Here is a round up of business news from around Indian Country.
Finance
• The Native CDFI Network, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group for Native community development financial institutions, reappointed Natalie Charley, executive director of Pacific Beach, Wash.-based Taala Fund, and appointed Russ Seagle, executive director of the Cherokee, N.C.-based Sequoyah Fund Inc., to its board of directors. Charley will continue to represent the group’s Northwest Region, while Seagle will represent the Eastern Region. “As the Native CDFI movement continues its growth and resilience in the face of COVID, it is a great blessing that Ms. Charley will continue her service with NCN. Likewise, we welcome Mr. Seagle’s voice and expertise to our board discussions and strategy,” Native CDFI Network Executive Director Jackson Brossy said in a statement. “Native CDFIs have stepped up remarkably in the face of the pandemic, have taken on additional challenges, and responsibilities, and now our members are poised to continue their great work as the country recovers together.”
Gaming
• Margaret Simpson has become the first tribal member to serve as CEO of the Coquille Indian Tribe’s The Mill Casino-Hotel & RV Park in North Bend, Ore., according to a report in the Bandon Western World. Previously, Simpson served as general manager and assistant general manager, and worked her way up in the organization since 2000. Simpson has a master’s degree in hospitality from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She replaces Terri Porcaro, who will retire on Dec. 31, according to the report.
• The Indiana General Assembly has approved a gaming compact between the state and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, according to a report in the Northwest Indiana Times. The approval paves the way for the Dowagiac, Mich.-based tribe to offer expanded casino gaming and sports betting at its Four Winds Casino in South Bend, Ind., which currently only offers Class II bingo games. The compact now must be published in the Federal Register and approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is expected later this year. Under the terms of the compact, the tribe will pay 8 percent of its slot machine winnings to the state, which guaranteed the tribe exclusivity within a 50-mile radius of its casino, according to the report.
Law
• Elizabeth Reese (Nambé Pueblo) will join the faculty of Stanford Law School on June 1 as an assistant professor of law. Reese will be the first Native American on faculty at the law school. Reese focuses on American Indian tribal law and constitutional law. Her hire is part of Stanford’s IDEAL initiative “to add eminent scholars and researchers who are leaders in the study of the impact of race in America.”
Entertainment
• The Mohegan Sun, which is owned by Uncasville, Conn.-based Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, an enterprise of the Mohegan Tribe, named Jennifer Rizzotti as president of the Connecticut Sun, a WNBA franchise the tribe also owns. Rizzotti is a former basketball star for the University of Connecticut and currently serves as assistant coach of the USA Women’s Olympic basketball team. Kathy Regan-Pyne, Connecticut Sun board of governors representative and recording secretary for the Mohegan Tribal Council, called Rizzotti a “powerhouse” in women’s basketball. “She has deep roots here in Connecticut and we could not be more thrilled to have her joining our team,” Regan-Pyne said in a statement. “Her passion, talent and expertise, along with her shared values and philosophies, make her a natural fit within our organization.”
Health care
• The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi is holding a ribbon cutting ceremony today to unveil the new Mshkiki Community Clinic in Benton Harbor, Mich. The new clinic, a division of the tribe’s Pokagon Health Services department, is intended to serve the primary medical and dental care needs of Medicaid and low-income residents living in Benton Harbor and Benton Township in Southwest Michigan. The facility was designed by the tribally-owned Seven Generations Architecture & Engineering.
