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Colorado American Indian and Alaska Native Economic Impact Report

July 2015

Colorado American Indian and Alaska Native Economic Impact Report4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In late 2013, a number of public sector entitiescame together to enhance the available dataregarding the impact of American Indians andAlaska Natives on the Colorado economy. Theseinitial entities included the Colorado Commissionof Indian Affairs, the Denver American IndianCommission and the Colorado Office of EconomicDevelopment and International Trade (OEDIT).Citing a lack of centrally compiled data in thisarea, these organizations sought to create anEconomic Impact Study whose goals were to:

1) Provide a more complete picture of AmericanIndians’ and Alaska Natives economic contribu-tions to Colorado and its local economies

2) Demonstrate the breadth and depth of eco-nomic impact that Native America has onColorado

3) Provide empirical data to policy makers, businesses, and communities to help themmake more informed decisions

They brought together partners from other local,state, and tribal entities to design the study andplan for future replication. Over the next 18months, this study was developed – the first of itskind for the State of Colorado. It creates a morecomprehensive picture of American Indians’ eco-nomic contributions to the State and its localeconomies, which will assist policy makers, com-munities, and businesses with a number of activi-ties including:

• Allocating resources among competing projects

• Assessing the potential of investment policies,including retaining and expanding current busi-nesses and attracting new businesses and eco-nomic activities

• Providing a vehicle to plan for change at local,state and national arenas

In order to understand the American Indian andAlaska Native economic impact in the State ofColorado, it is beneficial to have a picture of thepopulation. The US Census Bureau’s latest esti-mate of American Indian and Alaska Native popu-lation in Colorado is 83,040, or 1.58% of the totalstate population. The chart below compares someof the key demographics of Native Americans inColorado to rest of the United States.

The focus of this study was statewide. WithinColorado, there are two federally-recognizedtribes-- the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the UteMountain Ute Tribe. Their reservations are locatedin Southwestern Colorado, but as this reportdemonstrates, their impact reaches across theState. Colorado is also seen as a hub for NativeAmerican activity and in addition to the manyNative-owned businesses and Native-focused non-profits, the federal government has a significantpresence associated with agencies that work withthe tribes and a number of significant eventsfocused on Native America are held in Denvereach year. In addition, Native Americans from anumber of tribes live across Colorado and it isestimated that there are more than 500 businesses,non-profits, government agencies, and eventsowned by or focused on Native Americans thatimpact the economy in the State of Colorado.

United States Colorado

Poverty RateTotal Population 15% 13%AI/AN Population 29% 25%

Unemployment RateTotal Population 10% 9%AI/AN Population 16% 17%

Educational AttainmentTotal Population

Less than High School 14% 10%BA or greater 29% 37%

AI/AN Population Less than High School 22% 20%BA or greater 13% 15%

Colorado American Indian and Alaska Native Economic Impact Report 5

In assessing the economic impact of AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives, a number of areaswere examined:

• Economic Activities from the Tribes

• Native-Owned Businesses

• Non-Profit Agencies

• Education

• Events

Economic impact is closely tied to the concept ineconomics known as the “multiplier effect”.Simply stated, the multiplier effect is when an ini-tial expenditure of money results in diminishingrounds of new spending over time. Directimpacts can be measured through expenditures ofa particular organization, but in order to estimatethe total economic impact of American Indiansand Alaska Natives in Colorado, the study calcu-lated the multiplier effect with the followingmethodology.

The actual multipliers used were RIMS II(Regional Input-Output Modeling System) data

purchased from the US Department of Commerce,Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) for thedefined study region (the State of Colorado). Theadvantage of the BEA multipliers is that they arerigorously researched and validated and providethe ability to understand trends over time. Fromthe outset, the approach to the study was one ofconservatism. An underestimation of the eco-nomic impact of Native Americans within thestate of Colorado was viewed as a more favorableoutcome than an overestimation. Therefore, themore conservative of the multipliers was chosenfor use.

Results of the Study

The results of this study show that AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives have a significant eco-nomic impact on the Colorado economy. As thetable below shows, direct dollars injected into theeconomy is $1B with a resulting economic impactof over $1.5B. In addition, direct job creation is8,813 jobs (enrolled students were not counted as“jobs”) and the indirect job creation is estimatedat 12,539. Earnings from these jobs are estimatedat more than $549M.

To put this data in context, the population of Colorado is 5,272,086 based on 2013 Census data andthe American Indian / Alaska Native population is 83,040 or 1.58% of the total population. The totalnumber of jobs in Colorado was estimated at 2.38 million and the State GDP was $288.3 B based ondata from the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Department ofCommerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. As such, overall economic activity is estimated at 0.52% of the State’s GDP and the number of jobs created is 0.90% of all jobs in the State.

Native-Owned Business $784,450,352 6,596 $ 1,124,436,808 $ 417,657,162 8,890 $ 662,773,696

Non-Profits 55,100,079 268 79,579,358 32,808,151 853 $ 49,286,750

Public Colleges & Universities 22,674,226 2,599 31,895,834 13,339,247 454 $ 20,132,445

Tribes 116,115,636 1,949 239,546,710 71,567,120 1,888 $ 142,624,705

Events 30,691,389 NA 43,994,065 14,137,642 453 25,529,601

Total $ 1,009,031,682 11,412 $ 1,519,452,775 $ 549,504,322 12,539 $ 900,347,198

Category Final Demand

Measure

Number of CO

Employees /

Students

Final Demand

Ouput

/1/ (dollars)

Final Demand

Earnings

/2/ (dollars)

Final Demand

/3/

(# of jobs)

Final Demand

Value Added

/4/ (dollars)


Economic Impact Contrasted with Economicand Social Status

It is important to note that while the economicimpact analysis shows a significant contribution tothe Colorado economy from American Indiansand Alaska Natives, it does not imply any sort ofuniversal prosperity for any individuals or groups.Economic impact demonstrates the incrementaleconomic contribution to the State, but cannot tellthe story of the status of American Indian andAlaska Native individuals or communities. Thesestatistics must be viewed in the context of theoverall economic and social status of the NativeAmerican population within Colorado. It is alsoimportant to contrast the conditions on and offthe reservations.

From an education and economic perspective inthe US overall, the Office of Minority Health inthe US Department of Health and Human Servicesreports in 2012 that 82 percent of AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives alone, age 25 andover have at least a high school diploma, as com-pared to 92 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. 17percent of American Indians and Alaska Nativesage 25 and over have at least a bachelor's degree,in comparison to 33 percent of non-HispanicWhites. 6 percent of American Indians and AlaskaNatives have at least an advanced graduatedegree (i.e., master's, Ph.D., medical, or law), ascompared to 12 percent of the non-HispanicWhite population. The median household incomefor American Indian and Alaska Natives is$37,353, as compared to $56,565 for non-HispanicWhites. Twenty-nine percent of American Indiansand Alaska Natives age 16 and over are employedin management and professional occupations, incomparison to 40 percent of Whites. Also, 26 per-cent of this racial group lives at the poverty level,as compared to 11.0 percent of non-HispanicWhites, in 2012. In each of these categories, thereis significant room for improvement in the eco-nomic status of American Indians and Alaska

Natives. Statistics from the 2011 CommunityHealth Profile: Denver Indian Health and FamilyServices paint a similar picture of economic andhealth statistics among Native Americans inColorado.

Implications and Future Directions

The results of this report have many implicationsfor the future. One of the most important impli-cations of the study is the potential to enhancewhat is already a significant economic impactfrom Native-owned and Native-focused organiza-tions within the State of Colorado. While the eco-nomic impact today is strong, there are a numberof opportunities to further promote and growthese organizations within the State. Policiesaimed at entrepreneurial development, businessgrowth, and creating additional opportunities forNative-owned firms would benefit not only theAmerican Indian and Alaska Native population,but also the State overall. As shown in this study,the dollars that flow through Native-owned andNative-focused organizations created a positiveeconomic multiplier for Colorado.

There is also an opportunity for the State ofColorado to cooperate more directly with thetribes in terms of economic development andbusiness development. The unique legal and taxstatus of the reservations can provide a significanteconomic advantage to businesses hoping to relo-cate to the State of Colorado, and the existingworkforce and business infrastructure from native-owned firms can help further support this. Arecent trend for tribes is attracting businesses thatare seeking to relocate functions that were previ-ously outsourced offshore back to the US. Arecent Forbes survey showed that the number ofChief Financial Officers who were examining the“re-shoring” of operations had nearly doubled ina year. Other tribes have had success in attractingthese businesses to the reservation and this createsan opportunity for both the tribes and the State.


This is but one example of how increased coop-eration could benefit all of Colorado.

Conclusion

At $1.5 Billion dollars, the economic impact tothe state of Colorado’s economy is strong. Moreimportantly, it’s diverse; ranging from tribal gov-ernments and non-profit agencies providing muchneeded social services to large, financially stablebusinesses that provide goods and services notjust to Native Americans but to all citizens ofColorado. As important players in the Coloradoeconomy, the Native Americans need to be con-sidered in policy decisions.

There is a potential to grow impact through clos-er relationships among Tribes, government, busi-nesses and schools. These entities can recognizethat Native American businesses do exist and maybe able to provide the goods and services thatthey need, fostering future growth and economicstability and independence in the Native

American community. As important as the knowl-edge provided by this study is, there remainswork to be done to advance the economic statusof the Native American population in Colorado atlarge.

NOTE: The terms Native American, AmericanIndian and/or Alaska Native are monikers com-monly used to discuss the Indigenous peoples ofNorth America (In Canada, the terms Aboriginalor First Nations are more common). While theseterms fail to adequately represent the vast culturaldiversity of Indigenous peoples, communities,and perspectives we use Native American and/orAlaska Native for the purposes of this study asthese most closely align with the current methodsof collecting and reporting economic and otherstatistics. These terms are in no way meant tominimize the diversity found within indigenouscommunities in the United States or the State ofColorado.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A report of this nature requires the support ofmany organizations and individuals to make ithappen. We would first like to acknowledge thesupport of the State of Colorado and GovernorJohn Hickenlooper and Lieutenant GovernorJoseph A. Garcia as well as the City and Countyof Denver and Mayor Michael B. Hancock.Without their support, this report would not havebeen possible. This report would also not havebeen possible without the generous assistance ofthe Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the UteMountain Ute Tribe. Their support of the projectand willingness to provide their data and insightis greatly appreciated.

This report is the result of extensive collaborationamong a number of public and private entitieswho have contributed their time and talents overnearly a 3-year period. The sponsors of this

report formed a Core Team that not only guidedthe efforts of this project, but also contributedcountless hours of work for data gathering, analy-sis, promotion of the study, and many othertasks. The organizations that were part of thecore team include:

• Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs

• Colorado Office of Economic Development andInternational Trade (OEDIT)

• Corporation for National and CommunityService / AmeriCorps

• Denver American Indian Commission

• Rocky Mountain Indian Chamber of Commerce

• Revolution Advisors LLC

• Spirit of the Sun

Revolution Advisors, a Colorado-based strategy andplanning consulting firm, was selected as the part-ner to lead the analysis associated with this studyand we appreciate their efforts and expertise.

Finally, this report would not have been complet-ed without the information provided by the many

businesses, non-profits, educational institutions,and other organizations that participated in thisstudy. We would like to thank each of them fortheir time and efforts to make this report a success.

For questions or further information regarding thisreport, please contact:

Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs

Ernest House, Jr.Executive Director(303) [email protected]

Denver American IndianCommission

Darius Lee SmithDirector(720) [email protected]

Rocky Mountain IndianChamber of Commerce

Shadana SultanExecutive Director(303) [email protected]

Revolution Advisors

Brian E. WilkersonManaging Director(720) [email protected]


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Demographic Perspective ............................................................................................................................10

Overview of the Study ..................................................................................................................................11

Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................................................11

Study Overview ............................................................................................................................................11

Methodology for Study..................................................................................................................................13

Data Gathering Approach ............................................................................................................................13

Challenges to Data Collection ......................................................................................................................16

Analysis Methodology ..................................................................................................................................16

Assessment of Economic Impact ..................................................................................................................19

Overall Economic Impact..............................................................................................................................19

Economic Impact Contrasted with Economic and Social Status ................................................................22

Economic Impact by Segment ......................................................................................................................24

Implications and Future Directions ..............................................................................................................30

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................32


DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

In order to understand the American Indian andAlaska Native economic impact in the State ofColorado, it is beneficial to have a picture of thepopulation. The US Census Bureau’s latest esti-mate of American Indian and Alaska Native popu-lation in Colorado is 83,040, or 1.58% of the totalstate population.

Using US Census, American Community Surveydata it is seen that while the total percentage ofmales is slightly higher than females (51.6% to48.4%), the age distribution does not vary muchbetween the genders. The outer circle representsthe female population, with the male populationas the inner circle.

Other aspects of the AI/AN population to consid-er for a clearer picture are the poverty rates, theunemployment rates, educational attainment andoccupations. A comparison to the overall popu-lations of the United States and Colorado and thetotal US AI/AN population was conducted to seewhere the CO Natives have strengths and weak-nesses.

Native Americans are twice as likely to be living inpoverty as other citizens whether they are Coloradoresidents or residing in other states. Poverty rateshave long been linked to other socio-economic fac-tors. Contributing to the higher levels of poverty forNative Americans in the US and Colorado are thehigher rates of unemployment and the lower levelsof educational attainment. The unemployment ratefor the Colorado AI/AN population is also muchhigher than the overall rate in the state; 17% to 9%.The unemployment rate for Colorado NativeAmerican residents is slightly higher than the rate forNative Americans in the country as a whole despitethe higher educational attainment of the state’sNative population. These educational achievementlevels still remain lower than the overall state educa-tion levels. One in five Native Americans over theage of 25 living in Colorado have less than a highschool education, while overall for the entire stateover age 25, the ratio is one in ten.

Working Native Americans in Colorado areemployed in a varied number of occupations. Overone- fourth of the population is employed in Salesand Office Support occupations. Another half of theworkforce are in Service; Construction andMaintenance; Management, Business and Financial;and Education, Legal, Community Service and Artsoccupations.

United States Colorado

Poverty RateTotal Population 15% 13%AI/AN Population 29% 25%

Unemployment RateTotal Population 10% 9%AI/AN Population 16% 17%

Educational AttainmentTotal Population

Less than High School 14% 10%BA or greater 29% 37%

AI/AN Population Less than High School 22% 20%BA or greater 13% 15%


OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

Purpose of the Study

In late 2013, a number of public sector entitiescame together to enhance the available dataregarding the impact of American Indians andAlaska Natives on the Colorado economy. Theseinitial entities included the Colorado Commissionof Indian Affairs, the Denver American IndianCommission and the Colorado Office of EconomicDevelopment and International Trade (OEDIT).Citing a lack of centrally compiled data in thisarea, these organizations sought to create anEconomic Impact Study whose goals were to:

4) Provide a more complete picture of AmericanIndians’ and Alaska Natives economic contribu-tions to the Colorado and its local economies

5) Demonstrate the breadth and depth of eco-nomic impact that Native America has onColorado

6) Provide empirical data to policy makers, busi-nesses, and communities to help them makemore informed decisions

They brought together partners from other local,state, and tribal entities to design the study and

plan for future replication. Over the next 18months, this study was developed – the first of itskind for the State of Colorado.

As noted, one of the main goals of the study is toprovide a more complete picture of AmericanIndians’ economic contributions to the State andits local economies. Data regarding AmericanIndians’ economic activity in Colorado is not oftencollected or is collected in isolated endeavors.This study creates a more comprehensive picture,which will assist policy makers, communities, andbusinesses with a number of activities including:

• Allocating resources among competing projects

• Assessing the potential of investment policies,including retaining and expanding current busi-nesses and attracting new businesses and eco-nomic activities

• Providing a vehicle to plan for change at local,state and national arenas

Study Overview

The focus of this study was statewide. WithinColorado, there are 2 federally-recognized tribes-the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the UteMountain Ute Tribe. Their reservations are locatedin Southwestern Colorado, but as this reportdemonstrates, their impact reaches across theState. Colorado is also seen as a hub for NativeAmerican activity and in addition to the manyNative-owned businesses and Native-focused non-profits, the federal government has a significantpresence associated with agencies that work withthe tribes and a number of significant eventsfocused on Native America are held in Denvereach year. In addition, Native Americans from anumber of tribes live across Colorado and it isestimated that there are more than 500 businesses,non-profits, government agencies, and eventsowned by or focused on Native Americans thatimpact the economy in the State of Colorado.


In assessing the economic impact of AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives, a number of areaswere examined:

• Economic Activities from the Tribes: TheSouthern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes haveboth an internal Tribal Government that pro-duces economic activity and also contribute tothe economy by owning businesses in a varietyof industries. Both areas were included in theeconomic impact assessment.

• Native-Owned Businesses: Businesses that areowned by individuals or groups who are NativeAmerican and whose business address is locat-ed in the state fall under the category of NativeOwned Businesses. These are exclusive ofthose firms owned by the tribes, which wouldbe captured in the previous category.

• Non-Profit Agencies: Colorado is a headquar-ters for a number of non-profit agencies thatfocus on the needs of Native Americans. Theservice areas for some of these non-profits arenot just Colorado but have spread throughoutthe country. The study focused on thoseagencies that are headquartered here and doesnot include non-profits that are located in otherstates but may provide services within the state.It also does not include non-profits that mayserve Native American populations as a part oftheir mission, but rather includes those whereNative America is the focus.

• Education: The Education component of the economic impact study focuses on NativeAmerican individuals that are students in theColorado public Higher Education system. Thestate colleges and universities have Native Americanstudents that are both residents and non-residentsof Colorado and both are included in the study.Data on Native American student enrollment inprivate institutions was not included.

• Events: Colorado is host to a variety of eventsthat are sponsored by or focus on Native

Americans and their culture. Some of the morecommonly known events are the Denver MarchPow-Wow and the Denver Indian Market, bothof which bring visitors from across the country,but these events include Pow Wows, profes-sional conferences and meetings, policy events,and social gatherings bringing together tribes,local residents, and visitors from other states.

These sources of economic impact were the focusof this initial study, but there are a number ofothers that can be measured. Because of this, theeconomic impact identified in this study shouldbe considered a conservative estimate. In addi-tion, the economic impact assessment looks at thegross economic contribution to the economy fromthe various sources noted above. The study didnot examine the cost of services provided toNative Americans at the State or local level, andagain, this could be a direction for future studies.

The results of this study show that the impact ofAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives on theColorado economy is significant – well in excessof their representation in the population.However, it is important to place these results incontext. While the overall economic impact is sig-nificant, it is in stark contrast to the challengesthat many individual Native Americans face within


the State. Issues such as poverty, homelessness,and health problems are still common within theNative American population and like the USeconomy overall, economic activity is not evenlydistributed among the population. The analysiswithin the report will explore these issues in further detail.

Methodology for Study

As the first of its kind in Colorado, this studyrequired significant effort to establish a baselineof data to measure economic impact. The type ofdata used in the study is not centrally collectedand managed and required multiple methods togather, validate, and analyze the data. The sec-tions below outline the methodology used for thestudy. As a general principle, the study used aconservative approach to estimating economicimpact. The methods focused on ensuring thatthe data was from a definitive source and validat-ed wherever possible and the approaches to cal-culating impact relied on accepted practices inthis field.

Data Gathering Approach

Collecting data on Native America can be chal-lenging, and as such, an extensive methodologyfor data gathering was developed and executedfor this study. This included multiple methods ofcollecting and validating data. At the start of theproject, extensive discussions were held as towhat sources of economic impact would be ana-lyzed and how that data would be collected. Allof the organizations who were part of this studyplayed an important role in gathering the data. Inaddition, important discussions regarding the pur-pose and use of this study took place among allof the partners and in particular, between thetribes and the government agencies involved inthe study. The focus of these discussions was toensure that the data collected would be used topresent as accurate and balanced of a picture of

the economic impact as possible.

A deliberate choice was made at the start of thiseffort to focus the study Statewide. There wereseveral reasons for this:

• The economic impact covered nearly all areasof the State

• The impact outside of the reservations and thesurrounding areas is significant and not wellunderstood

• The focus was on the activity generated not onlyby the tribes themselves, but also on all otherNative-owned and Native-focused organizations

• Economic activity obviously frequently crossesjurisdictional boundaries

• The various data sources had varying levels ofresolution in terms of geographic impact

Data collection included both primary and sec-ondary methods from multiple sources. Primaryresearch involved direct discussions with and sur-veys of the tribes and the organizations that areNative-owned or Native focused. Secondaryresearch involved collecting data from public andprivate sources such as the U.S. Small BusinessAdministration (SBA), the U.S. Census Bureau, theUS Department of Labor’s Bureau of LaborStatistics and Dun & Bradstreet. These methodsare further detailed below.

The overall data collection process began in thefirst quarter of 2014 and the associated activitiesincluded:

• Development of two separate survey instru-ments for data collection directly from Native-owned and Native-focused organizations (onefocused on for-profit and one focused on non-profit enterprises) accompanied by a supportletter from the Executive Director of theColorado Commission of Indian Affairs


• Establishment of dedicated space on theColorado Commission of Indian Affairs websiteto explain the study and facilitate data gathering

• Compilation of a list known Native-owned andNative-focused organizations from the input ofthe study group and databases of Native-ownedfirms provided by OEDIT, SBA, the ColoradoDepartment of Transportation, and othersources

• Assignment of identified organizations to studyteam members for direct solicitation of data

• Distribution of the survey to other organizationswhere a direct contact did not exist

As the data gathering effort progressed, thesources were expanded in a number of ways.Collaboration with the Rocky Mountain IndianChamber of Commerce (RMICC) was crucial forgathering data from Native-owned businesses thatmight be willing to share data for the study.RMICC provided significant time and expertise tofacilitate data gathering with the Chamber's mem-ber firms. The Chamber also donated the digitalresources and services needed to place a pagedescribing the study on the RMICC web site.This page on the RMICC site also included down-loadable versions of the study’s survey instru-ments. Subsequent outreach included follow upwith member companies and through recommen-dations and referrals from contacts among theChamber's members, additional leads were gener-ated for further outreach.

Each success recruiting firms to participate in thestudy represents extensive efforts that includedmultiple communications and follow up overperiods of weeks or months. Several companiesinitially expressed hesitation at providing data(particularly financial data) and education wasrequired for each participant to help them under-stand how the data would be used and protected.Often this required direct interaction with compa-

ny principals to secure the required permissions.Follow up was undertaken by both phone and e-mail and each member of the study team wasresponsible for ensuring that each organizationwas contacted until either their data was receivedor they declined to participate in the study.

The survey approach included 2 instruments –one for for-profit companies and one for non-profit organizations. The surveys includedrequests for data such as:

• What percentages of the organization’s customers/clients are in Colorado?

• How many employees are in Colorado?

• What percentages of the organizations suppliers/vendors were Colorado-based companies?

• If the organization sponsored conferences andevents in Colorado, how much was spent onthem? How many people attended?

• What is the organization’s operating budget?

• What county or counties does your organization serve?

The same survey formats were used when amember of the study team spoke with organiza-tions directly to help ensure that data was collectedin a consistent format. Throughout the data gath-ering process, the information gathered wascross-checked and validated across sources. Forexample, if data on a particular firm’s revenueand employee count was obtained through oneof the secondary data gathering exercises, thiswas validated across sources or with the firmdirectly to ensure accuracy.

In parallel, the study team collaborated with theSouthern Utes and Ute Mountain Ute tribe togather data related to their economic activity,including both government operations and ven-tures owned by the tribes. The tribes generouslyprovided the data required to measure economic


impact across the State.

This data collection continued throughout 2014and in January of 2015, a preliminary analysis wasconducted to determine if sufficient data had beenobtained, including analyzing sample sizes, statisti-cal significance and other elements. At that time, itwas determined that additional data gathering intargeted areas would be required to obtain theappropriate sample sizes and level of statistical sig-nificance. The additional data gathering included:

• Native-Owned Businesses: Data was purchasedfrom Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). Because of therequirement that firms doing business with thefederal government be registered with thisorganization, and because the federal market isoften a target for Native-owned firms, this wasconsidered a preferred source for firm data.D&B provided information for 489 organiza-tions. The data from the companies was com-pared to data collected from the surveys whereavailable to verify the numbers and industryclassifications. The study was able to use thesales figures from D&B for output data adjustedby the ratio of employees within the state ofColorado to total employees.

• Non-Profits: Data on non-profit organizationsgathered from the initial efforts was enhancedby collection of IRS Form 990 information formultiple non-profits in Colorado (2013 tax yearas posted on www.guidestar.com). The IRSSubsection Code on the Form 990 was translatedinto Industry Codes when available. If theIndustry Code was unavailable, further researchinto the services provided by the non-profitwas conducted in order to classify the entity.Data for an additional 23 non-profits was gath-ered via this method.

• Public Universities: VISTA workers were ableto obtain the number of resident and non-resi-dent students by school from public recordsthrough the Colorado Department of Higher

Education website after an initial outreach toboth public and private institutions of highereducation. A survey form was developedspecifically for institutional outreach with thefollowing questions for the period 2011-2013:

- How many self-identified AmericanIndian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) Full-TimeStudents enrolled?

- How many AI/AN students were classifiedas residents of CO for tuition purposes?

- How many AI/AN students were classifiedas non-residents for tuition purposes?

- What was the estimated cost of attendancefor in-state students?

- What was the estimated cost of attendancefor non-resident students?

- What percentage of AI/ AN studentsreceived need-based financial aid?

Contacts for higher education data were primarilyadmissions representatives or analysts from insti-tutional research departments within the collegesand universities. Data collection outreach withprivate colleges and universities provided mixedresults as accessing information was complicatedby university policy for the release of information


to outside agencies. Due to this lack of responsethrough regular outreach, the study team decidedto focus on the public higher education enroll-ment. The tuition figures were gathered from theuniversities’ websites and data was gathered from28 public college and universities in the state ofColorado.

• Visitors and Events: Several sources contributeddata to estimate the number of attendees atevents focused on Native American businessand culture. Attendance and expenditure num-bers were obtained through outreach by theVISTA workers and committee members fromVisit Denver (www.denver.org) and the events’hosts. Where expenditure figures were notavailable, the study used average tourist expen-diture numbers reported by LongwoodsInternational (Colorado Travel Year 2013,released May 2014.)

Challenges to Data Collection

As referenced above, there were a number ofchallenges associated with data collection. One ofthese was the concern on the part of the partici-pants as to how the data would be used. Anotherwas the intense follow up required to secure thedata and the effort associated with validating thedata received. In analyzing the organizations whowere targeted for this study, many of them arevery small (1-2 employee) organizations, and assuch did not have the time, or in some cases therecords, to effectively participate in the study.

Based on the initial data gathering efforts, certainareas of economic impact were excluded fromthis initial study based on the level of effort thatwould have been required to secure and analyzethe data. This included data associated with theimpact of employees at federal agencies inColorado focused on Native America, as well asstudent enrollment in private higher educationinstitutions. The hope is that future versions of

this study will include this data (see FutureDirections below).

Analysis Methodology

Economic impact is closely tied to the concept ineconomics known as the “multiplier effect”.

Simply stated, the multiplier effect is when an ini-tial expenditure of money results in diminishingrounds of new spending over time. Directimpacts can be measured through expenditures ofa particular organization, but in order to estimatethe total economic impact of American Indiansand Alaska Natives in Colorado, the study calcu-lated the multiplier effect with the followingmethodology.

The actual multipliers used were RIMS II(Regional Input-Output Modeling System) datapurchased from the US Department of Commerce,Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) for thedefined study region (the State of Colorado). Theadvantage of the BEA multipliers is that they arerigorously researched and validated and providethe ability to understand trends over time. BEAprovides a number of guidelines for use of thesemultipliers, which are noted below in addition tothe approach used for leveraging the multipliers.All BEA guidelines were adhered to for this study.

1. Multiplier data was purchased for the entire


state as businesses, schools and non-profitscover the entire area, even though the majorityof the activity is in the Denver/ColoradoSprings area.

2. Multipliers are created by industry and areeither aggregated into 62 industry codes ordetailed into 406 codes. It was decided to use62 codes as the data BEA used to create thesemultipliers is newer and it proved easier toclassify businesses into the appropriate code.

3. Multipliers are either Final Demand or DirectEffect; the study used Final Demand multipliersas output (sales) data was received and DirectEffect applies to earnings. Final Demand looksfor incremental change in output which leadsto an assumption that the output producedwould not be generated otherwise if the com-panies in the study did not exist. Thus, theeffect measured is a “gross effect” rather than a“net effect” which would assume that someoneelse would have produced the output.

4. Multipliers are Type I or Type II; Type I wasused for the study for the following reasons:

• In Type I multipliers, household purchases areincluded in the Final Demand Multipliers.Type I multipliers are also more appropriate touse when the study’s region is larger thanwhere most households spend their earnings.As the study encompasses the entire state, Type1 multipliers were more appropriate. In addi-tion, the Type I multipliers are more conserva-tive and it was felt that this was necessary forthe integrity of the study.

• When using Type II multipliers, the study’sregion should just encompass where workerswill spend most of their earnings. The largerthe region, the more likely the measurement ofthe effects will be inflated as workers in regionpurchase output which is already accounted forin the data.

5. BEA instructs users when using the employ-ment multipliers to correct the dollars to 2010dollars. The adjustment of dollars from 2013 to2010 is 0.94 to calculate the number of jobscreated.

6. BEA recommended guidelines placed otherrestrictions on the data analysis. The studywas cannot create analysis of impact of theDenver/Colorado Springs area or by Industry.For the Denver/Colorado Springs area: multi-pliers cannot be applied as output probablycrosses these geographical lines. An Industryanalysis can summarize the original data but itis not appropriate to apply multipliers as multi-pliers account for inter-industry inputs and out-puts; the entire multiplier for an industry is notstand alone for that industry.

Other Input-Output models were researched as totheir appropriateness, ease of use, and cost of usefor this study. BEA has been producing multipli-ers for use in economic impact studies since the1970s and it was determined that the use ofBEA’s RIMS II multipliers would result in a studythat was useful, informative and reliable.

From the outset, the approach to the study wasone of conservatism. An underestimation of theeconomic impact of Native Americans within thestate of Colorado was viewed as a more favorableoutcome than an overestimation. Therefore, themore conservative of the multipliers was chosenfor use. A number of techniques were used toreinforce this approach such as:

• Reported sales figures were adjusted to accountfor only Colorado employees

• Multipliers were only applied to tuition pay-ments to colleges and universities and not theentire estimated cost of attendance

• The impact of non-profits was based solely ontheir revenues and not on their awards anddonations to the community


Great care was also taken to ensure that data wasnot duplicated between categories. For example,some firms that are owned by the tribes were list-ed in the Dun and Bradstreet data and thosefirms were identified and removed from the pri-vate industry impact and only counted within thetribe data. The firms listed in other categorieswere treated in the same way. It should be notedwhen examining the results of this analysis thatthe multiplier effect has no time dimension andas such activity in a measured time, such as ayear, is not stated as it is unclear as to when thefull impact will be realized.

Economic impact was analyzed along 4 dimen-sions based on the data obtained:

• Final Demand Output: the total dollar changein output that occurs in all industries for eachadditional dollar of output delivered to the finaldemand by the industry. A change of outputfrom Industry A results in changes of the out-put for other industries that supply intermediateinputs to Industry A. Subsequently, industriesthat supply the intermediate industries also seechanges in their output in a diminishing man-ner. The Final Demand Output is the sum ofall of these changes in output.

• Final Demand Earnings: the total dollar changein earnings of households employed by allindustries for each dollar of output delivered tothe final demand by the industry. The workersof the industries also experience changes totheir earnings because of the changes in theindustries’ outputs as jobs are added and wagesincrease.

• Final Demand Employment: the total change inthe number of jobs that occurs in all industriesfor each additional one million dollars of out-put delivered to the final demand by the indus-try. Jobs are added to area industries to sup-port the changes in output by all industries, theinitial industry plus supporting industries.

• Final Demand Value-Added: the total dollarchange added that occurs in all industries foreach additional dollar of output delivered tothe final demand by the industry. Value-Addedchanges are comparable to area measures ofgross domestic product. It is the amount bywhich the value of an article is increased ateach stage of its production, exclusive of initialcosts and earnings.

Each area of impact was measured using each ofthese metrics in addition to the direct dollarsassociated with the economic activity of eachorganization. The particular focus was on dollarsinjected into the economy and on jobs createdfrom the activity of Native-owned and Native-focused organizations.


Assessment of Economic Impact

Economic impact was assessed overall and byeach of the sources of the impact. As notedabove, these sources included:

• Economic Activities from the Tribes• Native-Owned Businesses• Non-Profit Agencies• Education• Events

The following sections detail the results of thisanalysis. The data clearly demonstrates thatAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives are a strongcontributor to the Colorado economy overall andthat the economic activity associated with NativeAmericans in Colorado is highly diverse andvibrant.

Overall Economic Impact

The results of this study show that AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives have a significant eco-nomic impact on the Colorado economy. As thetable below shows, direct dollars injected into theeconomy is $1B with a resulting economic impactof over $1.5B. In addition, direct job creation is8,813 jobs (enrolled students were not counted as“jobs”) and the indirect job creation is estimatedat 12,539. Earnings from these jobs are estimatedat more than $549M.

To put this data in context, the population ofColorado is 5,272,086 based on 2013 Census dataand the American Indian / Alaska Native popula-tion is 83,040 or 1.58% of the total population.The total number of jobs in Colorado was esti-mated at 2.38 million and the State GDP was$288.3 B based on data from the US Departmentof Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the USDepartment of Commerce, Bureau of EconomicAnalysis. As such, overall economic activity isestimated at 0.52% of the State’s GDP and thenumber of jobs created is 0.90% of all jobs in theState.

The geographic distribution of economic activityacross the State of Colorado is shown in theHEAT Map below. As can be expected, the high-est economic impact is in the major metropolitanareas (where most of the Native-owned andNative-focused organizations are located) andnear the tribe’s reservations. Employment showssimilar concentrations though the distribution ofjobs is less concentrated than the overall econom-ic impact. This further validates that the economicimpact of American Indians and Alaska Nativesgoes well beyond the reservations, and extends tonearly all areas of the State, with particularemphasis on the population and employmentcenters in Colorado.

Native-Owned Business $784,450,352 6,596 $ 1,124,436,808 $ 417,657,162 8,890 $ 662,773,696

Non-Profits 55,100,079 268 79,579,358 32,808,151 853 $ 49,286,750

Public Colleges & Universities 22,674,226 2,599 31,895,834 13,339,247 454 $ 20,132,445

Tribes 116,115,636 1,949 239,546,710 71,567,120 1,888 $ 142,624,705

Events 30,691,389 NA 43,994,065 14,137,642 453 25,529,601

Total $ 1,009,031,682 11,412 $ 1,519,452,775 $ 549,504,322 12,539 $ 900,347,198

Category Final Demand

Measure

Number of CO

Employees /

Students

Final Demand

Ouput

/1/ (dollars)

Final Demand

Earnings

/2/ (dollars)

Final Demand

/3/

(# of jobs)

Final Demand

Value Added

/4/ (dollars)


It is also important to note that much like theeconomy of Colorado and the US overall, a num-ber of large businesses create a disproportionateeconomic impact and employment impact. Of thenearly 500 Native-owned firms analyzed in thisstudy, 34 of them or roughly 7% account for 80%of the direct sales based on 2013 data. The typesof businesses in this 80% included construction,car dealers, computer services, professional serv-ices and retail establishments. This indicates thatwhile there are a number of Native-owned enter-prises that are doing well, more can be done topromote the growth and development of Native-owned small enterprises within the State. Smallbusinesses significantly impact Colorado's econo-my. They represent 97.6 percent of all employersand employ 49.2 percent of the private-sectorlabor force. (SBA 2012) The percentages forNative American Owned small businesses inColorado are similar, as they are 97.7% of busi-nesses and employ 47.5% of the labor force.

Native-owned and Native-focused enterprises doillustrate a wide diversity of industries inColorado. Of the 62 industry divisions defined bythe BEA for RIMS II multipliers, Native Americanowned businesses are represented in 42 of them.It is important to note that because of the particu-lar methodology used to gather data, a number of self-employed / sole proprietor firms were notrepresented in this survey and as such, the eco-nomic impact will be underestimated. Industriessuch as professional services (lawyers, account-ants, etc.), child care, elder care, home repair,computer repair, car repair, small retail stores andothers would be particularly under-represented inthis data.

Colorado is in a unique position in regards toeducational attainment of American Indians andAlaska Natives in the United States. ComparingColorado to neighboring states with large NativeAmerican populations such as Arizona and NewMexico, the population in Colorado has a higherpercentage of bachelor’s and master’s degrees.14.3% of Colorado’s Native American populationhas attained a bachelor’s degree, which is nearlydouble the rate of New Mexico and Arizona.Similarly with master’s degrees, 10% of Colorado’sNative American population has achieved a grad-uate degree, which is more than 2.5 times therate in New Mexico and Arizona. This level ofeducational attainment supports the strong promi-nence of Professional, Scientific and Technicalfirms that appear in the data on Native Americanfirms – the education pipeline is a strong feederfor these industries. Colorado has programs thatsupport this such as the Indian Scholars licenseplate program that has delivered more than$100,000 in scholarships to Native American students in Colorado. RMICC is also active in distributing scholarships to Colorado NativeAmerican students with amounts increasing every year.


Economic Impact Contrasted with Economicand Social Status

It is important to note that while the economicimpact analysis shows a significant contribution tothe Colorado economy from American Indiansand Alaska Natives, it does not imply any sort ofuniversal prosperity for any individuals or groups.Economic impact demonstrates the incrementaleconomic contribution to the State, but cannot tell the story of the status of American Indian andAlaska Native individuals or communities. Thesestatistics must be viewed in the context of theoverall economic and social status of the NativeAmerican population within Colorado. It is alsoimportant to contrast the conditions on and offthe reservations. While some of this data is diffi-cult to obtain, there are a number of federal andnon-profit sources that can help paint this picture.

From an education and economic perspective inthe US overall, the Office of Minority Health inthe US Department of Health and Human Servicesreports in 2012 that 82 percent of AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives alone, age 25 andover have at least a high school diploma, as com-pared to 92 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. 17percent of American Indians and Alaska Nativesage 25 and over have at least a bachelor's degree,in comparison to 33 percent of non-HispanicWhites. 6 percent of American Indians and AlaskaNatives have at least an advanced graduatedegree (i.e., master's, Ph.D., medical, or law), ascompared to 12 percent of the non-HispanicWhite population. The median household incomefor American Indian and Alaska Natives is$37,353, as compared to $56,565 for non-HispanicWhites. Twenty-nine percent of American Indiansand Alaska Natives age 16 and over are employedin management and professional occupations, incomparison to 40 percent of Whites. Also, 26 per-cent of this racial group lives at the poverty level,as compared to 11.0 percent of non-HispanicWhites, in 2012. In each of these categories, there

is significant room for improvement in the eco-nomic status of American Indians and AlaskaNatives.

The data paints a similar picture in terms of over-all health statistics. The Centers for DiseaseControl’s Health Disparities & Inequalities Report- United States, 2013 (CHDIR) highlights healthdisparities and inequalities across a wide range ofdiseases, behavioral risk factors, environmentalexposures, social determinants, and health-careaccess by sex, race and ethnicity, income, educa-tion, disability status and other social characteris-tics. Examples of some important health dispari-ties reported in the CHDIR:

• In 2010, American Indian/Alaska Native andHispanic adults had the highest age adjustedmean number of physically unhealthy days inthe past 30 days compared with otherracial/ethnic populations.

• In 2010, the preterm birthrate for AmericanIndian/Alaska Native infants (13.6%) was higherthan for white (10.8%) and Asian/PacificIslander infants (10.7%).

• During 1999–2010, drug-induced death rates inthe 30-39 year age group were highest amongAmerican Indians/Alaska Natives compared toother racial/ethnic populations.

• In 2009, the homicide death rate was highestamong non-Hispanic blacks (19.9 deaths per100,000), followed by American Indians andAlaska Natives (9.0 deaths per 100,000).

• In 2008, the infant mortality rate was 53% high-er for American Indian/Alaska Native women(8.42 infant deaths per 1,000 live births) com-pared with non-Hispanic white women (5.52infant deaths per 1,000 live births).

• In 2009, American Indians and Alaska Nativeshad the highest motor vehicle–related death


rates. Among males, the AmericanIndian/Alaska Native death rate was approxi-mately 2-5 times the rates of other races/ethnic-ities. Among females, the AmericanIndian/Alaska Native motor vehicle-relateddeath rate was approximately 2-4 times therates of other races/ethnicities.

• Although the 2009 overall suicide rates forAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives were sim-ilar to those of non-Hispanic whites, the2005–2009 rates among adolescent and youngadult American Indians and Alaska Nativesaged 15–29 years were substantially higher.

• In 2011, the age-standardized prevalence of notcompleting high school among adults aged 25years and older was the second largest forAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives --secondto Hispanics and similar to African Americans.

• In 2011, the age-standardized percentage ofAmerican Indian/Alaska Native adults living inpoverty was among the largest compared withnon-Hispanic whites.

• In 2010, prevalence of unemployment amongadults aged 18-64 years was highest amongnon-Hispanic blacks (16.5%) and AmericanIndians/Alaska Natives (15.8%).

Focusing on Colorado and the non-reservationpopulation of American Indians and AlaskaNatives specifically, the best available data comesfrom the Urban Indian Health Institute. Their 2011Community Health Profile: Denver Indian Healthand Family Services focuses on education, eco-nomic, and health statistics for the Denver metroarea specifically. The study is based on the spe-cific counties that they serve, which includeAdams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver,Douglas, Gilpin, and Jefferson and these arealigned with the largest concentration of AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives living off of the reser-vation in Colorado. Some of the statistically signif-icant disparities that the study shows include:

• A higher percentage of American Indians andAlaska Natives age 25 and older in this servicearea have not completed high school orobtained a GED (20.8%) compared with thegeneral population (11.1%). A lower percentageof American Indians and Alaska Natives (17.1%)report an undergraduate or graduate degree astheir highest level of education compared withthe general population (39.2%).

• A higher percentage of American Indians andAlaska Natives in this service area live belowthe federal poverty level (18.3%) compared withthe general population (11.5%). In this servicearea, 21.6% of American Indian / Alaska Nativechildren under age six live in households belowpoverty level compared with 18.5% of childrenin the general population. Among children 6-17years of age in this service area, 21.6% ofAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives and 13.8%of children in the general population live inhouseholds below poverty level.

• In this service area, 10.7% of American Indiansand Alaska Natives age 16 and older and 6.2%of the general population age 16 and older areunemployed. (These rates do not include indi-viduals in the military or individuals who areinstitutionalized.)

• In this service area,a higher percentageof American Indiansand Alaska Natives(23.1%) report beingunable to see a doc-tor because of costthan the generalpopulation (12.3%).

• Among American Indians and Alaska Natives inthis service area, 9.6% report having been toldby a doctor that they have diabetes comparedwith 5.4% of the general population. AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives in this service area

A higher percentage ofAmerican Indians and AlaskaNatives in this area live below

the federal poverty level(18.3%) compared with the gen-eral population (11.5%). Also,

10.7% of American Indians andAlaska Natives age 16 and olderand 6.2% of the general popu-

lation age 16 and older areunemployed


have a diabetes mortality rate of 34.7 per100,000 compared with 16.4 per 100,000 in thegeneral population (data not shown).

• Infant mortality measures the rate of death forchildren under the age of one. AmongAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives in thisservice area, the infant mortality rate is 9.1 per1,000 live births. In the general population inthis service area the infant mortality rate is 5.9per 1,000 live births.

Whether looking at the data nationally or withinColorado, there is compelling evidence that whilethe overall economic impact of American Indiansand Alaska Natives in the State is significant, thereis more to be done to ensure that this economicactivity translates to real quality of life improve-ments across the population. Many of these statis-tics hinder the potential for increased economicimpact within the American Indian and AlaskaNative communities. Below are recommendationsfor how economic impact can be increased withinthe State.

Economic Impact by Segment

The following sections break down the economicimpact calculations by the source of that impact,and provide further commentary on the data dis-cussed above.

Impact of the Tribes

As noted throughout the report, there are 2 feder-ally recognized tribes within the State of Colorado- Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute MountainUte Tribe. Both of their reservations are locatedin Southwestern Colorado and both own ventureson and off the reservation, with an economicimpact that extends well beyond the borders ofthe reservation. Both are an important contributorto the economy in their particular region, wherethey have one of the most significant economicimpacts of any entity in the area, and across the

State. Tribal data includes businesses owned bythe tribes and the economic activity of the tribalgovernment. Figures provided by the tribes werecombined to ensure the confidentiality of the dataand as with other aspects of the study, the calcu-lated impact would be considered conservative.Economic activity of the tribes is diversified, rep-resenting 17 different types of industry. Themajor industries that comprise tribal activity (asdefined by having greater than 100 employees)are: Mining, Quarrying and Oil and GasExtraction; Construction; Educational Services;Arts, Entertainment and Recreation; andAccommodation and Food Services. The impactof the tribes is summarized below.

• Overall economic impact of $239.5M

• Wage Impact of $71.5M

• Direct job creation of 1,949

• Indirect job creation of 1,888


Impact of Native-Owned Businesses

Native-owned businesses as a whole are thelargest contributor to statewide economic impactin this study. Native-Owned businesses are differ-ent than the tribal-owned businesses as they areowned by Native American individuals or groupsof individuals but not the tribes themselves.Much of the data about these businesses wasacquired from Dun & Bradstreet. While this isconsidered a good source of data for this sector,there are an unknown number of Native-American owned businesses that are not in theDun & Bradstreet data and therefore, their eco-nomic impact is not counted in this study. Datawas adjusted by the proportion of employees inColorado to total employees to estimate the eco-nomic impact only in the State of Colorado. Tosummarize their impact:

• Overall economic impact of $1.12B• Wage Impact of $417.7M• Direct job creation of 6,596• Indirect job creation of 8,890

This data can be further analyzed by industry.The biggest impact sectors by level of sales inColorado include: Construction; Professional,Scientific and Technical Services; Utilities;Management of Companies and Enterprises andRetail Trade. Those sectors that have 100 or moreemployees in Colorado include: Professional,Scientific and Technical Services; Management ofCompanies and Enterprises; Construction; Utilities;Retail Trade; Administrative and Support Servicesand Other Services. The chart below comparesthe relative size of Native-owned businesses invarious sectors to the size of these sectors inColorado overall.

Proffessional, Scientific and Technical Services 2,166 187 11.6 33.0 38.4 188,989 31,020 6.1 9.7 18.1 1.1 0.6

Construction 1,071 74 14.5 16.3 15.2 127,604 16,667 7.7 6.5 9.7 0.8 0.4

Management of Companies& Enterprises 1,540 9 171.1 23.5 1.8 34,593 1,806 19.2 1.8 1.1 4,5 0.5

Utilities 328 9 36.4 5.0 1.8 7,832 381 20.6 0.4 0.2 4.2 2.4

Retail Trade 315 33 9.5 4.8 6.8 249,242 17,296 14.4 12.8 10.1 0.1 0.2

Administrative Services 268 17 15.8 4.1 3.5 141,624 9,536 14.9 7.3 5.6 0.2 0.2

Other Services 137 17 8.1 2.1 3.5 69,568 13,320 5.2 3.6 7.8 0.2 0.1

Total of all Industries 6.566 487 13.5 1,962,166 171,204 11.4

Largest Industries by Employmentin Native Owned Firms

Number ofJobs

Numberof Firms

AverageNumberof Jobs

Per Firm

Industry% of NO

Jobs

Numberof Jobs

Numberof Firms


Per Firm

Industry%of NO

Jobs


Per Firm

Industry% of

All firms

Jobs in NO firms as% of state

industryjobs

# of NOfirms as

% of StateIndustry

firms

NATIVE OWNED BUSINESS STATEWIDE PRIVATE BUSINESS


It is important to notethat six of the sevenlargest industries byemployment that areNative Americanowned have a larger average firm size than sameindustry firms statewide. These sectors can beconsidered strengths in terms of Native-ownedbusinesses. Colorado is considered a hub fortechnology employment and Native-owned firmsare certainly a partof this. Professional,Scientific andTechnical Firmsaccount for 38.4% ofthe Native Americanowned companiesand 33% of theemployment inColorado Native American firms. Native Americanowned Construction is made up mainly of smallfirms. Of the 74 construction companies in thestate that are owned by Native Americans, onlythree of the firms have more than 100 Coloradoemployees and the majority (74%) of have lessthan 10 employees. Native Owned Utilities com-panies account for 4.19% of jobs in the Utilitiesindustry statewide and 2.36% of the firms in theindustry.

It should be noted that while Management ofCompanies and Enterprises makes a strong eco-nomic impact, this segment is dominated by onefirm with all employees in the state. While thisindustry makes up less than 2% of the number ofNative owned firms, it employs 23.5% of theworkers. When comparing the firms in this indus-try to firms statewide, it is seen that NativeOwned firms have created 4.45% of the jobs inManagement of Companies and Enterprisesstatewide.

Impact of Non-Profit Organizations

Colorado is one of the states in the US thatattracts a number of Native-focused non-profitorganizations. This dynamic is both historical andpractical. Traditionally Colorado was a gatheringplace and trade hub for many tribes and it contin-ues to be a hub of activity. Several prominentnational non-profits focused on Native Americaare headquartered here, and this sector generatessignificant economic activity. As noted above, thisstudy only includes non-profits focused solely onNative America who have offices within the Stateof Colorado. It is recognized that there are othernon-profits that serve the Colorado NativeAmericans in addition to other populations and itis hoped that these can be addressed in futurestudies. The non-profits in this study provideservices to the population in education, health,social assistance and emergency assistance. Alsoincluded are community foundations, professionalsocieties, and groups supporting Native Americancultural ethnic awareness. The economic impactof the non-profit sector is summarized below.



• Direct job creation of 268

• Indirect job creation of 853

Impact of the Education Sector

The impact of the education sector has a slightlydifferent dynamic than other sectors included inthis study. Education brings the direct economicimpact of the tuition and fees paid by students toattend college within the State, as well as the jobscreated within these institutions ranging from pro-fessors to support staff. As is noted above, datawas collected for the 28 public colleges and uni-versities from the Colorado State Department ofHigher Education. No private institutions were

Over 2,100 people areemployed in Native-OwnedProfessional, Scientific and

Technical Firms.

Native Owned Construction Firms

• 74 Construction Firms

• Employ over 1,100 people

• 4% with less than 10 employees

• Only 3 Firms with greater than100 employees


included in this data. For this study, the economicimpact from these students is conservativelyunderestimated as only tuition and fees wereused to estimate impact. The EducationalServices multiplier was applied to the sum of thetuition paid for attending the colleges. This is amore conservative approach than applying themultipliers to the estimated total cost of atten-dance (which would include living expenses).This approach was taken to ensure that economicimpact was not “double counted” as many stu-dents may live with their parents, hold jobs in thecommunity that may be represented in other data,etc. The real economic impact of AmericanIndian/Alaska Native students in Colorado is like-ly to be higher than what is calculated here. Asummary of the economic impact from this sectorappears below.



• Student body of 2,599

- 1,622 in-state students

- 977 non-resident students


There are a number of important highlights fromthis data, including:

• There is significant impact from out-of-state stu-dents, reinforcing Colorado as a hub for NativeAmerican activity.

- Today 1,089 Native American/AlaskanNative students from over 144 tribesattend Fort Lewis College (FLC). FortLewis College graduates more NativeAmerican students than any baccalaureateinstitution in the United States. FLC pro-vides 13% of the baccalaureate Science,Technology, Engineering, andMathematics (STEM) degrees to NativeAmerican students in the country. From2000-2012, 287 federally recognizedtribes, representing 46 states, have sentNative students to the Fort Lewis College.The significant number of out-of-statestudents that attend this institution is asignificant boost to the education sectoreconomic impact.

- Non-resident Native American studentswere enrolled at 25 of the 28 schools.

- Colorado State University, PuebloCommunity College, and the Universityof Colorado-Boulder all attracted morethan 30 non-resident Native Americansfor the 2013 school year.

• Colorado resident Native American students arewidely dispersed among the colleges and uni-versities with schools along the Front Rangeattracting the highest number of in-state stu-dents.

- All schools report Native American resi-dent students with the counts rangingfrom 2 at Western State Colorado Collegein Gunnison to 162 at Front RangeCommunity College campuses.


- Six of the 28 schools have enrollments ofgreater than 100 Native American in-statestudents. The six schools are:Community College of Denver, Fort LewisCollege, Front Range Community College,Metro State University of Denver, PikesPeak Community College and PuebloCommunity College.

• The total counts of Native American students atthe public colleges and universities range from5 students at Morgan Community College inFort Morgan to 873 at Fort Lewis College inDurango.

- The median enrollment of NativeAmericans at the state public collegesand universities is 52.

- Eight schools have greater than 100Native American students. In addition tothe six listed above are: the University ofColorado-Boulder and the University ofColorado-Denver.

Impact of Events

Colorado is a hub for Native American events.Conservative estimates would say that more than73,000 people visited Colorado for Native-focusedevents in 2013. Large events bring in a significantnumber of out-of-state visitors, reinforcing

Colorado as a hub forNative American activity.While some of the largerevents such as theDenver March Pow-Wow and the Denver Indian Art Market are wellknown, there are dozens of events every yearranging from technical and professional confer-ences to large meetings of non-profits to addition-al cultural and artistic events. Using data obtainedfrom VisitDenver, a report by LongwoodsInternational (Colorado Travel Year 2013) and theevents themselves, attendance at these events wasestimated at over 73,000 people.

A study by Dean Runyan Associates prepared inJune 2015 for the Colorado Tourism Office, Officeof Economic Development and InternationalTrade entitled “The Economic Impact of Travel onColorado 1996-2014P” provided a breakdown ofvisitor spending by commodity purchased.Using that data, the following calculations weremade to estimate the effect that attendees atNative American events have on the state ofColorado:




Highlights noted from the events data include:

• The largest events are Pow Wows with 91.7%of the accounted for attendance.

• Another large event was the American IndianScience and Engineering Society AnnualNational Conference. The conference was heldin the fall of 2013 in Denver with 1,800 stu-dents and professionals in attendance.

• Other smaller private events and meetings takeplace every week and are not counted in thisstudy and the impact on the Colorado economyis unknown.

Schools with Highest Native American Enrollments

In-State Out-of-State

Community College of Denver Fort Lewis College

Fort Lewis College Colorado State University

Front Range Community College Pueblo Community College

Metro State Univ. of Denver University of Colorado-Boulder

Pikes Peak Community College

Pueblo Community College

More than 73,000 peoplevisited Colorado for Native-

focused events in 2013.


Implications and Future Directions

The results of this report have many implicationsfor the future. It is intended that this report berefreshed periodically to continue to monitor theeconomic impact of American Indians and AlaskaNatives and to continue to develop strategies andpolicies for enhancing this impact. In addition,the influence of this economic activity on theoverall economic, social, and health status of theAmerican Indian and Alaska Native populationshould be monitored in parallel to understandhow economic impact is translating into broaderimpact. This has important policy implications atthe State level.

One of the most important implications of thestudy is the potential to enhance what is alreadya significant economic impact from Native-ownedand Native-focused organizations within the Stateof Colorado. While the economic impact today isstrong, there are a number of opportunities tofurther promote and grow these organizationswithin the State. Policies aimed at entrepreneurialdevelopment, business growth, and creating addi-tional opportunities for Native-owned firms wouldbenefit not only the American Indian and AlaskaNative population, but also the State overall. Asshown in this study, the dollars that flow throughNative-owned and Native-focused organizationscreated a positive economic multiplier forColorado.

There is also an opportunity for the State ofColorado to cooperate more directly with thetribes in terms of economic development andbusiness development. The unique legal and taxstatus of the reservations can provide a significanteconomic advantage to businesses hoping to relo-cate to the State of Colorado, and the existingworkforce and business infrastructure fromNative-owned firms can help further support this.A recent trend for tribes is attracting businessesthat are seeking to relocate functions that were

previously outsourced offshore back to the US. Arecent Forbes survey showed that the number ofChief Financial Officers who were examining the“re-shoring” of operations had nearly doubled ina year. Other tribes have had success in attractingthese businesses to the reservation and this creates an opportunity for both the tribes and theState. This is but one example of how increasedcooperation could benefit all of Colorado.

Further analysis can also be conducted to deter-mine strategies to increase the economic multipli-er within the State and further enhance the eco-nomic impact of Native-owned and Native-focused firms. For example, an Economic Leakagestudy can illustrate where dollars are flowing outof the State that could be recaptured. For exam-ple, Native-owned businesses who are currentlybuying from suppliers out-of-state could beencouraged to “buy local”. Similarly, non-Nativebusinesses could be encouraged to “Buy Native”and keep dollars flowing within the Coloradoeconomy. These types of studies generally findnumerous opportunities to not only increase eco-nomic impact, but also have other positive impli-cations such as increasing resilience, food security,energy security, and a number of other areas.

Looking at broader impacts, additional analysiscan be done on economic and social indicatorsfor American Indian and Alaska Native popula-tions in Colorado. This study illustrated that muchof this data can be difficult to obtain. But it isimportant to understand the broader impacts thateconomic activity is having within these commu-nities and where there are opportunities toenhance this effect. Fundamentally the questionof whether increased economic activity is translat-ing to broader economic and health impact mustbe answered. Further study should be undertakento understand the social services consumed byAmerican Indian and Alaska Natives in Coloradoand how this changes over time as policies toenhance economic impact are enacted. As refer-


enced above, this study looked at gross economicimpact. By studying the costs of services, more ofa net economic impact can be calculated.

One of the important discoveries of this studywas the number of organizations in both the pub-lic and private sector who have a strong interestin understanding and enhancing the economicimpact from American Indians and Alaska Nativesin the State. This study creates a platform for theinitiation of an Economic Impact Policy Summitthat can take the results and recommendations ofthis study and translate them into concrete policyactions and recommendations. This summitshould include government (Federal, State, andLocal), the Tribes, Native-owned businesses, non-profits, and representatives from Native-focusedevents. Such a gathering can create a policy agen-da that can guide action today and futureresearch.

As noted previously, this study is the first of itskind in Colorado. As such, there are a number ofopportunities for improvement in the methodsassociated with the study, especially in terms ofdata collection. Some of these improvements havealready been implemented. For example, theRocky Mountain Indian Chamber of Commercewill now be collecting data on its members con-sistently to feed future studies, which should sig-nificantly enhance the Native-owned businessdata and address some of the smaller firms thatmay not have been captured by the methodsused in this study. Additional potential improve-ments to data collection include:

• Adding the impact of federal employees inColorado in agencies focused on serving NativeAmerica – Colorado is a regional and nationalhub for a number of these agencies and previ-ous studies of the economic impact of federalworkers conducted by the Federal ExecutiveBoard shows that they have a strong economicimpact

• Conducting consistent surveys of major eventsto better understand the economic impact gen-erated

• Expanding the non-profits included in the sur-vey to understand the economic impact associ-ated with serving Native American populations,even when this is not their sole focus

• Assess the economic activity and associatedeconomic impact associated with tribes in adja-cent states who frequently spend money withinthe State of Colorado

• Looking at the contributions of Native-ownedbusinesses to addressing the income inequalityand other issues still present in the AmericanIndian and Alaska Native community inColorado

• Understanding Native American student enroll-ment at private institutions within Colorado andits resulting economic impact

• Gathering estimates of informal economic activ-ity and its impact – this is an important part ofthe economy for Native Americans living onand off the reservation and further increaseseconomic impact

Overall, this study provides an important baselinemeasurement of economic impact from AmericanIndians and Alaska Native in the State ofColorado. Even with the conservative approach tocalculating impact and lack of data in some sec-tors, the economic impact illustrated by thisreport is strong and there are numerous opportu-nities to enhance this impact. Just as important,there are opportunities to improve the overalleconomic and health status of the AmericanIndian and Alaska Native population in Coloradoby enhancing economic impact.


Conclusion

At $1.5 Billion dollars, the economic impact tothe state of Colorado’s economy is strong. Moreimportantly, it’s diverse; ranging from tribal gov-ernments and non-profit agencies providing muchneeded social services to large, financially stablebusinesses that provide goods and services notjust to Native Americans but to all citizens ofColorado. As important players in the Coloradoeconomy, the Native Americans need to be con-sidered in policy decisions.

There is a potential to grow impact through clos-er relationships among Tribes, government, busi-nesses and schools. These entities can recognizethat Native American businesses do exist and maybe able to provide the goods and services thatthey need, fostering future growth and economicstability and independence in the Native Americancommunity. As important as the knowledge pro-vided by this study is, there remains work to bedone to advance the economic status of theNative American population in Colorado at large.

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Colorado American Indian and Alaska Native Economic Impact Report

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