"If one good thing comes out of these challenging economic times I hope every tribe would take some time to conduct a thorough assessment of its financial standing. Imagine if your tribe had conducted that assessment several years ago and then based its financial decisions not on what everyone else was doing, but instead asked themselves: What is in the best financial interest of my tribe? What can we afford? What if these good times don’t last? Are we getting a reasonable return on our investment in this project?

Unfortunately, governments and individuals are now awash in debt with no ready plan or significant reserves in place to help mitigate the forthcoming demands from creditors and certain reductions in programs, services and personnel. If your tribe does not understand the true state of its financial health, it may be headed for potentially daunting and long-term problems.

I’ve observed Indian country long enough to know that tribes are ready and able to quickly unite against political and legal threats to sovereignty. But when tribal sovereignty is threatened internally – gangs, drugs, family violence, political turmoil, etc. – the reaction can range from denial to demanding additional federal assistance.

Now, other internal threats are appearing – poor financial organization and lack of financial discipline. The threats are nothing new; they’ve always been there. The difference is that Indian country is becoming keenly aware that they can no longer ignore these threats or hope that someone else will resolve them. Unless tribes commit themselves to putting their financial houses in order, tribes, individually and collectively, may have to live with the negative financial and social consequences for a long time."

Get the Story:
Daniel N. Lewis: Put your financial house in order (Indian Country Today 10/8)