Casey Lozar Vice President, Director of Center for Indian Country Development

Xest Sxlxalt (Good day)! Thank you to all who engage with and inform the work the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) does on behalf of Indian Country.

Today we embark on a new direction and share our updated mission to advance the economic self-determination and prosperity of Native nations and Indigenous communities through actionable data and research that make substantial contributions to public policy. This mission aligns with our work as a Federal Reserve System resource and the Minneapolis Fed’s pursuit of a growing economy and stable financial system that work for all of us.

Native nations and organizations around the country have long articulated the need to address harmful data gaps that impede economic decision-making in Indian Country. These gaps have limited decision-makers’ understanding of the economic contributions, needs, and opportunities of Indian Country and the wide diversity of Native nations and Indigenous communities. Here at CICD, we recognize that the national conversation on full participation in the economy has raised attention to the need to address these data gaps. To that end, we at CICD are committed to anchoring our research efforts on the components of economic infrastructure that:

• Add explicit value to Indian Country economic development;
• Recognize the inherent sovereignty of Native nations; and
• Equip tribal, state, and federal policymakers with research and information they need to shape evidence-based policy.

Tribal governments play a critical role in providing the public goods necessary for tribal economic prosperity. Self-determination has empowered tribal nations to manage their treasuries and determine their development visions and priorities. However, large economic gaps between Indian Country and the rest of the United States remain.

Our strategic focus areas

Our team has committed to dig deeper into several areas of Native economies, including the contribution of tribal enterprises and tribal revenues toward public goods and services. The economic impacts of tribal tax policies and impediments is another area ripe for analysis, as are the efficacy of various revenue opportunities such as bond financing and tax credits. We also want to better understand capital and credit constraints that limit Indian Country economic development. Our research and policy focus areas include long-term, complex challenges as well as emerging opportunities and issues of concern, such as ways to mitigate the pandemic’s effects.

Characteristics of our strategic research areas

Studying problems simply is not enough. We know that for CICD’s work to be effective, it must be accessible, consequential, and relevant. We are asking and answering questions with the intent of helping unlock the full economic potential of Indian Country. We aim to provide policymakers at all levels the data analysis they need to support tribal self-determination and engage in effective and productive government-to-government relationships. Our applied research has clear policy relevance and practitioner impacts, and it illuminates important policy concerns.

How are we accomplishing this?

We are engaging Native nations and organizations to understand the economic opportunities and financial challenges Indian Country is facing. Our research team is making a targeted contribution to improving the quality of and access to Indian Country data through user-friendly data dashboards and applied-research surveys focused on targeted questions. We strive to serve as an accessible, go-to resource for data tools, research, and analysis important to economic decision-making in Indian Country. Our research examines innovative practices and policies as well as data trends over time. We convene stakeholders to understand their research and data needs. Across our work, we uphold principles for research and data use that honor tribal data sovereignty and governance.

A special thank you to those who came before us and laid the foundation for our work today. In its first seven years, CICD addressed a wide range of projects and topics, including tribal business alliances, legal infrastructure modernization, language-immersion-school effectiveness, tribal homeownership, Native labor market conditions, and COVID-19 pulse surveys.

Our new and growing team of researchers and policy professionals is excited to continue deepening our work in Indian Country economic development. We will continue—in conversation with tribal leaders and communities—to be a responsive resource that helps to collectively bring about economic prosperity for Native nations and Indigenous communities throughout the United States.

Lem’lmnts (Thank you),

Casey Lozar (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes)
Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Director, Center for Indian Country Development