WIBC Talking Circles Themes:

1.)     Support Indian Business: at all levels, state government, individual Tribes, the WIBA, private organizations and businesses.  Improve the understanding of “buying local” and keeping revenue circulating in the local community.

 2.)     Capacity Building: updating strategic plans, adopting ordinances, assessing infrastructure needs, code compliance, other enforcement issues, are the courts ready to rule on commercial code issues?  Sharing information among the participants.  Tribal attorneys, experienced lenders, share success stories, cooperation/partnerships.

 3.)     Communication: combining the lists and databases of the players (AICCW, MBDA, GLITC, DOT and other state agencies, Indian governments).  Increasing the publicity and marketing of the WIBA

 4.)     Education: encouraging leaders and members of the importance of supporting private business development.  Also reach out to young people, involve tribal educators in this effort.  Develop a better appreciation for and encourage the entrepreneur.

WIBC Talking Circles – Unedited Comments from Session Participants

What steps do you believe you can start taking to promote and support Native business development in WI, starting tomorrow?

·         Develop local database of Native Biz

·         Develop a list of businesses with services, goods, etc listed

·         Combine lists from AICCW, WIS Pro, State MBDA, WI DOT, Indian governments, etc. to get one list

·         Resolution to support buy Indian and take back to Tribal governments

·         Executive Order #39 enforced!  Especially for Doyle’s economic development plan which had heavy private sector but not Indian involvement

·         Educate both leaders and tribal members on why we should encourage small business development – and how we get there

·         Many communities do not have ordinances in place to foster this so there isn’t a means to encourage this in the community

·         Capacity building – physical infrastructure needs – this can take 3 to 7 years to create, sewer and water systems

·         Are the courts ready to enforce a commercial code?

·         Collaborate – today!

·         Difficulty in lending – gap in financing

·         Need someone to give lead to provide local input

·         MBLF – 2% (?)

·         UCC Code – good ideas to lessen barriers re: yesterday’s discussion Oglala Sioux

·         WHEDA – establishing economic outlook for each Tribe – need input from financial institutions – loan guaranty, etc. – looking at enhancements

·         Need more education on leading in Indian Country

·         Structural issues different for each Tribe

o   Judicial Structure

o   Publish Indian Law

o   UCC adoption

·         Collaboration of resources and education in order to establish an economic outlook

·         Given structural issues are different for each Tribe, you can’t promote or support what you don’t understand (i.e. Banks can’t help Tribal businesses if they have no idea what “sovereign immunity” means

·         This conference is a stepping stone to what can be accomplished so that a dialogue will be kept open between Tribal reservations and off reservation issues can be resolved

What steps do you believe you can start taking to promote and support Native business development in WI, starting in the next few months?

·         Enforce “Buy Indian” laws, policies, and practices.  For April’s meeting buy lanyards from Indians!

·         More consultation at WIBC

·         Follow up session on how to “Buy Indian” is going

·         Send at least 1 Tribal elected official to each WIBC conference/meeting

·         Panel on Indian preference laws and practices

·         Press conference on WIBC and why WI hasn’t met their % for hiring Indian

·         More Indians on “real” economic development committees

·         Provide support for other institutions

·         Broadband/internet capability

·         Taking things to the next step -> tribal strategic plans and where business entrepreneurs fit in the plan

·         Tribe considering establishing business incubators – get business started and see them go to other (areas?) to (grow) the business and eventually come back to the community

·         Tribal governments change too often

·         We need to keep the dollars generated flowing throughout the community

·         Address the strategic plan and update it

What steps do you believe you can start taking to promote and support native business development in WI, starting in the next few years?

·         Develop Indian policies and laws for all 11 reservations in WI (bidding, certifications, etc.)

·         See NCAI’s concepts and resolutions on 15% or whatever from Indian owned businesses

·         Annual “exemplary” award to a Tribe who does an exceptional job with “Buy Indian”

·         Technical Assistance for Tribes to develop internal process policies, procedures, and systems

·         Develop a system/structure for this local up to State!

·         Nuts and bolts conference for banking education

What resources/tools are required to promote Native Business starting tomorrow?

• Resource Centers – Tribal Colleges/Technical Colleges
• Access to technical assistance support and Capital
• Many programs claim they offer services à results in lots of confusion à
• Don’t take no for an answer
• Advertise resources
• Get out and promote
• Know what’s out there à determine how to fill-in the holes
• Enter information on the “BuyIndianCountry” website
• Marketing to younger kids à business ownership marketing campaign
• Referring individuals to resources
• Advertise marketing   à Native Symbols should be consistent
• Employ/Utilize Native people for Business (i.e., artists, etc.)
• Help convene groups à Single vision

                                     à Work together

• Show Native Americans there is work out there
• Have a presence à Network locally and nationally

                             à Communicate

• Use the “consequences” of being Native-owned
• Made more available and affordable
• Resources à Govt. contracts

                   à Mentoring

                   à Get out of the Comfort Zone

• Post /share bids from Tribes with Indian entrepreneurs
• Tribal resolutions
• Set up “typology” Indian govt. vs. Indian enterprise vs. Indian entrepreneur vs. Indian support organizations (AICCW, WIBC, GLITC, etc.)
• Press conference and better public relations on the WIBC
• Stay out of individual Indian politics – WIBC can be that place
• Separate politics from economic/business development
• How to relocate companies to the Reservation, sharing information. Example: if one lending institution has assisted development efforts of one Tribe, ask why other lenders can’t do the same?
• Michigan Tribes participated in a Great Lakes Economic Development Symposium.  WIBC should contact the Michigan effort and share this information.
• Educate tribal leaders and members why we need business development and how to get there
• Examine whether tribal ordinances are in place to foster business development
• Have this discussion filter throughout the community
• Consider whether necessary physical infrastructure is in place (i.e. sewer & water systems, other utilities, capacity to handle growth, etc.)
• Are the courts at the level to enforce commercial codes, and support other institutions?
• Consider technology needs (Broadband, telecommunications needs, etc.) can they be met
• Review tribe’s strategic plans, where does business fit into the plan?
• Meet with your tribal council members
• Work toward having Tribe schedule listening sessions to talk about private business development
• Work with USDA Rural Development to get another 10 year designation for Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community Empowerment Zone (Menominee Nation, Sokaogon Chippewa Community and Lac du Flambeau Chippewa Community)

What resources/tools can you start in next few months?

• Cooperation/collaboration of resources available
• Networking locally, nationally, and internationally
• Utilize internet access and website “Buy IndianCountry.com”
• Utilize Native businesses
• Drive and determination, don’t get discouraged, don’t take no for an answer
• Get all the Tribe’s attorneys to work together to negotiate land agreements, economic development issues, lending institution rules, etc.
• Use of the WIBA website for posting RFP’s, Indian businesses, etc.
• Develop working groups with Tribes on key issues
• WIBC needs to create subgroups: Advocacy; governance; finance; P.R., future conferences
• Help with informing all elected local, state and federal candidates, elected officials
• Develop MOUs for Tribes on business and economic development keeping politics out of the discussion
• Consider developing business incubators in the community to get businesses started
• Business may be physically located outside tribal lands
• Don’t focus only on “Mom& Pop” businesses, keep eye on big opportunity, that may take Indian business outside tribal lands, and eventually come back to the community
• Drive out the “Jealousy “factor that stifles support for the entrepreneur and limits growth
• Update the strategic plan; insure it is a “living” document
• Each tribal department should take some responsibility in this, and leadership should see that this happens
• Consider tribal governance issues

What can you start in the next few years?

• Resources not always money à it’s also time, networking, one-on-one discussions
• Additional use of websites
• Education seminars
• Website/internet à to contact individuals à local diversity in resources
• Talk to planners, Econ. Development departments, etc. in local towns/cities to find out if they need “your” resources
• Tribal governments à huge resource
• Location, space, meeting rooms àlogistics available for business owners
• Money à and need for more . . . .
• Discounted student rate to attend conferences, seminars, etc.
• Wisconsin state resources àavailable to tap into . . . .
• Have on-site facilitator
• Buying Native!!
• Action and performance measurements on how non-Indian officials support Indians
• Setup procedures to help Tribes get RFP’s and bids out to Indian companies
• Structures like NCAI and GLITC can’t do it because of their funding streams – need to fill this gap
• Network between government folks “giving out work” and Indian entrepreneurs
• We are missing a “flow-up” system . . . to have a unified message on key issues
• After needs assessment, address the physical infrastructure needs over the next 3-5 years
• Tribal government changes too often, creates problems with sustaining support for businesses.  Many businesses started by tribal members are not supported by new tribal leadership.  Address the “jealousy “gene!
• Establish a technical working group to follow through on addressing these points; give them a mission with goals and objectives, and a timeline.  Tribal council should hold this working group accountable.