In many people’s views of the American Indian world, these filters are frequently spawned from myths, stereotypes, and misperceptions that, as I said earlier, become locked in our inner core.  Unfortunately these myths, stereotypes, and misperceptions go both ways — Indian people have their own set of filters about non-Indians.  I will cover those in the next newsletter.  In this issue I will focus on those myths, stereotypes, and misperceptions I commonly hear in the non-Indian world about the American Indian community.

1. American Indians receive payments from the Federal government just for being an Indian.

This is one of the most misunderstood myths today. Historically, treaties approved by Congress authorized the Federal government to make payments to American Indian tribes as compensation for lands ceded in those treaties. However, most payments were for a limited period of time, five years for instance, and then the payments were terminated. Today, American Indian people do receive payments from the federal government but, just like everyone else, in the form of tax returns, welfare payments, or unemployment checks. However, no American Indian person receives a check from the federal government just for having American Indian descent or heritage.

2. Gaming (casinos) has made American Indians rich.

Another myth perpetuated by the media today is that American Indian people are getting rich from gaming on tribal lands. If we look at this issue from an objective perspective we find that few tribes are making it big in gaming. Most are break-even business ventures at best, due to the remote location of most tribes and their proximity to large cities. Those near large cities or tourist destinations tend to be the most suc­cessful. In addition, most states have compacts with tribes who have casinos, requiring a portion of the profits to be paid to the state in the form of royalties

3. American Indians do not pay taxes.

Another com­monly held myth is that American Indian people do not pay taxes. American Indian people are subject to the same federal income taxes assessed on earned income regardless of where it is earned, on or off the reservation. However, there are differences with state income taxes. For example, in most states, income earned on the reservation is not subject to state income tax. Income earned off the reservation is subject to state income tax. Property taxes are not assessed on tribal lands on the reser­vation but are assessed for those individuals living off the reservation or on deeded lands within the reservation. Sales tax is paid by American Indian people for purchases off the reservation (where applicable) and may or may not be assessed for purchases on the reservation.  American Indians are subject to the same tax liabilities and shelters as everyone else depending on where and how the income is earned.

4. All American Indian tribes are essentially the same.

First, this is perhaps the most egregiously racist idea of them all. It’s the same as saying all Asians are the same or all Blacks, Latinos, or Whites are the same. In the case of the American Indian, this culturally-perpetuated myth probably comes from a lack of understanding American Indian history. American Indian tribes are as diverse as the states in our country.  Alaskan natives are as culturally distinct as the Seminoles inFlorida. Southern tribes inNew MexicoandArizonahave been historically influenced by the Spanish culture, whereas northern tribes have been historically influenced by the French Canadians. Some tribes are very affluent and others live with high levels of poverty and so forth. Even bands within tribes may be culturally different.  We must recognize that tribes are as distinct and diverse as any other culture.

5. Tribal Sovereignty and treaties do not have any significance in today’s political, social and environmental arena.

Again, this is a false perception based upon a poor understanding of the role of treaties and sovereignty in American Indian history and culture. The treaties negotiated in the 1800s have the same legal standing as those negotiated with other countries in the world. Treaties outline retained rights (hunting, fishing, and gathering), compensation for ceded lands, reservation boundaries, and other factors. Retained rights are those rights tribes had well before the first foreigner set foot in this country.

You need to be aware of the basic premise behind tribal sovereignty. Simply stated, tribal sovereignty is pre-existing and inherent to that of the United Statesand was not given to tribes by the federal government. Treaties were negotiated between two sovereigns—the tribal government and the United Statesgovernment.

What is the end result of all this?  Let’s say you harbor the erroneous stereotype that I talked about earlier, that American Indian people get payments from the federal government just for being Indian. As I mentioned earlier, many people have developed feelings and opinions on a topic based upon how they were raised and their past experiences, so let’s presume that you have this assumption imprinted into your core values based on your upbringing. If you have this perception and are visiting a tribe that asked for your assistance in economic development, this attitude will most likely be reflected in your delivery during discussions. Your inner thoughts might be, “Why do American Indians need more money when they get paid by the government?” or “How can this tribal person talk about poverty when they all get paid by the government?” If you educate yourself more on this topic, you would find where the origin of this idea was and that your thinking and/or information is false.  These filters become subtle in our presentations and are easily read by those we are communicating with.  The situation eventually evolves into a communication breakdown.

Your can read an in-depth discussion about these myths, stereotypes, and misperceptions in “Working In Indian Country: Building Successful Business Relationships with American Indian Tribes.”

I would like to present another perspective about American Indian history as told to me by numerous tribal officials and elders.  First, in the eyes of many American Indians, history is not a chronological record but rather a series of events that were experienced first hand by many of their grandparents and great grandparents.  It is what we would call “very close to home”.

Today, an American Indian’s memory might be fraught with broken  treaties, massacres of American Indian women and children, traditional land being taken for non-Indian settlement, removal of tribes hundreds and thousands of miles from their homelands, placement on reservations in inhumane conditions, diet changes resulting in long-term health issues, surrendering rights and freedoms, and so much more.  More importantly, they learned of these events through oral histories passed from generation to generation, not in the public school classroom or from a textbook.  Their ancestors, their great grandparents, most likely lived through these events directly.  Consequently, their memories are long and accurate, often going back centuries.

Tribal leaders and elders have provided me a diversity of opinions about American Indian history.  Some have told me that history is important and needs to be retold to remind government and business officials what the American Indian community has suffered through in order to avoid reoccurrence of the past.  In your dealings with tribes, you may be required to listen to tribal leaders articulate the linkages of past government and business actions, policies, and events toward American Indians which have led to the suspicious Indian community today.  Other tribal leaders will say history is in the past and we just need to move forward and focus on the future.  In either case, you need to understand how certain historical events have shaped these current attitudes.

I cannot put too fine a point on this.  The contrast in these viewpoints of history creates challenges for all of us who have a desire to work effectively in Indian country.  I hope you understand that our perspective of history and an American Indian’s perspective of history may be totally contrary to each other.  For example, you may look at the first contact between Natives and Europeans as an idealistic time of the first Thanksgiving or settlement of the West.  An American Indian may look at it as a time of tragedy and suppression.  The whole point is to help you develop trust with the specific tribe you’re working with.  As you understand history from the American Indian perspective, you are better prepared to avoid repeating those historical events, actions, and behaviors that can get in the way of building the desired working relationship.

You can learn more about how American Indian history affects your ability to build relationships and trust with tribes today in “Working in Indian Country: Building Successful Business Relationships with American Indian Tribes.” Go to our Book Overview Page to learn more.

Oh, how we look to our leaders – those that are visionary, motivate our organizations, and keep our compass pointed in the right direction.  Our list of prominent leaders like John F. Kennedy (putting a man on the moon by the end of the 60’s), Martin Luther King (his “I Have a Dream” speech), Theodore Roosevelt (the conservationist), or Crazy Horse (a warrior and his work on Indian affairs) comes to mind.  Yes, they were important visionaries, motivators, and molded the history of our country to what it has become today.

We tell ourselves that we could never be a leader like those famous people and have a significant impact in Indian country.  Let me build a fire and lighten the darkness of that thought by making two important points.  First, we need to rethink or redefine our perception of what leadership is and how it might apply to Indian country.  Second, any one of us can be a leader and significantly influence how others work and interact with American Indian tribes.  The fact is we need leaders at all levels in our society – not just those on the national or international stage.  When working in Indian country we need a leadership approach similar to, yet different from, what we read or learn in a classroom setting.  Let’s look at these points in detail.

I once interviewed Arthur “Butch” Blazer, the former State Forester from New Mexico and he made a very important point.  He said,

When I say leadership I’m referring more to that cultural understanding of how to effectively interact with tribal leadership.  It’s not something that’s that easy to do.

The “cultural understanding” Mr. Blazer refers to is so critical.  It’s because culture often defines how tribal governments operate, which in turn defines our business and leadership approach.  Only through understanding the culture, and in turn the tribal protocol, can we adjust our approach to effectively interact with American Indian tribes.

In his book, Leadership Without Easy Answers, (1994, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press)  Ronald A. Heifetz, helps us understand how we can redefine leadership.  Heifetz states,

Rather than define leadership either as a position of authority in a social structure or as a personal set of characteristics, we may find it a great deal more useful to define leadership as an activity.  This allows for leadership from multiple positions in a social structure.  A President and a clerk can both lead.  It also allows for the use of a variety of abilities depending on the demands of the culture and situation.

In his definition, Heifetz makes two vital points that are applicable to working in Indian country.  First, leadership is a set of activities or skills that are adjusted to meet cultural situations.  Second, anyone can provide leadership despite his or her standing in an organization.  In other words, Heifetz’s idea of leadership is that it can be done by anyone in an organization and can be adjusted to fit any culture—internally to an organization or externally when dealing with different social cultures such as the American Indian community.

In my next article I will discuss what these activities and skills are and how we can apply them when working in Indian country.

In my previous article I discussed a new approach to leadership when working in Indian country.  It ended with a definition of leadership being a set of activities or skills that are adjusted to meet cultural situations.

The activities and skills that define a new approach to leadership when working in Indian country include many of those we often take for granted in our contemporary business environment yet have a distinctive culture style.  They include how we show respect, communicate, build and maintain relationships, and earn trust.  Each of these activities and skills are grounded in American Indian culture in a way that we must learn and practice to be successful in Indian country.

As an example of how we might adjust to these cultural situations, let’s start with how we show and display respect to a tribe or tribal official.  When we analyze the word respect—we find there are two very important words used to define respect: esteem and deference.  Esteem is “to feel or show admiration and deference toward somebody or something.”  Deference is “putting another person’s interest first” or “submitting to the judgment, opinion, or wishes of another person.”  As we take this a step further, the phrase “in deference to,” means “out of respect or courtesy to somebody or something.”

This leads us to the Platinum Rule that says, “Treat someone the way they wish to be treated, not how we want to be treated.”  If we apply the Platinum Rule to the word “respect,” the first thing we need to recognize is that tribes are sovereign entities – they are independent governments that define their own vision, future, and operational protocols.  Contrary to the contemporary definition of a leader where one provides vision, motivation, and direction, we in the non-Indian community cannot dictate or mandate a vision for a tribe, much less, tell them what they have to do the achieve that vision.  Not respecting sovereignty leads us to being condescending, patronizing, overbearing, and disrespectful to the recognition the American Indian community has fought long and hard for.  We must resist that burning urge to take control when things do not go as we think they should.

The challenges that face us on how we show and display respect to tribes and tribal leaders lean heavily towards honoring the cultural protocols they wish to operate under.  The list of protocols is long but some questions you might ask yourself include:  Are we really listening and hearing what tribal leaders have to say?  Do we know when and how to respond?  Do we ask questions rather than make firm statements about what might be best for them?  Are we willing to honor the spiritual protocols they might want to include?  Are we open to being tested?  Are we willing to shed our bureaucratic image?  Have we put aside our misperceptions and stereotypes and learned the facts about American Indians?  Do we understand the implications of body language and humor?  Are we willing to put in the time to build and nurture a relationship?  Are we willing to work on a timeframe that might be different from what you consider as typical?  Are we comfortable operating in a culturally different environment?

To sum it up, Eddie Tullis, past chairman of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama says,

Those people that come along and say, “I’ve got a million dollars to build an airport,” and I say, “Well the first thing, does it have to be on a reservation?” And they say, “Oh yeah, it has to be on a reservation.”  Well you don’t need to spend … time with me if you’re telling me [it has] to be on a reservation. I don’t care how much money you have because I [don’t have a] reservation to put it on. There’s no use in me taking up my time and my staff’s time trying to decide … If we could make those runways in a circle we might fit it on here. You’ve got to understand your customer and you’ve got to understand the reservation and all before you really start doing that … A lot of that is getting to know your customer, getting to establish that relationship.

So, develop these leadership activities and skills, get to know your customer, and educate yourself on the protocols that tribes wish to employ – basically treat them the way they wish to be treated!

To learn more about developing a new leadership perspective order your copy of  “Working In Indian Country”.