One Generation of Self-Determination: Native American Economic Self-Reliance in New Mexico.

This paper examines changes in federal policy that have encouraged economic development by American Indian tribes, and presents examples from New Mexico. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 guaranteed federal provision of education and other services to the tribes, but the newly reorganized tribal governments were regulated almost exclusively by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). In the 1950s, aspects of federal wardship were terminated and Native Americans were relocated to urban areas. In the 1960s, Indian Community Action Programs of the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) allowed tribes to initiate their own reforms, forcing tribal governments to become more structured and to create their own bureaucracies. The OEO also provided training for tribal leaders and established consortia with major universities to provide technical assistance. The 1970s saw the beginning of the self-determination era. Job training for Native Americans was increased, tribes were allowed to contract services from the BIA, and the policy of Indian preference in hiring for Indian programs was strengthened. In the 1980s the Supreme Court ruled in favor of tribes imposing severance taxes on extracted minerals, but sagging world prices for strategic minerals and massive federal cutbacks in programs and services highlighted the boom-and-bust nature of tribal economics. Major program areas administered by Pueblo tribal consortia are listed, and barriers to tribal economic self-reliance are outlined. (SV)