In recent years, the public appreciation of Indian gaming has steadily increased. In fact, a recent survey conducted by the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) showed that 76 percent of Americans approve of gaming casinos on Indian reservations—up from 64 percent in 2002. Some 66 percent of Americans say that regardless of their own feelings about gaming, the right of Indian tribes to govern their own affairs on reservations should be respected.
As the public appreciation of gaming increases, the tribal economies it supports are steadily expanding and diversifying as well. And as in any economy, small business development is a particularly critical component in building sustainable tribal economies. Indian gaming has served as an important catalyst in this arena, and American Indians continue to see substantial growth in small business development on reservations in a variety of ways. From a chocolate shop and greeting card business to luxury resorts and high-tech phone companies, tribes are using gaming revenue to access capital for investing in diversified enterprises both on and off reservations.
Because tribes place such importance on diversifying their revenue stream, I am confident that five years from now the face of Indian gaming will be significantly different. If what we have seen to date is any indication, tribes will have diversified outward from the casino market, while at the same time preserving, protecting, and enhancing their gaming enterprise as the engine behind that diversity.
Many tribal governments already offer perfect examples of this evolution. One trail blazer is the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, who since the 1970s, have developed a diversified economy, creating employment opportunities for its tribal members in the workforce. The tribe employs approximately 8,000 people in a wide variety of industries and professions, while creating a substantial amount of revenue to provide government services for its people.
Choctaw’s flexible business model allows the tribe to capitalize on a number of opportunities that leverage its resources with the experiences of its business partners. The tribe is focused on self-determination, and evolved from a place known to face some of the harshest economic conditions in the state of Mississippi to become the regional leader in economic development.
Some of Choctaw’s economic diversification opportunities include a 12,000-square-foot industrial park leased by American Greetings, First American Printing & Direct Mail, the largest commercial printer on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and Choctaw Electronics Enterprise, which supplies automotive loudspeakers to its primary clients, Ford Motor Company and Daimler-Chrysler.
In addition, Choctaw Manufacturing Enterprises provides automotive wiring harness assembly, lamp sockets and connectors, non-automotive wiring, and cable assemblies for commercial applications, while the tribe’s Chahta Enterprise manufactures automotive and non-automotive wiring harnesses, producing 130 different part numbers totaling more than 11 million wiring harnesses annually.
Furthermore, the Choctaw Shopping Center Enterprise operates retail and residential developments throughout the reservation. The Choctaw Tribe has done such an impressive job with their economic diversification; they are seen as a leader and shining example to all of Indian Country.
Equally impressive in its ability to diversify its economy beyond gaming is the Chickasaw Nation which has 38,000 tribal citizens in and around southern Oklahoma. Under the careful direction of Chickasaw Tribal Governor Bill Anoatubby, the tribe has thrived by building an impressive corporation of businesses under Chickasaw Nation Industries (CNI).
The tribe’s main goal with CNI is to promote the economic development and long-term financial viability of the Chickasaw Nation. Several business ventures CNI has succeeded in building include Bedre Fine Chocolate, whose signature product, chocolate covered potato chips, are sold at Neiman Marcus and other luxury retailers. They own and operate a radio station, seven travel plazas and trading posts, seven tobacco stores, a bank, an entertainment theatre, and a community garden and greenhouse. The tribe currently employs more than 7,000 native and non-native people.
In a community east of Los Angeles, the Pechanga Band of LuiseÒo Indians, has called the Temecula Valley home for more than 10,000 years. However, due to the forced removal from their ancestral homelands in 1875, the tribe had minimal opportunity for economic growth well into the 20th century. Today, gaming is at the center of a booming reservation economy. The casino employs roughly 5,000 people, many of them tribal citizens. But the Pechanga Tribe understands the importance of diversifying their economy and is helping the reservation economy move into other businesses. The tribe runs a gas station and a recreation vehicle park, and is currently looking for a partner to develop a mixed use office complex. The Temecula Valley is growing everyday as a beautiful and successful community. Pechanga’s economic development has a lot to do with that.
In Arizona, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community used its creative vision and gaming revenue to fund a 140-acre retail center. As the largest commercial development ever built on Indian land, this retail power center attracted some of the industry’s biggest players including Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, Ross, Marshalls, United Artists, Circuit City, Old Navy, and Toys “R” Us. Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community implemented aggressive financing to secure Target as its anchor tenant. Also located on community land, Wal-Mart altered its exterior design to comply with the community’s aesthetic vision.
While many tribes are succeeding in developing their economies on their own, several tribes have found great success in collaborating to fund and develop successful enterprises.
Washington, D.C., is home to the Marriott-Capitol Residence Inn owned by four tribes: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians (California), Forest County Potawatomi Community (Wisconsin), the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (California). The four tribes came together as “Four Fires, LLC” to build this $43 million, 13-story, 233-suite hotel located in the heart of the nation’s capitol—the most ambitious economic collaboration ever for American Indian tribal governments.
Since 2003, NIGA has also done its part to strengthen tribally-owned businesses and Indian entrepreneurship through the American Indian Business Network. The Business Network highlights the hard work of tribal business people, and facilitates networking between tribal leaders, gaming procurement officers, Indian entrepreneurs, and other tribal government businesses.
The network has become an important forum for businesses to showcase their products and interact with other business owners and potential customers. Many tribes have demonstrated the positive economic impact of gaming by diversifying into various business markets, while also providing entrepreneur programs for their tribal members. NIGA believes it is important to give tribal businesses the tools and expertise they need to secure contracts and additional business.
In order to achieve the economic goals of tribes and native communities across Indian country, the primary focus must be empowering and increasing the presence of Indian and tribally-owned businesses within the framework of our tribal economies. As tribes, we need to work harder to empower Indian business-owners by purchasing Indian products and services and doing business with one another. Ultimately, the American Indian Business Network is about empowering native-owned businesses.
Although Indian gaming has allowed many tribal governments to break free from decades of poverty, it has not solved all the problems resulting from a past of neglect and mistreatment. There still remains much work for Indian Country to accomplish in order to ensure all of our people are living the quality of life they deserve. For many, gaming provides resources to not only fund essential services, but it also allows for important seed money to expand beyond gaming and bolster economies for generations to come.
Ernie Stevens Jr. is the Chair of the National Indian Gaming Association and a member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. He can be reached at (202) 546-7711.
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