The Misfortune of Bilagáana Economics Upon Navajo

In our fourth podcast with Professor Ezra Rosser, we discuss economic development on the Navajo Nation and the colonial structural impacts upon their land has stunted the Navajo people’s access to wealth. The Neo-classical theories do not easily capture the marginalized realities of the Navajo government’s economic development initiatives. Rosser describes how bilagáana (white person) policy, coupled with limitations on the recognition of the value of the reservation, have made economic development difficult.