nation-owned enterprises

Business Enterprises Toolbox

Year

What do successful businesses and economic development look like in a Native nation? Find out with case studies and research reports on successful and awarded efforts from around the world. Understand how to build and implement business codes, launch your own Limited Liability Company (LLC) and a Federally-Chartered Section 17 Corporation. Read step-by-step examples of codes, charters and by-laws that various Native nations have used to structure their businesses. Explore the breadth and diversity of award winning and internationally recognized programs built and managed by Native nations. Bring lessons to life with beautiful and innovative examples curated through Google Cultural Institute online exhibits. This easy-to-use tool supplies narrated videos, viewing notes, maps, and carefully selected online exhibitions to share the stories of successful business enterprise and programs.

Resource Type
Citation

Business Enterprises Toolbox. 2020. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and Native Nations Institute. https://sites.google.com/view/businessenterprisestoolbox. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. Retrieved on March 14, 2023.

Broadband in Libraries

Producer
C-SPAN
Year

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) held a public hearing to examine the need for high-speed broadband in the nation’s libraries. Former FCC Chair Reed Hundt told the audience that there was “no Washington consensus” around the issue of broadband in libraries, and urged the librarian community to become more engaged on the issue. Other speakers included Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Tom Wheeler and IMLS Director Susan Hildreth.“ Libraries and Broadband: Urgency and Impact,” was held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Topics
Citation

"Institute of Museum and Library Services: Broadbands in Libraries." C-SPAN, April 17, 2014, https://www.c-span.org/video/?318935-1/broadband-libraries.

Pte Hca Ka, Inc. (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe)

Year

This tribally chartered corporation developed a culturally compatible management system for reestablishing buffalo as a focal point for socio-economic development, community cohesion, and self-determination. Pte Hca Ka, Inc. operates a mobile meat processing facility, and is currently seeking acquisition of 22,000 acres for a buffalo habitat that would become the first tribal national park. By integrating Lakota traditions into an economic development strategy, Pte Hca Ka, Inc. not only operates a profitable enterprise, but is also restoring cultural values into the Tribal economy and fostering pride and dignity among Tribal citizens. Pte Hca Ka, Inc. has been featured in numerous documentaries and has won widespread praise as a culturally appropriate development effort.

Resource Type
Citation

"Pte Hca Ka, Inc.". Honoring Nations: 1999 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2000. Report. 

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Poeh Center: Sustaining and Constructing Legacies (Pojoaque Pueblo)

Year

Faced with the common challenge of raising funds for construction of a cultural center and museum, the Tribal Council created the Pojoaque Pueblo Construction Services Corporation in 1993. The Corporation’s chartering mandate was to generate revenues for cultural activities and to oversee the construction and maintenance of the Poeh Center and Museum. Having completed a variety of local construction initiatives (including the Poeh Center) and having received its 8(a) certification, today the Pojoaque Pueblo Construction Services Corporation bids profitably on commercial projects throughout New Mexico and provides a sustainable funding stream for cultural and artistic activities. As a result, the Poeh Center is able to offer training and studio space to Pueblo artists and stimulate knowledge of Pueblo legacies and traditions. By blending cultural revitalization and economic development in a unique partnership, the Pueblo is creating new revenues and employment opportunities through its construction company and providing support to cultural activities for years to come.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Poeh Center: Sustaining and Constructing Legacies". Honoring Nations: 2000 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2001. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Recreation Program

Year

The White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Recreation Program fulfills the dual role of performing all wildlife conservation and management and serving as a self-sustaining business enterprise based on the Tribe’s recreation/tourism industry. The program’s effective wildlife management techniques have allowed the Tribe to gain management control over its wildlife and recreation resources and to better manage them in accordance with Apache values. The conservation management and regulatory component of the Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Division consists of the Fish and Wildlife Management Department and the Law Enforcement Department; the Division’s enterprise component consists of two profit centers–the Outdoor Recreation Department and the tribe’s Trophy Hunting Program. The program has successfully linked effective conservation with enterprise profitability in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Resource Type
Citation

"White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Recreation Program." Honoring Nations: 2000 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2001. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Blackfeet Nation's Siyeh Corporation

Year

For years the Blackfeet Nation struggled to create sustainable tribal enterprises that could produce revenue for the nation and meet the needs of its citizens for jobs and services. Many of these efforts did not succeed because of conflicts within the tribal government. In 1999, the Nation tried a new strategy. It established a federally chartered, tribally owned corporation designed to manage businesses on behalf of the government and to protect those businesses from inappropriate political influence. Named after a great Blackfeet warrior known for his fearless leadership, the Siyeh Corporation today runs multiple businesses including a cable television company, a heritage center, an art gallery, and two casinos. The Corporation promotes economic growth and stability while preserving Blackfeet cultural and traditional values. Siyeh is changing the economic landscape of an impoverished reservation, increasing the Blackfeet Nation’s revenues and enhancing Blackfeet self-government.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

"Siyeh Corporation". Honoring Nations: 2005 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2006. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Oneida Nation Farms

Year

In the 1820s, a portion of the Oneida people of New York moved to Wisconsin, where they took up their accustomed practices as farmers. Over the next hundred years, the Oneida Nation lost nearly all its lands and much of its own agrarian tradition. In 1978, the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin established the Oneida Nation Farms, beginning with only 150 acres of land and 25 head of cattle. Today, the operation includes over 8,000 acres of agricultural and conservation lands; 400 cattle; 100 buffalo; and major crops such as soybeans and corn, and diverse produce such as apples, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, snap beans, squash, and pumpkins. Oneida Nation Farms is a successful, profitable enterprise based on sustainable development, environmental stewardship, respect for the value of whole foods, and a healthy diet for Oneida citizens. Founded on the philosophy that the current generation must consider the impact of its actions on the next seven generations, Oneida Nation Farms nourishes the Oneida people in multiple ways.

Resource Type
Citation

"Oneida Nation Farms". Honoring Nations: 2005 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2006. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Yakama Nation Land Enterprise

Year

In an effort to consolidate, regulate, and control Indian land holdings, the financially self-sustaining Yakama Nation Land Enterprise has successfully acquired more than 90% of all the fee lands within the Nation’s closed area — lands which were previously highly "checker-boarded." The Enterprise’s land purchase program has allowed the Nation to expand industrial, business, and agricultural activities; tracts of land are used for housing, day care centers, ranger stations, longhouses, and for use by tribal education, foods, resource management, and cultural programs.

Resource Type
Citation

"Yakama Nation Land Enterprise." Honoring Nations: 2002 Honoree. Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2003. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

Migizi Business Camp (Little River Band)

Year

In 1994, after 120 years of struggle, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians finally re-obtained federal recognition. Ever since, tribal priorities included strengthening self-governance and the tribal economy. Their economic strategy followed two paths: the development of tribal enterprises and the encouragement of citizen-owned, small businesses. In tribal discussions, many citizens indicated an interest in starting businesses of their own. The Band responded by implementing a work readiness and job training for teenagers and young adults. Five years ago, the Band’s planning and education departments joined forces to create the Migizi Business Camp for tribal youth. For six days, students are taken off the reservation to learn business development concepts and build entrepreneurial skills. They complete business plans and present their ideas to a panel of judges. The Camp represents a conscious effort by the tribal government to involve its younger citizens in the effort to build an economic future for the nation.

Resource Type
Citation

"Migizi Business Camp". Honoring Nations: 2005 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2006. Report. 

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. 

Gila River Telecommunications, Inc.

Year

Recognizing the need for affordable and reliable telecommunications services, the Tribe founded Gila River Telecommunications, Inc. (GRTI) in 1988. A pioneer in telecommunications in Indian Country, GRTI offers affordable landline phone service, dial-up and DSL Internet service, and satellite television. GRTI has seen residential use of access lines grow from 34% to nearly 50% in six years and plays an important role in meeting the needs of the Community’s fast-growing economy.

Resource Type
Citation

"Gila River Telecommunication, Inc.". Honoring Nations: 2003 Honoree. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2004. Report.

Permissions

This Honoring Nations report is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.