Event: Freedom & Justice Conference, Summer 2024

For the second year in a row, we co-organized the Freedom and Justice Conference with The National Economics Association (NEA) and the American Society for Hispanic Economists (ASHE). The conference attracts a small number of scholars and activists dedicated to discussing pressing economic problems and their solutions for communities of color. The theme of this year’s event was “Building Power & Resilience in Our Communities.” The conference took place at Spelman College in Atlanta on August 1–3, 2024. We would like to thank Jeannette Wicks-Lim (University of Massachusetts at Amherst) and Stephan Lefebvre (Bucknell University) for leading the planning efforts.

There were many important discussions and presentations in the conference. Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson gave keynote address and the William E. Spriggs Memorial Lecture. He is the Board Chair of the New Georgia Project, a nonprofit and nonpartisan civic engagement organization that seeks to build power with and increase civic participation of historically marginalized communities.

Below, we highlight the agenda items that focused on Indigenous issues:

The Economist and Indigenous Peoples: A Study of Representation

• Kyra James, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona

Checking and Balancing: Evidence on the Performance of Native Self Rule

• Courtney A. Andrews, Walden University
• Miriam R. Jorgenson, Harvard University; Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona
• Jonathan B. Taylor, Harvard University; Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona; Taylor Policy Group, Inc.

Experiences of Native American Entrepreneurs Accessing Capital for Small Business Loans

• Britnee Johnson, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona
• Kyra James, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona

Native American Wealth and Mortality at the Turn of the 20th Century

• Donn Feir, University of Victoria, IZA Institute of Labor Economics
• Maggie E. C. Jones, Emory University, NBER
• Angela Redish, University of British Columbia

Mapping the NCDFI Industry: Insights from a New Survey

• Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl, Virginia Military Institute
• Peter Grajzl, Washington and Lee University, CESifo
• Michou Kokodoko, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
• Laurel Wheeler, University of Alberta and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Event: Freedom & Justice Conference, Summer 2023

The National Economics Association (NEA) and the American Society for Hispanic Economists (ASHE) invited our association to join and contribute to the planning and program of the annual Freedom and Justice Conference. We are grateful for the invitation and the opportunity to be an organizer of an interdisciplinary social justice conference. The conference attracts a small number of scholars and activists dedicated to discussing pressing economic problems and their solutions for communities of color. The theme of this year’s event was “Freedom and Justice: By/For/With Our Communities.” The conference took place at Haskell Indian Nations University on August 11 and 12, 2023. The location itself was a meaningful component of the conference. As Dan Wildcat, our host at Haskell stated during the opening conference panel discussion, Haskell has, “a story of attempted erasure but also a story of survival, perseverance, and revitalization, and now a story of hope.” We would like to thank Nina Banks (Bucknell University, Professor, and Founder/Organizer of this conference) and Jeannette Wicks-Lim (University of Massachusetts at Amherst) for leading the planning efforts. We also would like to highlight the contributions of Miriam Jorgensen, AERIP’s past president, who proposed and secured the location for the conference and who contributed generously to many components of the planning process. The conference was made possible by the generous support of the Indigenous and American Indian Studies program at Haskell Indian Nations University (our host institution), the National Congress of American Indians, the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the University of Missouri Kansas City, Department of Economics and Office of the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. There were many important discussions and presentations in the conference. Dr. Samuel Myers, Jr. gave the William E. Spriggs Memorial Lecture and provided an important historical perspective of the origins of the AEA, its early presidents and their connection to racial hierarchy and anti-Black and anti-Indigenous bias. It was a powerful presentation and an important reminder that the founding of many of our institutions and organizations have a tainted not-too-distant past.

Below, we highlight the agenda items that focused on Indigenous issues:

Indigenous Issues of Justice: Past, Present, and Future through the Eyes of Haskell Faculty

Indigenous issues of justice span nearly every aspect of the lives of Indigenous Peoples and their Nations. The institutionalized and structural features of the injustices facing the Tribal Nations of the USA are deeply rooted. A myriad of injustices speaks to the continued marginalization, exoticization, and misunderstanding of our histories and Peoples - past, present, and future. From the legacies of boarding schools and the contemporary challenge of missing and murdered Indigenous women to health, housing, education, and environmental disparities, justice remains elusive but stands at the center of what we - First Peoples of this land - strive to attain. This panel of Haskell faculty and a Lawrence community member shared a few of the issues facing Indigenous Peoples as seen through the eyes of members of the Haskell Indian Nations University learning community. Moderator: Daniel R. Wildcat, Professor, Haskell Indian Nations University and the founder of Haskell Environmental Research Studies internship program

• Eric Anderson, Haskell Indian Nations University
• Matthew Rosenthal, Haskell Indian Nations University
• Sierra Two Bulls, Haskell Indian Nations University
• Uros Petrovic, Haskell Indian Nations University

Economic Development in Indigenous Communities

Place-Based Economic Development and Long-Run Firm Employment and Sales: Evidence from American Indian Reservations

• Randall Akee, University of California, Los Angeles
• Joseph Aguilar-Bohorquez, University of Minnesota
• Elton Mykerezi, University of Minnesota

Theorizing and Operationalizing Neocolonial Financialization (NcF) in Indigenous Sovereign Nations

• Johnny Valdez, University of Denver

Blood and Black Gold: Natural Resource Extraction and Violent Crime on American Indian Reservations

• Laura Sikoski, Montana State University-Bozeman

Wealth Distribution and Inequality

Indigenous Wealth in the Early 20th Century

• Donn Feir, University of Victoria & IZA
• Maggie Jones, Emory University
• Angela Redish, The University of British Columbia

Access to Banking and Credit

Connecting to Credit and Capital: An Overview of the Native CDFI Industry

• Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl, Department of Economics and Business, Virginia Military Institute
• Peter Grajzl, Department of Economics, Washington and Lee University and CESifo, Munich, Germany
• Joseph Guse, Washington and Lee University
• Michou Kokodoko, Community Development & Engagement, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
• Laurel Wheeler, Center for Indian Country Development, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Research, Policy and Practice from the Federal Reserve System

Moderator: Steven Shepelwich, Senior Community Development Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Spillovers of Tribal Enterprises: Evidence from Casino Reopenings

• Elliot Charette, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and University of Minnesota
• Matthew Gregg, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
• Alice Tianbo Zhang, Washington and Lee University

Labor Market Disparities

Labor Market Participation Trends and Solutions for Moving Toward Full Employment for American Indian/Alaska Natives and Their Communities

• Britnee Johnston, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona
• Kyra James, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona

Announcement: Summer 2022 - Summer 2023

AERIP President Randall Akee will be on a leave of absence from UCLA and AERIP while he serves as Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisors, in the Executive Office of the President. Miriam Jorgensen will return as Interim President as we await his return. Congratulations, Randy.

Announcement: January 2022

Our annual AERIP Members Meeting will take place on February 4, 2022, at 4pm Eastern time. The agenda and zoom link for the meeting will be distributed via email.

Announcement: October 2021

AERIP Board member, Larry Chavis, is the association's representative to serve on the advisory board of a NSF-funded, two-year project entitled “Collaborative Research: The Effects of Information, Mentoring and Time on Economic Faculty at MSIs.” This project will implement and evaluate an intervention, “Boosting Applications and Awards by MSIs (BAM)!,” that is designed to increase the pool of minority-serving institution (MSI) faculty applying for NSF research grants in economics. The intervention will provide selected faculty members at these institutions with a course release to develop a proposal for submission to NSF, as well as intensive mentoring by principal investigators who are well versed in the proposal preparation process.

Announcement: October 2021

The Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples, in partnership with the Indigenous Economics Group launched the IESG (Indigenous Economics Study Group) - AERIP (Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples) Brownbag Seminar Series. The Seminar provides a forum for scholars to present and receive informal feedback on their current research in the fields of Indigenous economics and economics in Indigenous contexts. The intent is to strengthen the network of researchers and practitioners in the field, to support new researchers, and to foster the cross-cultural and cross-national exchange of ideas and experiences.

Announcement: January 2021

Our annual AERIP Members Meeting will take place on January 15, 2021, 5 pm Eastern time. The zoom link for the meeting was distributed via email. If you have not received the link and would like to participate, please email us.

Agenda

1. AERIP 2020 accomplishments
   • Logo
   • Newsletter
   • Blog
   • Solidarity with National Economic Association & statement about Indigenous economics
   • Board expansion
2. Introduction of full board
3. Progress report on ASSA/AEA affiliate status
   • Membership report
   • Bylaws report
4. Presentation by Leto Copeley, AEA Ombudsperson
5. Announcements about sessions at upcoming professional meetings
6. Q&A

Announcement: October 2020

The Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples (AERIP) denounces all instances of racism, violence, hatred, and bigotry towards African American and Black peoples in the United States and around the globe.

Further, we acknowledge that our discipline and profession – economics – has struggled to embrace equity. Many of its systems, theories, and practices have failed to recognize and often been employed to perpetuate racism and other forms of discrimination, including against Indigenous Peoples.

In the face of such challenges, we laud the outstanding, inspirational and impactful contributions of Black economists and of the National Economics Association, whose efforts have led to an improved understanding of society and the economy. Their efforts also show that, despite the flawed ways it sometimes is practiced, economics remains a necessary and valuable discipline.

With an eye toward sustaining benefits while also making change, we personally challenge ourselves to make anti-colonial and anti-racist activities, research, and teaching an integral part of our own practice of economics. As individuals, we will:

• increase our efforts to produce rigorous research focusing on the wellbeing of the Black and brown communities;
• probe and question economic theories, empirical studies, and policy recommendations that fail to take account of race, culture, and colonialism by asking “what aspects of the work prevent it from being wrong, incomplete, parochial, misused, and perhaps unethical?”;
• teach pluralistic views of economics not as electives or addenda but as core curricular material;
• rebuff and, as needed, call out systemic factors and professional behaviors that create a discriminatory environment and thereby marginalize, demean, or discourage potential students, current students, and colleagues.

We also pledge AERIP to a path of positive action. As an organization we are:

• asking our members to join us in committing to the personal actions bulleted above;

• encouraging our members to join the National Economics Association and American Society of Hispanic Economists, and to support initiatives like the Sadie Collective;

• initiating an AERIP blog that highlights alternative views in the field of economics and promotes the voices of Indigenous peoples.

In solidarity,

Miriam Jorgensen and Randall Akee AERIP president and president-elect on behalf of the AERIP Board

Announcement: July 2020

The Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples (AERIP) endorses the National Economic Association (NEA) statement denouncing the acts of violence against Black and Brown communities and the NEA’s solidarity with all of those protesting for a more just and equitable world. The NEA and its members have been leaders for 50 years in conducting research and teaching on the structural conditions which have led to U.S. racial inequality and oppression for Black and Brown communities. We appreciate their leadership and efforts in these areas and intend to contribute to this important work as an organization and as individuals.

Miriam Jorgensen on behalf of the board President Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples (AERIP)

The Statement issues by the National Economic Association can be accessed here. AERIP Inaugural Reception at the 2020 Allied Social Sciences Meeting in San Diego, CA

Event: AERIP Inaugural Reception at the 2020 Allied Social Sciences Meeting in San Diego, CA

On Saturday, January 4th 2020, the Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples (AERIP) had its inaugural reception at Roy’s Restaurant in San Diego. The reception coincided with the annual meeting of economists at the Allied Social Sciences Association meetings. The AERIP reception was sponsored by the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming at San Diego State University.

Dr. Miriam Jorgensen, AERIP President, welcomed the crowd at Roy’s. She also introduced Dr. Katherine Spilde, the Endowed Chair of the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming in the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at San Diego State University, who has been a tremendous supporter of AERIP and our activities. Dr. Spilde introduced Adam Day, the Chief Operating Officer of the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation. Mr. Day also welcomed the assembled AERIP members and others to San Diego and explained some of the history and successes of the Sycuan Band including the purchase of the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego.

Dr. Randall Akee, AERIP President-Elect, introduced Dr. Lisa Cook, Associate Professor of Economics at Michigan State University and a former President of the National Economics Association (NEA). Dr. Cook spoke about the leadership that organizations such as NEA and the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE) have shown in regard to expanding the field of economics in terms of students, faculty and research. Dr. Cook also noted that the NEA was celebrating its 50th anniversary this past year. Both NEA and ASHE have been strong supporters of the establishment of AERIP.

Finally, Dr. Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl, AERIP’s Secretary, spoke about the AERIP activities, website, course syllabi and the membership drive. She explained that in order to be a member of the Allied Social Sciences Association, the AERIP has to show that it has been in existence for at least three years, indicate activities and have a membership of at least 300. In the future, we will be employing some membership drives to increase our membership which currently stands at around 90 members.

Once the formal program was concluded, the participants and speakers ate some delicious appetizers and mingled. We had an attendance of approximately 30 people and had representation from Canada, Australia, and the U.S.

Announcement: February 1, 2019

We would like to announce the establishment of the Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples (AERIP).If you are interested in joining the association, please send your name, email address, university or other affiliation to the following email address: IndigenousEcon@gmail.com. On twitter you can follow us at: @AERIPecon.

We are open to anyone who has an interest in economics research related to Indigenous peoples across the globe. There are currently no dues, that may be implemented in the future, however. In the next year we anticipate building up the membership and we will make announcements by email and twitter regarding conferences, events and existing funding opportunities. In the coming years, we anticipate organizing our own research events as well applying for membership with the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) in the future.