In 2018, Morgan Stanley released The Trillion Dollar Blindspot, spotlighting how skewed investment practices are towards white male entrepreneurs, and how entrepreneurs of color lack the access to the social networks that white-owned businesses take for granted. This is particularly true for Native America, which represents billions of dollars in missed opportunities. In a survey of its investor members, US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment found that while 75 percent include “Indigenous Peoples issues” in their social investment practices, less than 20 percent had actually developed specific criteria for them. Saying that it’s important to include Indigenous Peoples in decision-making practices is one thing, but if the majority lack capital screens founded on Indigenous principles and practices, how can it translate into action?
This disconnect between philosophy and practice is emblematic of broader power and relational asymmetries between Indigenous Peoples and the private investment world. Because Indigenous Peoples tend to lack relationships within the philanthropic and the investment community, Indigenous entrepreneurs often find themselves at a great disadvantage when they enter these spaces, which can lead to accepting deals on terms that do not fit their needs (or even worse, that are extractive).
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