Bruce Benson

The 19th Century Comanche

These Plains Indians had a legal system based on accepted rules of conduct and individual rights.

Daniel Benjamin

The Importance of Property Rights

Economic evidence reveals that property rights are more critical for prosperity than an efficient method of settling contractual disputes.

Linda Platts

Poachers to Rangers

In the heart of Cambodia is the most important waterbird zone in mainland Southeast Asia. At Prek Toal, just-hatched chicks peep in deafening high tones, while larger birds take off, land, and perform mid-air acrobatics. Many rare and endangered birds make their home here, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on the edge of Tonle Sap, SoutheastContinue reading "The 19th Century Comanche"

Linda Platts

Cities Adopt Green Tops

When the elevator stops on the top floor of some of the world’s newest downtown skyscrapers, the occupants may be in for a surprise. Before them may be a field of waving native grasses and a stunning display of wildflowers. Birds chirp, and butterflies go about their business without even noticing they are in midtownContinue reading "The 19th Century Comanche"

Linda Platts

Protecting Forests, Enriching People

While rampant illegal logging takes place around them, two indigenous communities in Nicaragua have banned together to harvest wood in a sustainable manner and to act as a buffer for Nicaragua’s largest protected area. Indigenous people own and manage more than 54,000 acres adjoining the 1.8 million-acre Bosaws Reserve. With help from conservation groups, theyContinue reading "The 19th Century Comanche"

Letters to the Editor

  A Distorted Picture of Canadian Forests   Alison Berry?s article about Canadian forest management (?Timber Tenures,? March 2005) takes a somewhat truncated view of the situation?giving us all of the good but none of the bad. There are some very large downsides to the timber lease and tenure structures, and those pitfalls have causedContinue reading "Letters to the Editor"

Terry Anderson

Blackfeet Gathering

Blackfeet Gathering, an oil painting of teepees, illustrates private property among American Indians. It is available by auction.

Terry Anderson

Self-Determination -

A return to property rights and the rule of law would restore economic strength and stewardship to American Indian Economies.

Curt H. Stiles, Carlos L. Rodriguez, Craig S. Galbraith

American Indian Collectivism

The reservation system, instituted in the nineteenth century, destroyed the successful property rights systems of the past.

Bill Yellowtail

Indian Sovereignty -

Tribal sovereignty is an achievement, but just as important in enabling Indians to be entrepreneurial is recognizing the role of the individual.