This project will assess whether an economic development concept of Native American cultural products can open new opportunities for rural residents. The project will work with a set of isolated rural Alaska Native villages with whom we have established working relationships, to obtain prototypes, define parameters of production, and get design examples attuned to the feedback from potential purchasers. The project builds on the long-cherished desire to make the riches of Native culture, an effective economic development tool. "Cultural products" are items that use traditional Native cultural skills to make innovative products that fit into the modern lifestyle. This paradigm has been researched into a set of potential products, targeted to the office-products industry, to ecological and other advocacy markets. and to executive gift markets (including preliminary conversation with Alaska Center for International Business to address the Japanese gift market). Working relationships have been established with regional Native organizations as well, to provide the linkages needed to expand capacity in case of major success. This has proven a key weakness of Alaska business development.Applications:Results will be, if research is positive. to establish an economic development strategy able to bring income to remote villages, in a way compatible with subsistence lifestyles. Native persons will be able to participate in accordance with their own time patterns. Native culture will be strengthened, providing community development as well as economic benefit. Phase I research may enable immediate seeking of implementation grants from sources concerned with Native economic development.
