Oregon Public Broadcasting

The current recession is transforming the American economy. But the local economies on Native American reservations have been undergoing a slow and steady transformation for decades.

Casinos get most of the attention. But there are many ways tribes are leaving behind a long history of poverty.

This week, we're taking a closer look at tribal economies. In our first installment, homeownership among Native Americans is significantly lower than the national average. But that's starting to change.

On the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeast Oregon, one program is helping tribal members become first time home-buyers. Correspondent Anna King pays a visit to a young family starting a life together on the reservation.

Toddler Dakota McLaughlin is getting one of her first riding lessons on her gentle Quarterhorse, Dose. It's a warm spring day.

Ryan and Talia McLaughlin give their toddler Dakota, one of her very first horse rides. The family recently bought a home and five acres on the Umatilla Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon.  -  Tribal Economies Audio Slideshow

Her father Ryan keeps one hand on the tiny girl and the other on the tall horse. He trolls the two around the emerald spring grass of the front lawn.

Ryan McLaughlin: "She doesn't usually; well she does talk a lot. But usually around other people she doesn't talk. (It's) probably the horse that's making her talk."

Dakota takes naturally to the horse. Perhaps it's in her genes. Her father grew up on a 40,000-acre ranch. Her mother, Talia, was an Indian princess in one of the West's last great rodeos, the Pendleton Round-Up.

The family can keep the horse because now they own their own home. It sits on five acres on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

In fact, Dakota's mother Talia took a tribal education class to learn how to become a homeowner.

Buying property or building on reservations can take up to three or more years sometimes. So, Talia says, finding a good home for sale is rare.

Talia McLaughlin: "There just isn't that much housing on the reservation for sale, and if it is its properties that have a lot of acreage. And acreage is high right now so it's tough finding something within your price range and also something that you really like."

The young couple bought their manufactured triple-wide a little less than a year ago. Talia beams as she shows me around. They are among the first in their families to actually buy their own home.

Talia McLaughlin: "OK we are standing in the kitchen, which is also the dining room and has the fireplace..."

The McLaughlins are not alone. In the last 10 years there has been a change in Indian Country.

It's been spurred by new federal programs - like that homeowners' class on the Umatilla Reservation. And casinos, small businesses and natural resources are affording many tribal members better employment and more affluent lifestyles.

Tribes like the Umatillas hope higher-income professionals like Talia and Ryan will move back to the reservation.

Elsie Meeks: "Yes, we are starting to see change."

That's Elsie Meeks. She's the CEO of First Nations Oweesta. It's a native nonprofit organization in South Dakota. Oweesta helps set up financial institutions to lend in Indian Country.

Elsie Meeks: "People are starting to think about what it means to be economically independent and to start building some wealth for themselves and their families and thereby contributing to the community."

It's slow going. But because it's so slow reservations have been shielded from the risky mortgages and over-building that have created a foreclosure crisis across the country. In fact, Meeks says the nation's housing bust and economic downturn haven't really affected home ownership in Indian Country.

Elsie Meeks: "Most of our communities have been in an economic crisis for 100 years."

Despite recent progress, buying or building a home on a reservation is still a real pain. Many parcels are owned by entire extended families and you have to get them to sign off on it.

What's more, many banks won't back loans to build on reservations, because lenders can't foreclose on the property. The credit that is available tends to be federally-backed HUD loans, which come with strict requirements.

And the final hurdle: Home ownership just hasn't been on the cultural radar on many reservations. But Elsie Meeks from South Dakota says modern life demands home ownership to be successful.

Elsie Meeks: "The way we survive in this day is going to be different."

Marcus Luke echoes that thought. He runs the homeownership program on the Umatilla Reservation. He also graduated from it and as a result owns his own home. Luke says the program isn't just helping adults like him. It aims to educate young tribal members about personal finance too.

Marcus Luke: "It's not just budgeting and spending for one person, the whole family has to learn. And that's what it takes so the next generation can go a little higher, so they can go a little further. They are going to protect themselves. They are going to have an idea about how important it is to have a savings."

Beyond learning how to budget, homeownership may help keep young families close to their tribes and traditions.

Talia and Ryan McLaughlin plan to enroll their toddler Dakota in tribal language programs and take her to powwows.
Right now, the family is budgeting for home improvements like rebuilding the backyard deck. They also need to pay off that quintessential symbol of American homeownership, their new lawnmower.

Ryan McLaughlin: "Zero interest, zero payments for a year. Get it paid off as soon as you can though."

Reporting on poverty is supported in part by a grant from the Northwest Area Foundation, helping communities to reduce poverty by identifying, sharing and advocating for strategies that really work.  On the Web at NWAF.org.