Here is a round up of business news from around Indian Country.
Real estate
• The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe has purchased approximately 12,000 acres of ancestral lands in Washington’s Tolt River watershed. The forestlands had been part of the original reservation that the federal government promised to the tribe in the 1930s but did not follow through with, according to a statement. The property has been managed as an industrial forest for more than 100 years. The tribe plans to sustainably manage the forest and continue to harvest timber as part of a broader effort to manage important ecosystems, support native plant and wildlife species and protect tribal cultural heritage. Nonprofit environmental group Forterra facilitated the deal for the tribe, which bought the property from J.P. Morgan Asset Management-owned Campbell Global LLC. The acquisition is the largest land deal in the Snoqualmie Tribe’s history. “Because of this purchase, roughly 12,000 acres of the ancestral lands of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe are being returned to the People who have loved, cared for, cultivated, and protected them since the beginning of time, and who dearly felt their loss for over a century,” Snoqualmie Tribal Chairman Robert de los Angeles said in a statement. “Going forward, our Tribe will sustainably manage these lands to produce revenue for our Tribe while we steward the functioning ecosystems and thriving wildlife populations that have shared these lands with our People since time immemorial. Caring for these lands is the sacred duty given to our Tribe by the Creator, and no one can do it better.”
Higher education
• Samantha Eldridge (Diné) was named interim director of the American Indian Resource Center at the University of Utah. Eldridge started in the position on Feb. 7. She also will continue to work in the university’s Office of Student Development and Inclusion as the school forms a search committee to permanently fill the American Indian Resource Center position. Eldridge has been a “driving force” in elevating Native American student issues at the university, where she led the development of several events during Native American heritage month and assisted on initiatives such as the Racial Justice and Decolonization Dialogue Series, Student Affairs Diversity Committee training modules, and “I am U Thriving,” according to a statement.
Economic Development
• Joshua Arce, president and CEO of Addison, Texas-based Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) and a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, has been appointed to the board of trustees for Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas (UITCT). PWNA works to provide reservation communities across the U.S. with material aid, educational support, community-based services and capacity building. The nonprofit UITCT offers health care and employment services to the Native American community in the Dallas metro area. “I am honored, and humbled, by the opportunity to serve the Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas as a Trustee on their Board of Directors,” Arce said in a statement. “Access to high quality healthcare is paramount for Native communities, both urban and rural. I look forward to community engagement, improving outcomes and stabilizing leadership with UITCT because the future is very bright, and the Native community deserves the best!”
Small Business
• The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska relaunched its Rescue Small Business Relief program, which is funded by the tribe’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation. The program last year provided more than $2.1 million in assistance to some 440 tribal citizens who own and operate small businesses. Under the new round of funding, all Tlingit and Haida tribal citizens who own small businesses and have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for up to $5,000 in assistance. The application period for the Rescue Small Business Relief program is open through Dec. 30, 2022, or until all funds have been distributed. Eligible uses for the funding include for business or recovery-related expenses incurred during 2022. “Small businesses are still being impacted by the pandemic and that’s why we will continue to provide direct relief assistance to our tribal citizen small business owners,” President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson said in a statement. “Whether you are located in Alaska or the Lower 48, I encourage all of our tribal citizens who are self-employed and have a business license, to take advantage of this resource.”
• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law an expansion of the state’s Buy New Mexico initiative, which opens up new bidding opportunities for Native-owned businesses. For the first time, Native American-owned businesses operating on tribal land will qualify as certified New Mexico resident businesses and receive the same bidding preference as other in-state companies. “Support of local businesses, including Tribally owned businesses and veteran owned businesses, is just one of the many initiatives Governor Lujan Grisham and the Legislature are implementing to keep New Mexico’s economy growing,” Santa Clara Pueblo Governor J. Michael Chavarria said in a statement, noting the new law “creates equity for Native American-owned businesses in New Mexico.”
Energy
• The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bakken Energy and its partner Mitsubishi Power Americas Inc. for the tribe to supply natural gas to the Great Plains Hydrogen Hub, a $2 billion hydrogen production facility that’s expected to come online in 2027. Bakken and Mitsubishi are redeveloping the Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant for hydrogen production to supply the upper Midwest. The plant aims to produce hydrogen that is 96-percent carbon-free for use in transportation, agriculture and other sectors, according to a statement. “The MHA Nation is excited to become part of this world class clean hydrogen development,” MHA Nation Chairman Mark Fox said in a statement. “Natural gas from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation will enable the clean energy we need to save our planet, and in the process will allow us to put in place the infrastructure needed to end the excessive flaring of natural gas on our lands, improving the quality of life of our members.” The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in central North Dakota is estimated to contain approximately 20 percent of the oil and gas reserves in the state.
Finance
• Three Native community development financial institution (CDFI) executives have been appointed to serve on advisory committees for Federal Reserve Bank offices around the country. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City appointed Cindy Logsdon, executive director and CEO of Shawnee, Okla.-based Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corp., and Pete Upton, executive director of Grand Island, Neb.-based Native360 Loan Fund, to serve on its Community Development Advisory Council. Council members serve three-year terms and offer guidance to the Kansas City Fed about current developments and emerging issues. As well, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco appointed Native Community Capital CEO David Castillo to its Community Advisory Council.
