Volume 15 Number 2 • 2002

Meeting the Challenges & Seizing the Opportunities in Indian Country

By Marsha Katz, Organizational Consultant at the Rural Institute

"Where no one intrudes, many can live in harmony." Chief Dan George

Self-employment is a challenging endeavor for anyone. For persons with disabilities living on a reservation, it can present even more challenges—challenges that are unique to each specific community, and challenges that are fairly common throughout Indian Country.

When rehabilitation professionals serving reservations partner with people with disabilities, their families, and others to creatively meet the challenges of self-employment, the benefits are many. Individuals benefit when they actualize their dreams and use their abilities to contribute to their community. The community benefits by gaining a product or service it needs, which also contributes to the greater community economic development. As the individual begins to realize profit from the business, some of that money also gets reinvested in the community when the business owner purchases other goods and services. Some businesses grow enough to create additional jobs in the community, and other businesses find they are more successful if several people bring together their products/services and work cooperatively for the benefit of the group. Self-employment in Indian Country is a circular endeavor where “individual” and “community” are entwined cooperatively to nourish both.

Anyone from outside an Indian community who wishes to partner with people with disabilities inside the community would do well to keep several things in mind, because herein lie some of the challenges that must be met if opportunities are to be seized.

Community as Experts

First and foremost is the reality that the people in and of the community are the real experts. Those of us who are invited into the community to assist may bring ideas and expertise, but we are merely sharing what we know in a way that sort of resembles a Chinese menu. The “diners” of the community are the ones who must then pick and choose from our offerings what they think might make sense in their community. Then they may reshape it for use in a way that is appropriate to the community as well as the person who is starting a business. The wonderful byproduct for those of us coming from the outside is that we have an equal opportunity to learn new things and new ways.

In one Indian community where we at the Rural Institute have consulted, the general unemployment rate is about 80%. Jobs are scarce for everyone, not just for persons with disabilities. Even when jobs do come open, it is uncomfortable for the community’s rehabilitation professionals to promote some of the people they are assisting as candidates to fill those jobs. The reason for their discomfort is the fact that the persons with disabilities all have SSI and/or SSDI benefits, meaning they have at least enough to survive. Others in the community have no income whatsoever, so a job for them means food and clothing and maybe even shelter. The rehabilitation staff have explained to us that it would not be appropriate for people who have “something” to compete for more against people who have basically “nothing.” That was not their way, and it wasn’t a way to promote the feeling of “community.” This challenge is easily converted into an opportunity by exploring possibilities for self-employment. If jobs are scarce, then needed goods and service probably are, too. What better way to invest in a community than to direct our human and financial resources toward helping persons with disabilities start businesses to fill those product and service gaps.

Sovereignty

A second thing to be aware of when partnering with Indian communities is that tribes and reservations are sovereign entities, which are self-governing. As sovereign nations, each tribe and/or reservation has its own distinct personality and characteristics. Customs vary and languages are different, as are geography, population, and their land base. Some tribes and reservations are close to metropolitan areas, while others are hours away by car, boat, plane, sled, or snowmobile. Some reservations are only a few acres and others span hundreds of miles across several states. Consultants and non-Indian rehabilitation professionals must allow themselves time to get to know the community, and for the community to get to know them. Building relationships, showing respect for the culture, and earning trust are necessities if one is to partner successfully with Indian communities. Our challenge is to suspend whatever romantic or stereotypic notions we may come with, in favor of just being respectful and open to learning.

Within the community the challenges to rehabilitation professionals and small business owners with disabilities are as varied as the nature of each tribe, village, corporation, and reservation. In some of the communities where we’ve worked, the tribal council or other governing bodies choose to, or assume they must, approve each business that begins in the community. Decisions can seem, and may in fact be, arbitrary—based on “politics,” perception of people, or simply a lack of process. In other communities, businesses and tribal government are separated by miles, and oversight is minimal, unless a problem for the community arises. Where there is a Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agency, also know as a Section 121 Program (Rehabilitation Act), funding from the federal government flows through tribal administration to the program. Few tribal staff, councils, and others in administration are familiar with the regulations and parameters that govern operation of the Tribal VR programs. This lack of knowledge can result in a tribal government mistakenly seeking to “micro-manage” funds that only Tribal VR programs have federal authority to spend.

If a reservation seeks to maintain its privacy, a business that draws many customers from the outside to the reservation may not be at all welcome. In another community far from any metropolitan area and where people are few and far between, challenges may include how to market and distribute products and services.

Although it may not feel like it at the time, the uniqueness of each reservation really does open up opportunities for everyone. For instance, in one community, serving as a fiduciary for Tribal VR funds resulted in tribal officials assuming a managerial role regarding each person served by the program. Officials second guessed rehabilitation expenditures, and began requesting confidential information about persons with disabilities that they thought they needed in order to approve or disapprove businesses. Of course, the Tribal VR program stood by its obligation to assure confidentiality regarding those it assisted. The VR staff found a temporary solution by assigning a numerical code to each consumer and submitting paperwork to the tribe identified only by the code numbers. Meanwhile, the tribe is re-evaluation the business approval process to provide equity for all.

In a different community, on a national highway several hours from a metropolitan area, the characteristics of the reservation were such that it was economically important to draw in outsiders.

The reservation had made an important beginning by building a rest stop for travelers on the sparsely traveled highway. Persons with disabilities, supported by the Tribal VR program, are adding to that by opening a small restaurant to enhance the offerings at the tribal rest stop.

Partnering

A third area to consider as those of us from outside work with Indian communities is how to share our resources in a respectful and non-judgmental fashion. In some measure this topic draws on the first two areas mentioned: “Community as Experts” and “Sovereignty.” However, because of the added value “Partnering” brings to Indian communities, it is worth addressing on its own. Tribal VR programs do not yet enjoy the permanent funding and Social Security reimbursement that state VR programs enjoy. The large number of persons with disabilities in Indian Country means that resources must be stretched farther to cover more people living in situations often very different from what we think of as mainstream in America. The challenge of serving people with limited tribal resources can be better met by seizing the opportunity to partner with others like state VR, the Veterans Administration, Workforce Investment Act partners, the Social Security Administration, and a variety of other grants, projects, and agencies, as well as volunteers.

It is essential for all parties in these partnerships to come to the table with equal good will and willingness to communicate. We have found it helpful for people representing the various partners to let the others know what the parameters are for their program and what, if any, rules or policies apply. Knowing the rules can be a great guide for unleashing creative ideas, which lead to achieving positive, desired outcomes without violating policy. All the partners each get to claim the successful outcome for their own record keeping because each owns some of that success. Further, every time tribal and non-tribal entities work together successfully, relationships are strengthened, trust builds, and people are better served. As the numbers of successes grow, the occasional unsuccessful situation won’t be blown out of proportion, but will be viewed as the typical occasional occurrence we all experience in this work. Along with the many benefits of partnering, there are also challenges to meet. In many areas partners are miles away so getting together can truly challenge schedules and budgets. In other areas, multiple partners means needing to work effectively with multiple agendas and personalities. But even with these and other challenges, partnering presents an additional opportunity to both survive and thrive.

Conclusion

Since September 11, 2001, we are living in times that may see human service budgets cut to help finance defense and disaster efforts. The prospect of fewer dollars, with more people than ever needing our assistance, underscores the importance of partnerships, the blending of resources, and reaching out to serve all persons with disabilities respectfully and equitably.

In many states people living on reservations and working in Indian communities may have only sporadic contact with non-Indians, often centered around the buying of goods and services. As more Indian people, with and without disabilities, begin to be self-employed, the prospect of mutually satisfying contacts among Indians and non-Indians increases. To foster these connections and assist growing numbers of Native people with disabilities to be equal partners in their community economies, all of us, both those from within Indian communities and those of us from outside, will need to work together creatively to respectfully meet these and other challenges so everyone can seize the opportunities available to maximize employment in Indian communities.