Rooted in Legacy, Building for the Future: A Plan for Economic Power in the Black Indigenous Community

In every corner of this country, the “Black” Indigenous community has left a powerful imprint — through culture, labor, land stewardship, and resistance. Yet despite these contributions, systemic barriers have long suppressed access to capital, land, and opportunity.

But the power to build, organize, and thrive economically has never truly left us — it’s just time to reclaim it collectively.

Here’s a strategic roadmap to spark conversation, inspire action, and support “Black” Indigenous economic resurgence.

🌱 1. Land Is Legacy — and Leverage

Action Steps:

• Reclaim ancestral land through community land trusts and historical legal claims (especially for Freedmen and tribal-descended people).

• Support and expand urban farms, sovereign gardens, and agri-co-ops that feed communities and create jobs.

• Build alliances with Indigenous nations working toward land back initiatives and tribal land reparations.

  
  

Why It Matters: Land gives us control over food, housing, energy, and legacy. It's not just symbolic — it's strategic.

💼 2. Create Circles of Cooperative Economics

Action Steps:

• Establish Black Indigenous Credit Unions, where money circulates within the community.

• Form worker-owned co-ops, from construction crews to wellness collectives.

• Launch investment clubs that fund local businesses, land projects, and youth initiatives.

  
  

Why It Matters: Collective ownership builds stability. It reduces dependence on outside institutions and keeps profits circulating in the community.

🏢 3. Build and Support Community-Owned Businesses

Action Steps:

• Encourage group ownership of cornerstones: grocery stores, gas stations, tech firms, and real estate.

• Build online directories of Black Indigenous-owned businesses and services.

• Use platforms like Buy Native, WeBuyBlack, and Etsy for Natives to amplify reach.

  
  

Why It Matters: Entrepreneurship gives us the power to serve ourselves, hire our people, and shape our narrative — on our terms.

📚 4. Revive Trade, Tech, and Tradition-Based Education

Action Steps:

• Develop training programs in trades, tech, farming, financial literacy, and cultural arts.

• Partner with HBCUs, tribal colleges, and community learning centers to create vocational-to-ownership pipelines.

• Pass on traditional knowledge (herbalism, hunting, beadwork, language, architecture) as living economy tools.

  
  

Why It Matters: Knowledge is capital. A self-taught, well-trained community is an unstoppable force.

🏛️ 5. Institution Building: Own the Infrastructure

Action Steps:

• Develop Black Indigenous chambers of commerce to lobby for fair policies and resources.

• Establish independent media outlets, community banks, legal aid funds, and health cooperatives.

• Support mutual aid networks and freedom funds that redistribute resources in times of need.

  
  

Why It Matters: Power isn’t given — it’s built. Institutions are the scaffolding of independence.

🤝 6. Cross-Tribal and Diasporic Unity

Action Steps:

• Host summits, retreats, and digital conferences between Black Freedmen, Indigenous tribes, Afro-Indigenous creators, and Pan-African activists.

• Build a shared cultural and economic vision rooted in sovereignty, respect, and strategic solidarity.

• Fight erasure by centering Afro-Indigenous identity in storytelling, policymaking, and entrepreneurship.

  
  

Why It Matters: We are not fragments — we are whole. Unity across bloodlines and borders expands our economic base and deepens our cultural resilience.

🔄 7. Support Intergenerational Wealth Transfer

Action Steps:

• Set up community estate planning workshops to avoid land and asset loss.

• Teach families how to build and protect trusts, wills, LLCs, and passive income streams.

• Create platforms for youth investment, mentoring, and leadership training.

  
  

Why It Matters: Wealth that isn’t passed down gets wiped out. We must protect the next 7 generations now.

✊🏾 Final Thoughts

The journey to economic freedom for the “Black” Indigenous community won’t come overnight — but it can come with intention, unity, and action. We already have the creativity, skills, and resilience. Now, it’s about focusing those assets collectively and building structures that last.

This isn’t just survival — it’s sovereignty.

Let’s make thriving the new tradition.