This chapter uses economic theory and tribal-centered writings to explore ways that the Navajo Nation might improve its governance practices. A section on the dominant form of economic theory off the reservation, neo-classical economics, provides a grounding on approaches that have been dictated to tribes by outside experts. The subsequent section on tribal economic development theory, which draws upon work by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development as well as work by leading Native scholars, highlights the importance of cultural match and good governance when it comes to reservation development.