Native American lands are often rich in natural resources yet bastions of poverty. This paradox results largely from three main obstacles that impede entrepreneurship, the market process, and economic development: the federal land trust, a dual federal-tribal bureaucracy, and legal and political uncertainty.

Jordan K. Lofthouse is a Mercatus Ph.D. fellow in the Department of Economics at George Mason University.
Economic History and DevelopmentEconomy
Other Independent Review articles by Jordan K. Lofthouse
Fall 2022 The New Trail of Tears: How Washington Is Destroying American Indians