The significance of traditional economies in indigenous communities goes beyond the economic realm--they are more than just livelihoods providing subsistence and sustenance to individuals or communities. The centrality of traditional economies to indigenous identity and culture has been noted by numerous scholars. However, today one can detect a certain degree of cynicism when discussing traditional indigenous economies. The continued significance of subsistence economies is either downplayed or dismissed. This article considers the significance of indigenous economic systems in contemporary society. It argues that indigenous economic systems have to be taken into account much more systematically than thus far in considerations of indigenous governance. The article contends that indigenous economic systems need to play a more central role in envisioning and shaping meaningful, comprehensive, and sustainable systems of contemporary indigenous self-governance. The article consists of three sections. The first section discusses definitions and contemporary significance of subsistence and indigenous economies. It questions the prevailing narrow, economistic analyses and interpretations of subsistence. The second section examines the relationship between subsistence and wage labor, particularly from the perspective of women. It also considers the "war on subsistence" waged by the development and modernization theories, which continue to contribute to views of subsistence as "primitive" and "premodern." The third section takes a closer look at the often glossed over roles of indigenous women in subsistence activities. It questions the conventional binary economic roles of man-the-hunter versus woman-the-gatherer and argues for a broader lens when assessing economic roles and divisions of labor along gendered lines. The article concludes with an examination of indigenous economic systems and the concept of the social economy as a foundation for contemporary indigenous governance. (Contains 72 notes.)