Developing an effective approach to strategic planning for native American Indian reservations

Abstract

This article proposes an approach to Native American Indian reservation planning that aligns a tribe's community development objectives with its historical experiences and its political self‐determination aims. The approach incorporates consideration of jurisdictional obstacles that operate in tribal affairs and reflects the planning experiences of the Swinomish Indian Tribe of Washington State. The strategic and adaptive approach evaluates the conditions of past and present events as planning strategies are selected to overcome conflicts in the tribe's future‐planning environment. The approach provides a systematic process for policy development to consider the political variables that simultaneously compete on Native American Indian reservations.