Ernie Stevens, Jr., and Cheryl Stevens, his wife of 37 years, grace one of the covers of our double-cover Success & Finance issue. Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Marshall Pierite is featured on the opposite cover. Download the digital version of Native Business Magazine’s Success & Finance issue here.
If we could only choose one word to sum up 2019, it would be breakthrough. Indian Country achieved breakthrough progress this year — and what an incredible way to transition into a new decade.
Our roundup of “The Greatest Success Stories of 2019” in our Success & Finance issue charts the business breakthroughs of Tribes and Tribal entrepreneurs. These achievements and milestones demonstrate the radically changing landscape of Indian Country’s economy.
Tribal casinos partnered with National Football League teams, patrons placed bets on professional and collegiate sports matches at multiple Tribally owned retail sportsbooks and online via mobile devices, the Cherokee Nation opened a world-class outpatient healthcare center and became the first Tribe in the country to build a medical school on Tribal land, and Tribes like the Yakama Nation and Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians won landmark legal cases that uphold Tribal sovereignty and support economic sustainability. Meanwhile Native entrepreneurs attained unprecedented levels of success, including Louie Gong, who sold Eighth Generation to the Snoqualmie Tribe in a move that will empower his lifestyle brand to expand in-state manufacturing operations and provide more opportunities for Native artists and professionals.
Need inspiration for 2020? Look no further than the pages of Native Business Magazine’s 2019 Success & Finance issue.
While breakthrough may describe many of the notable feats reached in 2019, Indian Country is well aware that the path to success isn’t paved overnight. Who possesses the hard-won wisdom of perseverance more than Indian Country?
Our cover stories are a testament to the long race, to success attained through tireless devotion and an unwavering commitment to Indian Country.
Ernie Stevens, Jr., and Cheryl Stevens, his wife of 37 years, grace one of the covers of our double-cover Success & Finance issue. This cover story pays tribute to Ernie Stevens’ nearly 20 years of leadership and stewardship to Indian gaming as Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA). Considering Indian gaming generated a total of $33.7 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2018 alone (more than $39 billion if you count ancillary revenues from hospitality ventures), NIGA protects and preserves the most successful avenue for economic development for many Tribal Nations: Indian gaming.
Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Marshall Pierite is featured on the opposite cover of our Success & Finance issue. Chairman Pierite said gaming carved the path for the Tribe to diversify beyond agriculture into hospitality. “It allowed us to transition from a ‘surviving community’ to a ‘thriving community’ overnight,” he said. More recently, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe is realizing success in the financial services industry through Mobiloans and now touts plans to create 1,500 to 1,800 more call center jobs throughout Louisiana and Indian Country by 2021.
The cover stories of Native Business' Success & Finance issue are a testament to the long race, to success attained through tireless devotion to Indian Country. Click To Tweet
In our Success & Finance issue, we also shine a light on the financial institutions lending capital for Tribal enterprises and Native small business owners to succeed. For instance, Native Business sat down with Kelly Skalicky, President and CEO of Stearns Bank, to discuss how her rural Minnesota-based bank, counting $2.2 billion in assets, is serving rural America and Indian Country through customized finance solutions such as lending and small-ticket equipment finance.
Meanwhile, Mika Leonard (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma), Chief Operations Officer of the Native American Financial Services Association (NAFSA), breaks down how NAFSA has defended Tribal sovereignty in the online lending industry since 2012, tremendously aiding the sector’s growth while creating unquestionable abundance and opportunity for Tribal governments nationwide.
Native Business also considers how a seventh generation philosophy informs the “buy, hold and grow” approach of Mno-Bmadsen, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ non-gaming investment arm, which targets a $25 million cash flow by 2022.
We channel our attention in another core direction for our Success & Finance issue, interviewing the Honorable James E. Campos, Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy, who underscored: “Energy is our new economy, it is our new currency, and Native Americans play a large part in this equation.”
As the economy of Indian Country progresses, we at Native Business are also continuously sharpening our stick to keep pace with global innovation. That begins with the launch of the Native Business App — now live and ready for download on your iOS and Android devices! The user-friendly interface allows you to choose what you want to follow and receive news notifications about, share your favorite articles with your network, and easily search specific keywords to find the information that is important to you!
Download the Native Business App on your iOS or Android device!
Native Business Is Transitioning to a Fully Digital Platform
Our Success & Finance 2019 issue marks our final print edition of Native Business Magazine, as we transition Native Business into a fully digital platform. By embracing innovation and utilizing technology in this way, our publication is now able to deliver Native business news and information to our readers easier and more efficiently than ever.
Accordingly, we urge Native Business readers to download the Native Business App immediately and sign up for our email alerts and e-newsletter in order to stay on the pulse of the latest business news, updates and trends relevant to economic development in Indian Country.
Download the Native Business App for iOS here.
Download the Native Business App for Android here.
Stay up-to-date on the latest business news and trends relevant to economic development in Indian Country via the Native Business App on your iPad or tablet.
Additionally stay in-the-know by continuing to read NativeBusinessMag.com, subscribing and listening to the Native Business Podcast, tuning in to watch Native Business videos, following Native Business on social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn & Twitter), and registering to attend our second annual Native Business Summit, taking place September 1-3, 2020, at the fabulous Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Learn more at NativeBusinessSummit.com.
We are tremendously proud of every one of the visually stunning and value added print issues we’ve distributed since 2018. We are so grateful to our readership and community for your loyalty, and for growing and evolving with us every step of the way! We look forward to all of our amazing digital content being an even greater value add to you as a reader in the days, weeks and months ahead.
From our hearts to yours, we wish you a wonderful holiday, happy new year, and even greater prosperity in 2020 and the new decade ahead.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s official announcement about the launch of The Native Business App!
Carmen Davis is a proud Native American woman and member of the Makah Nation and also from the Chippewa-Cree and Yakama Tribes. She is extremely devoted to her culture and has spent her professional and personal life impacting Native communities across North America. Carmen is the Founder, Publisher and Executive Editor of Native Business Magazine, president of Davis Strategy Group and owner of the Native Style clothing brand.
