THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT IN EXPLAINING HUMAN-CAPITAL FORMATION AND LABOR-FORCE PARTICIPATION OF AMERICAN-INDIANS IN ROSEBUD COUNTY, MONTANA

In response to recent recommendations to incorporate social, political , and cultural contexts into employment and poverty analyses for minor ity populations, this paper draws on several sources and types of data to examine the human capital and labor force participation patterns o f Northern Cheyenne Indians and non-Indians in Rosebud County, Montana . Discussions utilizing human capital and economic organization data c ontribute to clarifying differences in poverty levels of the two popul ations. However, the ''embeddedness'' approach utilizes ethnographic d ata and recent analyses of schooling to illuminate the social and cult ural relations affecting Northern Cheyenne employment patterns as well as the methods by which individuals, families, and communities adapt to the recent declines in economic opportunity and wages on the reserv ation: Such discussions suggest the need to reconsider policies design ed to address American Indian human capital formation and economic dev elopment needs.