Indigenous Approaches to Economic Development and Sustainability

ABSTRACT

Indigenous Peoples are not some homogenous mass but are grouped, belong to and identify with, diverse groups-constructs such as culture, nation, confederacy, tribe, band, ethnicity, religion, “race” and clan, family. But these and other groups-constructs are, like the dimensions of the historical social formations and modes of production within which they were developed, socio-cultural, geo-historical, economic, politico-legal and global; not a matter of biology or genes. Thus as there are some common denominators among also diverse groups of non-Indigenous Peoples, so it is with Indigenous Peoples: some common defining and differentiating denominators in terms of common themes and “epistemologies” as well as “heuristics” (traditional rules of thumb) constructs, definitions of, integrated or more “holistic” and “dialectical” approaches to: development; growth; sustainability; roles of tradition, command and markets in posing and answering basic questions of all social formations and modes of production: what, how, where, when, why, for whom, to produce, distribute, utilize the means of subsistence, survival and expanded reproduction of the society. This paper explores some differences and implications between Indigenous versus more Eurocentric definitions and approaches to economic growth, development and sustainability.

KEYWORDS:

• Economic development
• indigenous
• Eurocentric

Acknowledgements

This article is based on the lecture/paper delivered to the Faculty of Anthropology and Ethnology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China, July 25, 2009.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on Contributor

James M. Craven (Blackfoot name: Omahkohkiaaiipooyii) is Professor of Economics & Geography (tenured-retired; current: visiting-consulting) for over 30 years in US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Europe, India and China. He published in the areas of Political Economy of Genocide; Economic Geography of Comparative Systems-Ideologies (Stone Age to Socialism); International Law on Nations and Genocide; Critical-Scientific Thinking-Method. He recently lectured abroad in China at Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Yunnan University.

Notes

1 Externalities are costs or benefits that accrue to society as a result of private or public transactions and activities by individuals or entities within that society. Environmental destruction, social alienation, citizen cynicism and distrust are all examples of negative externalities with social costs, that result and “spillover” on society from private or public activities. Externalities can also be positive such as the health benefits on many people from use of a public park or perhaps a private gymnasium. In “mainstream” neoclassical economic theory, without the very government intervention that they neoclassical economists often decry, there is a tendency for unregulated markets, coupled with greed and competitive imperatives, to cause less than all the true (private plus social) costs to be assessed and paid by those causing them and less than the true benefits (private plus social) to be assessed and paid by those receiving them. Thus unregulated markets tend to over-production and under-pricing when negative externalities are present and social costs not in pricing, and under-production and under-pricing when positive externalities are present not assessed.

2 An excellent overview of the development of the concept of social capital, for which I am indebted, can be found in Putnam (2000, 2002).

3 See Colander’s (2010, 606) Figure 26–3—Sources of Real US GDP Growth quote of Edward Denison who saw US economic growth 1928–2005 as a function of 4 basic sources: physical capital 19%; human capital 13%; labor 33% and technology 35%.

4 A Tautology is a circular argument or definition. Examples include “Science is what scientists do and scientists are those who do science.” Or, “science is that which builds upon a foundation of what was generally regarded by a community of scientists as science.” Here by defining as economic growth and development what is in essence central to capitalism and its survival (conspicuous consumption of ever expanding material goods and services per capita) and by defining as essential to achieving economic growth and development that which is defining in capitalism (production of commodities by means of commodities, markets, property rights, wage labor) we wind up with a tautology that capitalism = economic growth and development and/or only capitalism can best and most efficiently promote and achieve economic growth and development.

5 The 1948 UN Convention on Genocide, to which Canada became a signatory in 1953 and to which the US still remains not a full signatory because of the Hatch, Helms and Lugar “Sovereignty Amendment of 1988,” in Article II defines a five-part test, any one of which, not all required to constitutes genocide: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting upon a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures designed to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of one group to another group.

6 In most Indigenous cultures, the number four is not merely a quantity or cardinal magnitude, without quality or force as in many Eurocentric cultures (four of what?); it has its own power, symbolism and force giving it quality in addition to quantity. The number four stands for: the four principle directions of the compass (North, South, East and West); the four principle colors of the human family (Black White Red and Yellow); the four forms of balance that all humans must seek to survive and prosper (Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual); the four basic elements of Nature (Wind, Fire, Earth and Water). In this model, there are four basic dimensions of development and sustainability that illustrate the dialectical unity of the macro and the micro levels of existence: control of assets and kinship (macro) and personal efficacy and spirituality (micro).

7 In most Indigenous cultures, “Spirituality” (more an individual matter) is differentiated from religion which is about organized dogma and rituals shared by a community of the religious. “Spirituality” means being guided by the “spirit” of something transcendent and beyond oneself. When indigenous people refer to “spirit” they are referring to the potential energy (as specified in the four laws of thermodynamics) embodied in all things and thus one reason why Indigenous people do not differentiate “animate” and “inanimate” aspects of the cosmos.

8 The so-called Republic of China or Taiwan (China) is currently only recognized by 15 nation states including the Vatican, as the supposed “legitimate government” of all of China whereas up until the 1970s, the reality and legitimacy of the People’s Republic of China as the sole and legitimate government of all of China was denied except by a handful of nations yet the objective reality of and international law supporting, the PRC as the sole and legitimate representative of the whole nation of China was never in question by any honest and thinking person or government.

9 For examples: “I don’ t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves” (Henry Kissinger); “Not a nut or bolt shall reach Chile under Allende. Once Allende comes to power, we shall do all within our power to condemn Chile and all Chileans to utmost deprivation and poverty” (Edward M. Korry, US Ambassador to Chile, upon hearing of Allende’s election); “Make the economy scream [in Chile to] prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him” (Richard Nixon, orders to CIA director Richard Helms on September 15, 1970); “It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup. It would be much preferable to have this transpire prior to 24 October but efforts in this regard will continue vigorously beyond this date. We are to continue to generate maximum pressure toward this end, utilizing every appropriate resource. It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG and American hand be well hidden . . .” (A communiqué to the CIA base in Chile, issued on October 16, 1970). Also quoted in “Neoclassical Economics and Neo-liberalism as Neo-Imperialism” (by James Craven/Omahkohkiaaiipooyii, Lecture to the Academy of Marxism of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, August 11, 2009, Beijing, China).

10 This was based on a translation of a speech by Chief Sealth from Suquamish into Chinook jargon and then into English. Its authenticity has been questioned and that of Chief Sealth only on the basis that he sounded “too articulate” to be the real author and that “thus” it “must have been” written by a screenwriter. See https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1985/spring/chief-seattle.html, accessed January 8, 2020.