As awful as the spending situation is, there are reasons to be optimistic along the policy front where, over the last 30 years, statutes emphasizing tribal authority and decision-making have been signed into law. These include the Indian Mineral Development Act, various Tribal Self Governance Act bills, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Navajo Surface Leasing Act, the Energy Policy Act, and most recently the HEARTH Act. Using these tools, many tribes have thriving economies and have become engines of growth and jobs, not just for their own members but for surrounding communities as well.

Despite these advances, much still needs to be done, especially in the area of energy development. Energy and natural resource development holds much promise for any number of Indian tribes. Using energy development as the foundation of their economies, the stories of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Jicarilla Apache Tribe and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation are well known to most observers.

Newly identified natural gas and oil reserves, combined with new technologies like horizontal drilling, are opening up newer, and sometimes larger, opportunities across the country. The Mancos Shale formation in New Mexico holds promise for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Navajo Nation and others around the formation.

Renewable energy development also holds promise. The Moapa Solar Project, on the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Nevada, is a huge, 350 megawatt project that will generate 400 construction jobs and at its peak will deliver electricity to 100,000 homes.