Stories of my ancestors interacting with families of the Northwestern Shoshone tribe enthralled me as a girl. The idea that the native people were self-sufficient and often helped the early settlers survive by trading goods, such as animal skins, and by sharing their knowledge of water sources and hunting grounds was inspiring. Today, however, many “First Nations” are stuck in a welfare state. PERC’s latest issue of PERC Reports looks at past and present trends in indigenous life, shining a light on how property rights and individual initiative can help create a higher standard of living and improve environmental quality on reservations and beyond.
PERC president TERRY ANDERSON points out that American Indians and First Nations people can reach back into their rich cultural heritage and find institutions that rewarded individual initiative. The key is for tribes to take this initiative again and for Congress to give tribal nations the rights that were once theirs.
Why is it that reservations are so…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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