Indian Country, for a variety of reasons. Research on assetbuilding initiatives, both in and out of Indian Country, has shown that asset building encourages individual and family savings, and can facilitate educating savers in effective money management. Careful use and management of assets has traditionally served to build economic security in American Indian communities, for multiple generations. In August 2004, Tribal leaders, tribal community members, and other interested stakeholders convened at Washington University in St. Louis to discuss several potential asset-building development strategies for Indian Country, and how tribes might go about establishing these strategies in their communities, in culturally appropriate ways.
Project: Native Assets
Citation
Lewis, J. (2005). Building tribal economies: Linking asset building strategies (CSD Report No. 05-23). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.