The Obama Jobs Summit UNV Coverage

Commentary: The Obama Jobs Summit Just a Starting PointCommentary: The Obama Jobs Summit Just a Starting PointThe Obama Jobs Summit got started today at 1:30 pm EST, with President Obama declaring that the government has limited resources, and the private sector must step up to create jobs. His brief opening statements marked the beginning of the much anticipated jobs summit, he has promised to do more to work to create jobs and will convene a similar gathering in January. This all leads to the question as to how jobs can be created at a time of record unemployment.

Will there be a need for a second piece of legislation? Some Democrats are leaning toward the creation of a jobs bill, and work for this is taking place by Sen. Durbin (IL) and Sen. Dorgan (ND). Congressional Democrats are hesitant to call the jobs bill what it really is: a second stimulus. The need for jobs among the urban Native American population is urgent.

Urban Native American families exist in a weird, out of whack no-man's-land. These families have come to the urban areas to escape deteriorating economic realities that are on the reservations. When they leave the reservation; they leave behind a social structure that is to varying degrees--accommodating of their political, economic and cultural realities.Life in the urban centers is a stark reminder of how unwelcoming urban life can be. There is high unemployment; it is not clear just how state and tribal governments crunch data on urban Indian unemployment. This is a major barrier to any urban development taking place. One simply cannot accurately measure the degree of unemployment. The only indicator is on the street level. Everyone is out of work! Native Americans are a low priority; it is not clear as of yet--whether the first stimulus has been made available to urban Indian populations.

Complicating this reality is the lack of infrastructure that can lead to lasting economic development in both urban and reservation settings. The non-profit sector is virtually non-existent. There is also lack of cohesive leadership in the urban setting; we can all agree everybody cares. Getting everyone on the same page is proving to be very challenging. There is a need for community collaboration of unprecedented proportions to create the kind of economic growth needed throughout native communities.

The political, economic and cultural institutions for too long have created an us v. them mentality. This itself is a barrier to effective job creation. This is as true in the political leadership on down to the local level. The need for local leadership development is evident in urban Indians inability to advance their own interests. The state and federal goverments seem open to ideas; the basic message stated by President Obama was to solicit ideas and innovation. This is certainly a good start, it is time to organize local leadership councils to begin the dialog and state their needs. Community forums are needed to support every good idea out there that will lead to what we all want: economic security.