overeignty creates borders. Its essence is the power and the freedom to do things on one side of a border that can't or won't be done on the other side. Decisions of sovereignties affect individuals and families, shape communities, and encourage or inhibit enterprise. The ongoing debate about the powers of Indian nations in the United States reflects the core issues of the debate over sovereignty, in this country and around the world. Who has the right to make and enforce what kinds of decisions, within what boundaries?

The sovereignty of the indigenous people of this continent was assumed when tribes and the U.S. government first entered into treaties and agreements. While the courts have generally upheld the sovereignty of tribes as "limited dependent nations," just what that means is subject to heated debate. Congress, tribal members, and state officials argue about tax powers, who has rights to natural resources, and whether tribes should be immune from lawsuits. The authority to levy taxes, educate children, and build roads and sewers may be under federal, tribal, state, county, municipal or special district jurisdiction. Over time, already complex laws continue to evolve and become even more complex.

Sovereignty defines nations, but it also defines interest zones that cross national boundaries and other political borders.

Although the status of Indian reservations in the U.S. is unique, dilemmas over the boundaries of overlapping interests and sovereignties are common. Sovereignties around the world struggle with each other for political control. "Business wars" are fought by cities and states and nations and continents competing for jobs and prosperity.

Sovereignty defines nations, but it also defines interest areas that cross national boundaries and other political borders. Free trade zones, enterprise zones and special entitlement or taxation areas such as school or water districts are defined in terms of access to services and funds or exemptions from regulations and taxes.

Philosophers, government officials, religious leaders, commercial traders and legal scholars have studied sovereignty for centuries. What can Community Reinvestment add to the discussion? We think that someplace between the broad philosophical implications and the specific legal rulings, there's need for a pragmatic look at sovereignty as a tool for economic development. Our interests are in ensuring equal access to credit and in fostering the ongoing development that helps build a strong U.S. economy. As global corporations and cyberspace force us to develop new perspectives on regional and international sovereignty, we need both a context and practical tools for community development.

Our interest in sovereignty was piqued by Stephen Cornell, co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. The Harvard Project research indicates that tribes that use their sovereignty to create effective legal and business infrastructure are more prosperous than those that don't. In this issue of Community Reinvestment we've focused on how sovereignty affects business.

We visited the Laguna, Pojoaque and Santa Ana Pueblos in New Mexico to learn more firsthand about how tribes with successful businesses have addressed sovereignty issues. We talked with a Latina business owner who established similar businesses less than a mile apart in the United States and Mexico, because the laws of these two nations enabled her to do things on one side of the border that she could not do on the other.

There's a need for a pragmatic look at sovereignty as a tool for economic development.

Sovereignty affects our everyday lives in profound ways. It's a symbol that represents freedom and power, and it's a practical matter defined by laws. It's most effectively implemented through shared understanding and unwritten custom, but negotiation, legislation, and sometimes force are needed to maintain sovereign boundaries, especially between people from different cultures with sometimes-competing interests.

We've written about the pragmatic ways in which sovereignty affects the way we exchange goods and services, and about how sovereignty can be used as a tool for economic development. But our underlying assumption is that in democratic societies, we the people shape our sovereignty as we learn about the larger issues, participate in policy discussions, and use our power to vote. People in communities influence the political and economic realities within and across the sovereign borders in which we live and do business.

We've used photographs in this issue to illustrate some of the visual ways we establish our borders. We believe that the way we define our borders makes all the difference in the world in how successful we are in using our sovereignty to our advantage.