Improving Economic Opportunities for American Indian Youth through Financial and Entrepreneurship Education

Background and Purpose: On American Indian reservations in the United States, low capital investment, persistent unemployment, and outmigration contribute to stagnant labor markets. Despite shared geographic boundaries with more prosperous communities in the U.S., American Indian nations face a complex set of challenges including chronic, concentrated poverty, limited access to markets, and scant post-secondary education options. With few economic prospects and low returns to education, youth drop-out rates are staggering. School-based initiatives that target youth and incorporate entrepreneurship education and asset building strategies offer one possible solution to address these poor economic conditions. Building for the Seventh Generation is a comprehensive community-based approach aimed to create a sustainable development model which integrates financial and entrepreneurship education into the core curriculum of elementary through secondary schools. Classroom activities are reinforced through broader public education efforts that encourage government policies and practices in support of local entrepreneurial activity. Evidence suggests the potential of this workforce investment strategy to improve academic achievement and entrepreneurial, financial, and work skills in youth while building local labor markets for the future.

Methods: This study sample includes approximately 220 youth enrolled in grades 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 (110 treatment subjects and 110 control subjects evenly divided among each grade level). We examine youth outcomes associated with participation in a financial literacy and entrepreneurship education curriculum embedded in a public school system on an American Indian reservation. Data collection consists of focus groups and in-depth interviews with youth, teachers, and representatives of community-based organizations to examine youth outcomes associated with the intervention. In addition, pre-post tests assess knowledge acquisition and retention, future orientation, and self-efficacy among youth in both experimental and control groups. This longitudinal study has just completed the first year of implementation.

Results: Analysis of pre-post test scores from the first year of curriculum implementation suggests that youth better understand basic money management concepts and credit markets and are more confident in their ability to manage their personal finances. Additional findings point to positive changes in how youth think about their academic futures, availability of labor market opportunities, and hope for positive economic change in their community. Approximately 29 percent of youth participants have completed market analyses in their community, identified entrepreneurial prospects, developed business plans, and have successfully secured micro-loans to start their own businesses. Furthermore, youth who participated in entrepreneurship education were more likely to graduate from high school than those who did not.

Conclusions and Implications: Flat labor market demand means that job creation must occur through entrepreneurship, but evidence and experience in the community suggest that successful entrepreneurship occurs through both attitudinal and skills training. When not only reading, writing, and math, but also practical business skills are taught from a young age, skills are developed for both self-motivated income generation and for the broader market overall. Ultimately, these skills grow the local economy and limit outmigration—outcomes desired in America Indian communities and those across the country.