Bounding American Indian Businesses

Abstract

Every Native Nation is a “border nation”— physically, economically, politically, and legally. As such, the volatile topic of these Native Nation boundaries is historically and contemporarily enmeshed with contestation and conflict, not only in the larger political actions of these states but also as it is felt in the daily lives of American Indian peoples. Boundaries of territory and citizenry in particular have always been crucial to the subject of American Indian rights. The delineations of these boundaries, then, have complications and consequences for the exercise of EBCI economic sovereignty as well as for the small- business owners that choose to operate there. These boundary formations are critical to understanding the contextual distinctiveness of federally recognized American Indian entrepreneurs through land rights, formation of citizenship requirements, and issues of representation (especially in relation to citizenship). This chapter looks specifically at the issues of land scarcity, trust land for Native Nations and their citizens, the cultural capital of this land in a tourism context, and the environmental impacts of economic development. Land scarcity may also cause citizens to leave the Qualla Boundary, resulting in some instances in brain drain, networking loss, and economic drain. The importance of citizenship, along with its complications, are illustrated through the efforts of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians artists and their strategies to market their work.