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Opinion: Native businesses can make a big impact (11/04)
"As nearly everyone is aware, there are sobering economic statistics facing our country at the present time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate in the United States is 9.6 percent (August 2009), and the...
Alaska Native firm runs unusual jail in New York (11/02)
A subsidiary of Ahtna Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation, runs an unusual immigrant detention facility in New York City under a $79 million, three-year contract with the federal government. Ahtna Technical Services Inc. operates the Varick Street Detention...
Ho-Chunk Inc manager to discuss self-determination (10/30)
Maunka Morgan, a senior manager of Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, will speak at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Monday. Morgan's topic is "The Future of Self-Determined Native Nations: A Practitioner's...
Changes in store for Native contracting program (10/29)
The Small Business Administration is proposing a number of changes to the 8(a) federal contracting program. The changes will impose some limits on tribal and Alaska Native businesses. For example, tribal and Native businesses would be forced to "graduate" from...
New York tribes vow fight over tobacco taxation (10/28)
Tensions ran high at New York Senate hearing on tobacco taxation in Indian Country on Tuesday. One lawmaker walked out after being booed by tribal members, according to news reports.Sen. Martin Golden, a Republican, said the U.S. victory over the...
Lawmakers back Native corporation contracting (10/28)
The Alaska Legislature held a joint hearing on Monday to discuss the 8(a) contracting program at the Small Business Administration. Lawmakers hailed the participation of Alaska Native corporations in the program as a big success. Native representatives testified about the...
SBA plans changes to Native contracting program (10/23)
The Small Business Administration plans to make changes to the 8(a) contracting program for American Indian and Alaska Native businesses. Draft regulations will be published in the Federal Register next week. SBA officials described the changes as "significant, The Anchorage...
NPR: Economy booming on Salt River Community (10/23)
"On a small reservation in the Phoenix area, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has felt the pinch of the recession. But despite the economic downturn, the reservation is booming. Even during a recession, patrons are still pumping quarters...
Plans for Saginaw Chippewa campground backed (10/22)
The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe plans to build an RV park and campground in Union Township, Michigan. The development would occur on about 24 acres. Planners said the project will be beneficial to the town. The tribe's Migizi Economic Development Company...
'Threat assessment' sought in tribal tobacco fight (10/21)
New York Gov. David Paterson (D) wants know whether imposing taxes on tribal tobacco sales will spark "violence and civil unrest," according to news reports. In a letter to three U.S. Attorneys in New York, Paterson cited past incidents in...
Dry Creek Band considers development projects (10/16)
The Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians is weighing options for a 25-acre site near Petaluma, California. Possibilities include a baseball stadium, a hotel or a service station. Chairman Harvey Hopkins said the tribe hasn't made any decisions yet. “We...
Blackfeet Nation launches technology firm (10/09)
The Blackfeet Nation of Montana has started an information technology and professional business services firm with hopes of tapping into government contracting. Chief Mountain Technologies is seeking certification as a disadvantaged business through the Small Business Administration. That should help...
Blackfeet firm to receive Defense earmark (10/07)
The Blackfeet Nation of Montana is set to receive a $4 million earmark under the fiscal year 2010 Defense Appropriations Act. Pikuni Industries will use the money to develop and test new lightweight materials for use in missile construction. Sen....
Osage Nation in new deal for tobacco sales (10/06)
The Osage Nation has agreed to a new tobacco compact, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Tax Commission said. Tribal retailers will collect 66 cents per pack, according to the commission. That's higher than the rate in a prior compact but...
New York Mag: Mayor's war on Indian tobacco (10/05)
"When Thomas Jefferson visited the “Unquachog Indians,” in June 1791, he noted that the tribe “constitute the Pufspatock Settlement in the town of Brookhaven, South Side of Long Island.” The settlement was conveniently located in the backyard of his...
Blog: Hearing set on New York tribal tobacco (10/02)
"This may have be an issue that upstate Republicans have historically taken a lead on but with un-taxed Native American tobacco sales now creating a stir on Long Island and with Democrats in charge of the Senate, Craig Johnson, is...
ITBC to use $175K grant for e-commerce site (10/01)
The InterTribal Bison Cooperative of South Dakota will use a $175,000 federal grant to develop an e-commerce site. The site will sell bison and bison-related products. It will take about a year to develop, said executive director Jim Stone. The...
Stillaguamish Tribe answers grand jury probe (10/01)
The Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington says it is cooperating with an ongoing federal grand jury probe. Two tribal members and people associated with the tribe were convicted in connection with a smoke shop on the reservation. Three others have since...
Oneida Nation hopes to turn trash into power (09/30)
The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin is in the early stages of a renewable energy project. The tribe wants to convert garbage into electricity. The project would involve building a facility on tribal land to accept waste, potentially from a nearby...
Cherokee Nation partners with technology firm (09/30)
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has acquired a stake in an information technology company in Colorado. Information Technology Experts will become a part of Cherokee Nation Businesses, the tribe's economic development arm. Financial terms were not disclosed. ITX provides full-service...
McCaskill promises Native contracting 'reform' (09/29)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), the chair of the Senate Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, says "reform" is coming to Native contracting despite complaints of a one-sided approach. McCaskill chaired a hearing in May that looked at Alaska Native corporations...
Wisconsin tribe turns farm into youth facility (09/25)
The Forest County Potawatomi Tribe of Wisconsin is turning a historic horse farm into a youth retreat facility. The tribe bought the Campbell Farm a few years ago. Employees volunteered their time on Wednesday to start cleaning up the site....
New York smokeshops face deadline for taxes (09/25)
Smoke shops on the Poospatuck Reservation lost a last-minute appeal in their taxation battle with the state of New York. In August, Judge Carol Amon ordered the smoke shops to stop selling tobacco products to non-Indians. The smoke shops asked...
Blog: Union to announce partnership with tribes (09/24)
"American Indians have new opportunities to learn the skills needed for long-term careers in the construction industry with a new training partnership announced today by labor and American Indian leaders. The AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) and a...
Umatilla Tribes to create jobs with bond project (09/24)
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon plan to create 100 jobs with a tax-exempt bond project. The tribe is taking advantage of $23.6 million in bonding authority it received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of...
Tribes plan big projects with tax-exempt bonds (09/22)
Tribes across the nation are planning major economic development projects with the help of new bonding authority from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin will use about $16 million in tax-exempt bonds to...
Cancer society won't deal with Oneida Nation (09/18)
The American Cancer Society has cut ties to the Oneida Nation of New York because the tribe purchased a cigarette manufacturing plant. "In our eyes, by purchasing a manufacturing plant they have joined the ranks of Philip Morris and R.J....
Alaska Natives seek role in development talks (09/17)
Companies that want to do business in Alaska need to consult with Native villages and respect Native culture, speakers at the Alaska Oil & Gas Congress said. Jerry Isaac of the Tanana Chiefs Conference, Margie Brown of Cook Inlet Region...
Firm seeks to expand Navajo Internet service (09/17)
A company in Farmington, New Mexico, wants to expand Internet service on the Navajo Nation. Action Intelex is proposing to install satellite towers at Navajo Nation chapter houses. The towers would provide service to chapter houses and to homes within...
Oneida Nation buys cigarette factory for $6.6M (09/17)
The Oneida Nation of New York purchased a cigarette manufacturing plant last year for $6.6 million, The Syracuse Post-Standard reports. The tribe bought Sovereign Tobacco in October 2008, two months after the New York Legislature passed a law that purports...
Salt River Tribe uses stimulus loan for stadium (09/17)
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of Arizona is taking advantage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to build a new baseball stadium on the reservation. The tribe was just awarded $22.56 million in bonding authority under...
Treasury releases $1B in tribal bond authority (09/16)
The Department of Treasury announced $1 billion in tribal tax-exempt bonding authority under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. A total of 58 tribes can issue tax-exempt bonds for a wide range of projects. "Because of the Tribal...
Storage facility opens on Gila River Reservation (09/11)
A new storage facility on the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona was the result of five years of negotiations with individual Indian landowners, tribal government and local government. Rande Leonard opened Pecos Storage earlier this month. The facility spans...
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe acquires financial firm (09/09)
The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of South Dakota has acquired a financial services firm in what is being called a first in Indian Country. The tribe owns 100 percent of the Westrock Group. The New York-based firm is now...
Eastern Cherokees celebrate opening of golf club (09/01)
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opened the doors to the Sequoyah National Golf Club on Monday. The 263-acre, $16 million facility is part of the tribe's push to move beyond gaming. “This is just the latest project of...
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