- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Economic Development
Three business-focused organizations in Indian Country have forged a partnership to bring their in-person events to Las Vegas simultaneously later this year.
The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development announced Wednesday that its Reservation Economic Summit (RES) has been rescheduled from its initial March event date to July 19-21 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
In addition, the National Indian Gaming Association and the American Indigenous Business Leaders will each move their yearly conferences to coincide with RES.
Derrick Watchman. Courtesy photo.“We think there’s many synergies (between NIGA and NCAIED),” said National Center board chair Derrick Watchman. “I think we’re all asking the question of how we move forward in this economy. We have a great economic engine in Indian gaming, and so how do we come together around that?”
The groups’ answer is pooling resources to put on an all-purpose event amid a pandemic: NIGA, AIBL and the National Center plan to allow registrants to sign up for all three events at once, and then apply the same standard of precautions across the board.
Those precautions include required masking, social distancing, vaccinations and potentially rapid testing, if the resources to do so are available, Watchman said.
“It’s going to be within reason,” Watchman said. “We’re going to be making sure everybody wears masks, and we’re going to try to make sure people are vaccinated.”
NIGA Board of Directors Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr. said the groups “have to work together to get this wheel turning.”
“We postponed two tradeshows so far. It’s caused us a lot of struggle, a lot of challenge,” Stevens said.
NIGA Conference Chairman Victor Rocha said tradeshows are a critical part of business in the gaming industry because they bring together industry executives and tribal leaders to learn, network and exchange ideas.
“The one thing we’ve been missing is having these trade shows,” Rocha said. “People have built up their online component and a hybrid component — these types of meetings work really well online, but it’s hard to do trade shows online.”
Stevens said the rescheduling and unification of shows from NIGA and the National Center gives attendees the best opportunity to attend both events.
“Our two great organizations have a long history of coming together to support one another and in this unique year, the joint venture helps coordinate our two shows in one city and allows for the maximum amount of time for our attendees to secure vaccinations and safely travel,” Stevens said.
The event is an opportunity to continue rebuilding the Indian gaming industry following long shutdowns in 2020, Stevens said. NIGA estimates the tribal gaming industry’s pandemic-caused losses at $30 billion through 2022, as Tribal Business News previously reported.
NIGA is still finalizing elements of its trade show, which has traditionally featured events such as a pre-show golf tournament, as well as registration dates and booth sales. Rocha said those decisions would be made in March.
Exhibitors who were scheduled for the canceled 2020 NIGA show will be automatically registered for an exhibit at the 2021 event.
Meanwhile, the Reservation Economic Summit is slated to feature a range of programming offered both in-person and in an online hybrid format. Programming tracks include agriculture, economic development, finance, natural resources, procurement and workforce development. The event will also feature its own trade show and short presentations from Indigenous business leaders called “RES Talks.”
“The big focus this year is how we’re going to get past the damage that many of our businesses experienced,” Watchman said. “We’re going to try to emphasize that.”
On the weekend prior to RES and the NIGA trade show, AIBL will host its business plan competition. The contest challenges both high school and college divisions to present and defend their business plans in a “simulation of the real world process of seeking start-up funds,” according to the National Center.
National Center CEO and President Chris James called the coalesced events an example of “resiliency and reinvention” made necessary in the COVID-19 era.
“Attendees can expect the same high-caliber networking, educational, and business development opportunities they’ve come to expect at RES – plus access to NIGA’s one-of-a-kind trade show,” James said. “The National Center, NIGA, and AIBL can’t wait to build new bridges of economic opportunities this summer.”
Watchman remains optimistic that between the unified events and proposed safety measures, the combined trade shows would be well attended come July.
“I look forward to this coming summer for the reasons of hope,” Watchman said. “I think we’re going to have a great turnout.”
