Here is a round-up of business news from around Indian Country.
Energy
• The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians’ application to create its Tribal Energy Development Organization received approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the U.S. Department of the Interior. With the approval, the tribe is the first in Minnesota to get the agency’s go-ahead to create a TEDO to develop renewable energy resources, according to a statement. Establishing Twenty-First Century Tribal Energy Inc. as a Tribal Energy Development Organization allows the tribe to create a business in which it owns a majority interest. Under the organization, the tribe will be able to enter leases and business agreements and create rights of way without having to go through a secretarial review process. “The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians is reclaiming its sovereign authority to control the development of energy resources,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said in a statement. “This is an exciting development that will lead to greater energy security for their people’s comfort and prosperity.”
Entrepreneurship
• Kelly Jackson, a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, was the first Indigenous woman to receive an ATHENA Award from The Business Forum, a diverse professional women’s organization in Madison, Wis., according to a report in Native News Online. The award is a celebration of women who have “achieved excellence in their work, devoted time in their communities, and helped women realize their full leadership potential.” Oneida/Ho-Chunk attorney Samantha Skenandore nominated Jackson for the award. Jackson told Native News Online that receiving the Athena Award was “an incredible honor.” An award-winning musician, Jackson is the founder of Innovation Solutions, a consulting firm that provides business development, cultural, diversity and inclusion, and equity training for corporate, government and other organizations. “There is nothing that warms my heart more than being part of an award that supports ‘lift as we climb’ vibes,” she told Native News Online. “I truly have been blessed to be surrounded by some of the most successful and giving women and would not have accomplished many of my endeavors without them.”
Small business
• The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has allocated $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to create the Anchorage Supplemental Small Business Relief program to offer resources to tribal citizen-owned small businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Central Council worked with the Anchorage Tlingit & Haida Community Council to create the program. Eligible small businesses must be majority owned by a tribal citizen based in Anchorage. Successful applicants can receive up to $5,000 for eligible business expenses incurred because of the pandemic, such as creating social distancing measures, personal protective equipment, contactless equipment, payroll expenses and other short-term debt taken on to support the business during the course of 2022. Other qualifying expenses include rent and utility payments. “Our tribal citizens that own small business are contributing to the economy of our community and working hard to provide for their families,” Tlingit & Haida 4th Vice President Tasha Hotch said in a statement. “I listened to public testimony from small business owners all over Anchorage about the inequity of the programs available to help support our small businesses during this challenging time. Our Community Council was very happy to be able to provide some support to these hard-working citizens to keep their business thriving.” More information on the program is available at this link.
Hospitality
• Jamul Casino, the gaming enterprise of the Jamul Indian Village, promoted James Donovan to executive chef at the Southern California property. The promotion is a recognition of Donovan’s “culinary track record, creativity, and outstanding leadership,” according to a statement. Donovan joined Jamul Casino in 2016 as a sous chef. In his new role, he will manage the casino’s 200-person food and beverage team and oversee 85 people who work in the back house operation, including at the property’s award-winning Prime Cut Steak & Seafood fine dining restaurant, among others. “James brings a remarkable enthusiasm, creativity, and leadership to our culinary team,” Jamul Casino President and General Manager Mary Cheeks said in a statement. “We are thrilled to recognize his talent with this well-deserved promotion.”
Health care
• The federal spending bill signed into law earlier this month included $800,000 in funding for Oregon Health & Science University’s Future Leaders in Indigenous Health (FLIGHT) program, which seeks to increase the number of American Indian and Alaska Native people working in health care professions. The program is operated through OHSU’s Northwest Native American Center of Excellence (NNACoE). “NNACoE already is nurturing the next generation of Indigenous health leaders,” Dr. Erik Brodt, M.D., associate professor of family medicine in the School of Medicine and assistant dean of Native American health at OHSU, said in a statement. The funding request received the backing of all 43 federally recognized tribes of the Pacific Northwest.
Philanthropy
• A pair of tribal-backed projects received grants from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board as part of a $2 million funding round for projects focused on restoring forest health, making communities more resilient to wildfires, and boosting recreation and tourism. The largest grant went to the Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California, which received nearly $355,000 via the Resilient Sierra Nevada Communities Program. The tribe will use the grant to conduct a cultural-resource survey of the Feather Falls Scenic Area that lost trails, bridges, an overlook, and all recreation facilities to the North Complex Fire. As well, the American Indian Council of Mariposa County was awarded about $75,000 for its Sarah Priest Fuel Reduction Planning Project, which will fund surveys and analysis of a 68-acre fuel-reduction project northeast of Mariposa.
Funding
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded grants to 10 tribes as part of the $5.4 million round of funding in the agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction (DERA) program, which seeks to reduce the number of legacy diesel engines in use across the country. The DERA program is part of the Justice40 initiative, which aims to ensure that federal agencies deliver at least 40 percent of benefits from certain investments to underserved communities. Tribal grant recipients were:
- Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, $489,155 for its municipal fleet
- Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, $158,000 for mining equipment
- Ho-Chunk Nation, $841,500 for construction equipment
- Quinault Indian Nation, $510,508 for marine engines used at port
- Native Village of Deering, $418,140 for stationary generators
- Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, $415,000 for agriculture use
- Tanana Chiefs Conference, $800,000 for stationary generators
- Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, $364,900 for marine engines used at port
- Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, $379,511 for for marine engines used at port
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, $502,797 for four electric school buses.
