What:
Tribally owned enterprises are a distinct form of collective business ownership. They are businesses owned and controlled by Indigenous nations, tribes, First Nations, or other recognised Indigenous governing bodies. In the United States, many tribally owned enterprises operate within frameworks of tribal sovereignty and are governed through tribal institutions and legal systems.
Tribally owned enterprises are usually established to support economic and social development for such groups. This includes enabling Indigenous communities to generate revenue, create employment and build economic independence. They also operate to address community priorities and maintain connections to land, culture and collective identities. There are legal dimensions to a business claiming the status of being tribally owned, which differs across nations.
Examples:
Within this, there are Indigenous communities using tribally owned enterprises to engage with scientific research and technology development. The S&K Family of Companies, for example, is a tribally owned professional services firm. Through its subsidiaries, including S&K Engineering and Research, they undertake technical and research activities in areas including aerospace, robotics and autonomous systems. They operate to create dividends for their shareholder, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and generate wider social and economic benefits for tribal group members.
Considerations for Deep-Tech:
- Deep tech researchers may need to be aware that tribal sovereignty impacts how research findings, technologies and intellectual property are developed, owned and used.
- Similarly to considerations with Community Owned Enterprises, collaborations with Tribally Owned Enterprises would need to clearly benefit the tribal group. These types of benefits may be financial but could also encompass employment opportunities, skills development and support for cultural and environmental priorities of the tribal group.
- Collaboration with TOEs could offer unique access to tribal knowledge, land-based knowledge systems, ecological knowledge and data and/or other specific cultural knowledge. However, researchers would need to ensure rigorous systems and protocols to ensure informed consent was gained and there was clarity regarding data governance and ownership.
More information:
Gregg, M. (2021) ‘Examining tribal enterprises to understand Native economic development’. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Available at: https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2021/examining-tribal-enterprises-to-understand-native-economic-development (Accessed: 14 July 2026).
Hudson S, Foley D, Cargo M. Indigenous Social Enterprises and Health and Wellbeing: A Scoping Review and Conceptual Framework. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 4;19(21):14478. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114478. PMID: 36361356; PMCID: PMC9657732.
NSW Department of Communities and Justice (2024) ‘Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations’. NSW Department of Communities and Justice. Available at: https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/service-providers/working-with-us/how-we-work-with-you/aboriginal-community-controlled-organisations.html (Accessed: 14 July 2026).
SE Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) (n.d.) [Case report 110]. London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at: https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/casereport110.pdf (Accessed: 14 July 2026).