"Indian Country, especially its new middle class, wields formidable purchasing power, spending millions upon millions of dollars annually on goods and services. Yet “[o]n most reservations, there are few retail stores and tribal members must go off reservation and pay state taxes on everything they buy. Nationwide, this amounts to $246 million annually in tax revenues to state governments.”

Although the infrastructure needed to support a robust reservation retail sector is largely still lacking in Indian Country, tribal citizens can still buy Indian/local, most notably via the Internet, where all varieties of tribal retail goods and services are available for sale. Indeed, “when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms — continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.” This is especially true in Indian Country."

Get the Story:
Gabe Galanda: Buy Indian, Buy Local This Black Friday (Galanda Broadman 11/21)

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