Although gaming-related issues receive much attention in the field of Indian Reservation Economic Development, there exist many other viable tactics for attracting capital to a reservation. 

Indian Reservations have unique characteristics that complicate the processes of attracting employment possibilities.  Among these characteristic are: locations that are often remote; sociohistorical factors of poverty and chronic unemployment; "developing" infrastructure systems, etc. 

Given these circumstances, attracting profitable industries is a more difficult process than elsewhere in the United States.  Below are some industries that have been successful on certain reservations, along with a brief description of the industries' relevant attributes: 
 

With the American tourism industry growing annually, many tribes have seized the opportunity to expand.  There is an obvious caveat here, in that not all locations are well suited for tourism; being located in a scenic area is essential. 

Tribes endowed with tourism possibilities have sometimes found that tourism can be a sustaining industry.  To illustrate how lucrative tourism can be, Arizona's White Mountain Apache Tribe operates the Sunrise Park ski resort that is the largest non-gaming reservation enterprise in the United States. 

Less controversial than gambling, tourism is widely thought to be consistent with, and even encouraging traditional Indian values by fostering "cultural tourism" that highlights traditional Indian culture.  Many reservations are combining gaming and tourism by building resort hotels or entertainment complexes adjacent to their existing casinos.  Examples of this strategy include North Carolina's Eastern Cherokee Reservation, which is currently building a large resort to complement its recently expanded casino.  Located on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cherokee's reservation is uniquely able to extract considerable revenue from tourism. 

However, as with gaming, location is everything, so tourism is not a viable option for tribes that are not situated on scenic ground. 
 
 

Long before the term "economic development" was known, the Department of Interior promoted the development of agriculture on reservations as a means of achieving an export-producing economy.  However, there are some fundamental problems with farming in Indian Country today. 

First, Indian farms are often on marginal lands with little rainfall or poor soils.  Few reservations have enough arable land to contain many productive farms.  With most large reservations located in the West, the issue of water rights becomes tantamount to agricultural success.  In that regard, Indian Nations and the U.S. government have been dueling for more than a century. 

The water rights issue is massively complicated, with both Indian and non-Indian lands claiming rights to the same water sources.  In addition, federal water treaties have historically denied needed irrigation to Indian Reservations while providing it to off-reservation bordering ranches or farms. 

Indian farms typically produce lower yields that non-Indian lands.  One major problem is that much of Indian Country was divided into 160 acre parcels under the 1887 General Allotment Act.  Similar to the Homestead Act, the GAA dealt lot sizes several times too small to be profitable in the late 20th Century.  When combined with the scarcity of water, these farms or ranches often become too small to even support one family.  As if small farm sizes wasn't bad enough, the lack of a land inheritance framework means that parcels are sometimes placed under the trust of dozens of individuals, reducing personal incentives for productive agricultural techniques. 

Farming and husbandry constitute substantial industries on many large reservations, but the water rights and land ownership issues must be resolved before agriculture can become a widely successful component of reservation economic development. 
 

With many larger reservations consisting of millions of acres, a resource- based economy seems sensible.  Many tribes rely heavily on natural resources; Washington's Yakima Nation generates 80 percent of its tribal income from forestry.  The Yakima, who have been commercially foresting their land since the 1950s, illustrate that resource-based economic development is compatible with traditional cultural values that stress respectful veneration of tribal lands. 

In the past, most Indian tribes engaged in logging tended to contract felling and processing related to outside firms, but that has begun to change recently.  Now, many tribes have begun to control more aspects of their forestry operations.  Tribally owned sawmills and processing plants are common on reservations.  These facilities allow tribes a greater role in determining their own economic destinies. 

Mining enterprises also account for a major share of revenue for many tribes.  In fact, aggregate tribal mineral resources are huge, with Indian Nations controlling large deposits of oil, natural gas, iron ore, coal, and uranium.  

Extractive enterprises require very high startup costs, even for low-technology resources such as industrial aggregate (crushed stone).  Therefore, development on tribally-owned mining concerns has been slower than in other industries, and currently most mining is conducted by outside companies whose main contribution to the reservation economy is in extraction and exploration royalties, rather than employment of tribe members.  Still, mining account for a major portion of reservation income.  For more information on mining, see the BIA's Division of Energy & Mineral Resources web site. 
 

  

Manufacturing is often considered to be the crown jewel of reservation economic development because it symbolizes a skilled workforce producing a value-added product.  Many tribal economic development divisions recruit outside manufacturers to locate on their reservation, stressing the regulation-free environment and eager local workforce as attractors. 

While some success has occurred in reservation manufacturing, it has been a slow process.  Outside companies are hesitant to take the risks of dealing with the notions of sovereignty and liability under tribal jurisdictions.  Meanwhile, tribal ventures have encountered some success, but building experience in manufacturing takes much time. 

Most manufacturing enterprises on reservations make products requiring fewer sunk costs, such as textiles or jewelry.  However, there has been an increase in enterprises such as machining and electronics assembly.  Organizations such as the Native American Manufacturer's Network and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs offer assistance through grants and consulting services. 

Although considered the lowest rung on the economic development ladder by many economists, retailing serves important functions in reservation economies.  Many reservations have underdeveloped retail infrastructures, necessitating that residents drive to off-reservation "border towns" in order to buy even the most basic goods. 

Development of retail stores within reservations not only enables residents to support local businesses, but it also generates "Import Replacement," which keeps money on site and theoretically generates cumulative economic benefits.  Retailing is often taken for granted elsewhere in the United States, but is a crucial first step for many reservations struggling with the problem of how to attract further development.  Once a successful retail environment is created, other more prestigious economic entities will more easily follow. 

Retailing is also important for an employment perspective.  With unemployment staggeringly high for decades, a "culture of poverty" has developed on many reservations, with current residents having few job skills.  Although jobs created in retailing offer low wages, they do generally provide entry level employment possibilities to tribe members who would otherwise remain unemployed. 
 

The above list of industries is not intended to be all-inclusive, but rather serve as a basic introduction to major economic development sectors and strategies found on Indian Reservations.