RESEARCH STARTER

Employment among American Indians

Employment among American Indians has a complex history shaped by pre-contact economies, European colonization, and contemporary challenges. Before European arrival, American Indians had extensive trade networks and diverse labor systems, where both genders contributed to subsistence and trade. The onset of European colonization disrupted these economies, particularly with the fur trade, which initially involved a degree of cooperation between Native peoples and European traders. However, as demand for land grew, many tribes faced forced removals and confinement to reservations, severely limiting their economic opportunities.

The reservation system established in the late 19th century led to high unemployment rates and poverty, as traditional hunting, fishing, and agriculture were often rendered unviable. Federal policies aimed at addressing these issues, such as the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, had mixed outcomes. The post-World War II era saw significant migration of American Indians to urban areas in search of better job prospects, although many still faced economic hardships in cities.

Today, while some tribes are exploring economic development through initiatives like gaming, employment opportunities remain limited, particularly on reservations where unemployment rates can be extremely high. The labor force participation of American Indians is generally lower than that of the broader population, with many employed in low-wage, seasonal, or part-time positions. Ongoing efforts for economic revitalization and education improvements are essential for enhancing employment among American Indians.

Full Article

  • SIGNIFICANCE: Traditional means of making a living radically changed for Native Americans after contact with Europeans.

In the pre-contact period, prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America, American Indians had extensive trading networks throughout Canada, the United States, and Central and South America. Agricultural goods, manufactured items such as jewelry, pottery, and tanned hides, and natural resources such as seashells were bartered or sold.

Traditional Labor

Labor was required to sustain this extensive trade network, but little is known about how the labor systems were organized. Tribal groups in the Mississippi River area, the southwestern United States, and Central and South America had highly specialized labor forces in which both men and women participated. Division of labor was determined in part by gender, talent, and social position. These societies were organized hierarchically and sometimes incorporated slaves (captives from other tribes), who performed undesirable labor.

Much of North America and Canada was inhabited by nomadic hunting and gathering societies and semisedentary agriculturalists. In these societies, division of labor was based primarily on gender and was less complex, with most tribal members working toward the common goal of providing food, shelter, and clothing for survival. In these subsistence economies, there was little opportunity for members to specialize in any one area, such as art or medicine. Such cultures stressed sharing and egalitarianism as a way to ensure the well-being of the people. Everyone worked for the common good.

The Fur Trade

European migration to North America was primarily motivated by economic interests. The first phase of European-Indian relations revolved around the fur trade, which required the incorporation of Indian labor. The early period of the fur trade is marked by relative equality among Europeans and native people. Indian men and women labored to supply processed hides and pelts for the fur trade. In return for their labor, American Indians were paid with European trade goods—metal pots, needles, knives, guns, and a variety of domestic goods. During this period, those Indian people who obtained European trade goods would redistribute them among tribal members, thus maintaining the tribal ideal of generosity and sharing. The trade goods changed the work patterns of both Indian men and women. Guns and traps permitted more men to hunt and kill more game, and, in turn, women were required to tan more hides for trade. American Indian labor during this period was still directed toward the good of the tribe, but increasingly tribal welfare depended on sources outside the tribe.

The fur trade was an important source of labor for American Indians, but the fur trade period ended as animal populations decreased and as European fashion changed. The decline in the fur trade coincides with the emergence of the United States and marks a period of change in the economic position of Indians. Indians were no longer needed as laborers in the new economy. The European American population was rapidly increasing, and there was an increased desire for land. Indians became a hindrance in this emerging economic system. The relative lack of demand for Indian labor, coupled with the high demand for Indian land, caused the US government to remove Indians from areas coveted by European Americans and resettle them on poor lands.

The Reservation System

The reservation system was firmly in place by the late nineteenth century, and it caused considerable change in the work patterns of tribal groups. For the most part, hunting and fishing were no longer possible on the restricted land base, and traditional agricultural practices were not viable or were discouraged. The reservation system afforded little opportunity for Indian people to provide adequately for their families, and it is directly linked to contemporary reservation poverty.

During the early reservation period, some Indian men worked for federal agents as freight haulers, policemen, and laborers. Indian women sometimes sold pottery, beadwork, baskets, or other small items. Income from these sources was small. Government policy largely confined Indian people to their reservations, so they were unable to sell their labor for wages off the reservations. Federal Indian policy, most notably the General Allotment Act (1887), reduced the American Indian land base and subdivided the land among many heirs so that productive use of reservation lands became nearly impossible. High Indian unemployment rates caused a gradual loosening of federal policies of confinement to reservations, and by the early twentieth century, American Indians commonly worked in off-reservation jobs as laborers on farms and ranches and in mines. The 1930 census indicates that 80 percent of Indian men were working for wages, mostly in agricultural jobs. Most of this work was unskilled, seasonal, and off-reservation.

The 1930s

In the 1930s, federal American Indian policy sought to address the problem of high unemployment and poor economic opportunity on the reservations. A 1928 study, The Problem of Indian Administration, commonly known as the Meriam Report, criticized federal Indian policy that intentionally removed Indian control over lands and resources and contributed to the widespread poverty and unemployment that characterized reservations. Partly in response to this study, the Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934. This act was intended to enable tribes to consolidate severely checkerboarded reservation lands, take out low-interest loans to establish economic ventures on reservations, and increase farming and ranching opportunities on reservations. The Great Depression prevented any significant business development on reservations; however, a fair number of Indian people benefited through various New Deal programs, particularly the Indian Division of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which employed and trained more than eighty-five thousand American Indians in nine years. During the same period, the Bureau of Indian Affairs organized a division to place Indians in off-reservation jobs.

Changes in the Mid-Twentieth Century

Thousands of American Indians joined the wage labor force during World War II. Many American Indian men and women joined the armed services or moved to urban areas to work in war industries. After the war, many Indian people remained in urban centers, while those who returned to reservations began to focus on reservation economic development and employment. Reservations remained poor and unemployment high, however. Few jobs came to the reservations, tribes had difficulty securing loans, reservation laws made business investments difficult, and many reservations were distant from markets. Additionally, off-reservation seasonal farming jobs became scarce with increasing technology. As a result, large-scale American Indian urban migration continued after World War II and was encouraged by the federal policy of the 1950s known as relocation. Through the relocation program, American Indians were removed to urban areas where jobs could be found. They received job training and housing assistance. The lack of any meaningful jobs on reservations, coupled with federal Indian policy, contributed to unprecedented Indian migration to urban areas from 1950 to 1980. By the 1980 census, more than half the American Indian population resided in urban areas. Indians continue to move to cities because of poor economic opportunities on reservations. Urban Indians experience higher employment rates and per capita incomes than reservation Indians. They remain poor, however, with per capita income slightly ahead of urban African Americans and well behind urban White people, and unemployment rates more than double those of the urban White population.

The federal government abandoned relocation programs in the late 1960s and turned its attention to revitalizing reservation economies. Concurrently, tribal governments were strengthened, and tribes began pursuing economic development initiatives independent of the federal government. Success has been mixed, and reservations still have high unemployment and poverty rates.

Modern Labor Force Participation

Despite many sincere efforts, there has been little economic investment or growth on American Indian reservations, primarily due to a lack of resources, capital, location, and a skilled labor force, and the employment rate for American Indians remained high. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2023, the overall US unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, while the unemployment rate for American Indians was 6.6 percent. Most of those employed worked in casinos and casino hotels. In a 2024 BLS report, in December 2023, 54 percent of all employment in tribal establishments was in leisure and hospitality, with the majority of these jobs being in casinos and casino hotels. About 35 percent of employment in tribal establishments during the same time was in government. Employment in tribal establishments from December 2022 to December 2023 increased by 17,000, with more than half of the increase occurring in leisure and hospitality.

During the 1980s, some tribal governments managed to attract businesses and increase employment opportunities, but overall, success was limited. In the 2020s, many American Indians worked in gaming in casinos, sometimes referred to as “the new buffalo.” However, these jobs are often low-wage service positions such as cashiers and waitresses. According to the US Census' 2024 American Community Survey, American Indians had one of the highest poverty rates (19.4 percent) of all minority groups, with the national poverty rate being 12.1 percent. Tribal governments have looked to gaming as a way to strengthen reservation infrastructures and improve the lives of the people while they search for other means to address the dual need for American Indian employment and real economic development on the reservations.

The education deficit among American Indians plays a role in their employment. In 2021-2022, only 74 percent of American Indians graduated from high school, compared to 90 percent of the White population, according to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2024. In its 2024 American Community Survey, the US Census reported that among American Indians or Alaskan natives 25 years or older, 15.1 percent had earned a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to the national rate of 36.8 percent.


Bibliography

"American Community Survey (ACS)." US Census Bureau, www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.

"American Indian Report." US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Aug. 26, 2024, www.bls.gov/air/aian-establishments-2023.htm. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

"High School Graduation Rates." National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education, May 2024, nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/coi/high-school-graduation-rates. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

"Labor Force Characteristics By Race and Ethnicity, 2023." US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dec. 2024, www.bls.gov/opub/reports/race-and-ethnicity/2023/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

"Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months." American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2024, data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1701?g=010XX00US. Accessed on 1 Apr 2026.

"Selected Population Profile in the United States." American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2024, data.census.gov/table/ACSSPP1Y2024.S0201?t=2560:Education:Income+and+Poverty. Accessed on 1 Apr 2026.

Full Article

  • SIGNIFICANCE: Traditional means of making a living radically changed for Native Americans after contact with Europeans.

In the pre-contact period, prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America, American Indians had extensive trading networks throughout Canada, the United States, and Central and South America. Agricultural goods, manufactured items such as jewelry, pottery, and tanned hides, and natural resources such as seashells were bartered or sold.

Traditional Labor

Labor was required to sustain this extensive trade network, but little is known about how the labor systems were organized. Tribal groups in the Mississippi River area, the southwestern United States, and Central and South America had highly specialized labor forces in which both men and women participated. Division of labor was determined in part by gender, talent, and social position. These societies were organized hierarchically and sometimes incorporated slaves (captives from other tribes), who performed undesirable labor.

Much of North America and Canada was inhabited by nomadic hunting and gathering societies and semisedentary agriculturalists. In these societies, division of labor was based primarily on gender and was less complex, with most tribal members working toward the common goal of providing food, shelter, and clothing for survival. In these subsistence economies, there was little opportunity for members to specialize in any one area, such as art or medicine. Such cultures stressed sharing and egalitarianism as a way to ensure the well-being of the people. Everyone worked for the common good.

The Fur Trade

European migration to North America was primarily motivated by economic interests. The first phase of European-Indian relations revolved around the fur trade, which required the incorporation of Indian labor. The early period of the fur trade is marked by relative equality among Europeans and native people. Indian men and women labored to supply processed hides and pelts for the fur trade. In return for their labor, American Indians were paid with European trade goods—metal pots, needles, knives, guns, and a variety of domestic goods. During this period, those Indian people who obtained European trade goods would redistribute them among tribal members, thus maintaining the tribal ideal of generosity and sharing. The trade goods changed the work patterns of both Indian men and women. Guns and traps permitted more men to hunt and kill more game, and, in turn, women were required to tan more hides for trade. American Indian labor during this period was still directed toward the good of the tribe, but increasingly tribal welfare depended on sources outside the tribe.

The fur trade was an important source of labor for American Indians, but the fur trade period ended as animal populations decreased and as European fashion changed. The decline in the fur trade coincides with the emergence of the United States and marks a period of change in the economic position of Indians. Indians were no longer needed as laborers in the new economy. The European American population was rapidly increasing, and there was an increased desire for land. Indians became a hindrance in this emerging economic system. The relative lack of demand for Indian labor, coupled with the high demand for Indian land, caused the US government to remove Indians from areas coveted by European Americans and resettle them on poor lands.

The Reservation System

The reservation system was firmly in place by the late nineteenth century, and it caused considerable change in the work patterns of tribal groups. For the most part, hunting and fishing were no longer possible on the restricted land base, and traditional agricultural practices were not viable or were discouraged. The reservation system afforded little opportunity for Indian people to provide adequately for their families, and it is directly linked to contemporary reservation poverty.

During the early reservation period, some Indian men worked for federal agents as freight haulers, policemen, and laborers. Indian women sometimes sold pottery, beadwork, baskets, or other small items. Income from these sources was small. Government policy largely confined Indian people to their reservations, so they were unable to sell their labor for wages off the reservations. Federal Indian policy, most notably the General Allotment Act (1887), reduced the American Indian land base and subdivided the land among many heirs so that productive use of reservation lands became nearly impossible. High Indian unemployment rates caused a gradual loosening of federal policies of confinement to reservations, and by the early twentieth century, American Indians commonly worked in off-reservation jobs as laborers on farms and ranches and in mines. The 1930 census indicates that 80 percent of Indian men were working for wages, mostly in agricultural jobs. Most of this work was unskilled, seasonal, and off-reservation.

The 1930s

In the 1930s, federal American Indian policy sought to address the problem of high unemployment and poor economic opportunity on the reservations. A 1928 study, The Problem of Indian Administration, commonly known as the Meriam Report, criticized federal Indian policy that intentionally removed Indian control over lands and resources and contributed to the widespread poverty and unemployment that characterized reservations. Partly in response to this study, the Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934. This act was intended to enable tribes to consolidate severely checkerboarded reservation lands, take out low-interest loans to establish economic ventures on reservations, and increase farming and ranching opportunities on reservations. The Great Depression prevented any significant business development on reservations; however, a fair number of Indian people benefited through various New Deal programs, particularly the Indian Division of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which employed and trained more than eighty-five thousand American Indians in nine years. During the same period, the Bureau of Indian Affairs organized a division to place Indians in off-reservation jobs.

Changes in the Mid-Twentieth Century

Thousands of American Indians joined the wage labor force during World War II. Many American Indian men and women joined the armed services or moved to urban areas to work in war industries. After the war, many Indian people remained in urban centers, while those who returned to reservations began to focus on reservation economic development and employment. Reservations remained poor and unemployment high, however. Few jobs came to the reservations, tribes had difficulty securing loans, reservation laws made business investments difficult, and many reservations were distant from markets. Additionally, off-reservation seasonal farming jobs became scarce with increasing technology. As a result, large-scale American Indian urban migration continued after World War II and was encouraged by the federal policy of the 1950s known as relocation. Through the relocation program, American Indians were removed to urban areas where jobs could be found. They received job training and housing assistance. The lack of any meaningful jobs on reservations, coupled with federal Indian policy, contributed to unprecedented Indian migration to urban areas from 1950 to 1980. By the 1980 census, more than half the American Indian population resided in urban areas. Indians continue to move to cities because of poor economic opportunities on reservations. Urban Indians experience higher employment rates and per capita incomes than reservation Indians. They remain poor, however, with per capita income slightly ahead of urban African Americans and well behind urban White people, and unemployment rates more than double those of the urban White population.

The federal government abandoned relocation programs in the late 1960s and turned its attention to revitalizing reservation economies. Concurrently, tribal governments were strengthened, and tribes began pursuing economic development initiatives independent of the federal government. Success has been mixed, and reservations still have high unemployment and poverty rates.

Modern Labor Force Participation

Despite many sincere efforts, there has been little economic investment or growth on American Indian reservations, primarily due to a lack of resources, capital, location, and a skilled labor force, and the employment rate for American Indians remained high. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2023, the overall US unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, while the unemployment rate for American Indians was 6.6 percent. Most of those employed worked in casinos and casino hotels. In a 2024 BLS report, in December 2023, 54 percent of all employment in tribal establishments was in leisure and hospitality, with the majority of these jobs being in casinos and casino hotels. About 35 percent of employment in tribal establishments during the same time was in government. Employment in tribal establishments from December 2022 to December 2023 increased by 17,000, with more than half of the increase occurring in leisure and hospitality.

During the 1980s, some tribal governments managed to attract businesses and increase employment opportunities, but overall, success was limited. In the 2020s, many American Indians worked in gaming in casinos, sometimes referred to as “the new buffalo.” However, these jobs are often low-wage service positions such as cashiers and waitresses. According to the US Census' 2024 American Community Survey, American Indians had one of the highest poverty rates (19.4 percent) of all minority groups, with the national poverty rate being 12.1 percent. Tribal governments have looked to gaming as a way to strengthen reservation infrastructures and improve the lives of the people while they search for other means to address the dual need for American Indian employment and real economic development on the reservations.

The education deficit among American Indians plays a role in their employment. In 2021-2022, only 74 percent of American Indians graduated from high school, compared to 90 percent of the White population, according to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2024. In its 2024 American Community Survey, the US Census reported that among American Indians or Alaskan natives 25 years or older, 15.1 percent had earned a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to the national rate of 36.8 percent.


Bibliography

"American Community Survey (ACS)." US Census Bureau, www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.

"American Indian Report." US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Aug. 26, 2024, www.bls.gov/air/aian-establishments-2023.htm. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

"High School Graduation Rates." National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education, May 2024, nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/coi/high-school-graduation-rates. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

"Labor Force Characteristics By Race and Ethnicity, 2023." US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dec. 2024, www.bls.gov/opub/reports/race-and-ethnicity/2023/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

"Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months." American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2024, data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1701?g=010XX00US. Accessed on 1 Apr 2026.

"Selected Population Profile in the United States." American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2024, data.census.gov/table/ACSSPP1Y2024.S0201?t=2560:Education:Income+and+Poverty. Accessed on 1 Apr 2026.

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