We are still red men in a white man's world. We are often dependent on equal opportunity laws just to get a job. However, Doyon Drilling will hire the most qualified for any particular job, be they Native or not.
I worked in a pipeline camp, Sheep Creek, and I was the only Alaska Native in the whole camp. I was camp carpenter, ran the sewage treatment and diesel electric plants, kept the kitchen equipment and furnaces running. I was the most highly qualified worker in that camp, but I got the job only because a Native corp was partner in the immediate operation.
And you're correct, my words are lofty. I try to encourage my people to keep doing even more than they have, to insure our collective fortunes. Kind of like "We have done well, but we can, and must do even better".  I am an elder, and I try to do what elders do.
We need to send more of our kids to college and trade schools. Not just the brightest, or those from the richest clans, but as many of our kids as we possibly can.