From July 11-14, the National Center for American
Indian Enterprise Development will host its regional Reservation Economic
Summit at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. Cherokee Nation is honored to
sponsor and host the annual RES conference in Tulsa, as we are the heart of
Indian Country here in Oklahoma.
RES Oklahoma will bring together tribal leaders,
elected officials, industry leaders and the American Indian business community
to collaborate and network in an innovative and entrepreneurial atmosphere.
As the host tribe for this important event, we are proud
to be an integral part of this tribal economic development conference. The gathering, which is spearheaded by NCAIED
Executive Director Gary Davis, a Cherokee Nation citizen, represents a unique
opportunity for our most visionary economic leaders to share innovative ideas
and successful practices and create new business development possibilities.
Creating business growth and quality jobs infuses
our tribal communities with new revenue, and that makes all of Indian Country
stronger and more formidable than ever. For our sovereign governments in
Oklahoma, we know our economic contributions help the state thrive.
Collectively, the state’s 38 tribes have an economic impact of more than $11
billion on the Oklahoma economy and support thousands of quality jobs.
Every day we see our growing economic diversity and
expanding American Indian business ventures in Oklahoma grow to new heights. We
must keep striving to create jobs for tribal citizens and within our tribal communities,
which are often rural and historically fall short on providing career
opportunities.
RES is one of the best gathering places for ideas
and products for Indian Country to find a wider audience, where attendance also means
access and education to keep abreast of the latest federal regulations and
policies. It enables and encourages creative brainstorming with other
tribal businesses about new opportunities for improvements, procurement, expansions
and idea development. No other gathering has successively
brought together tribal leaders, tribal enterprises, corporations and a host of
federal agencies to the table to discuss expanded business opportunities not
just for tribes and tribal businesses, but also for individual American Indian business
owners.
The director of the U.S. Minority Business
Development Agency, Alejandra Castillo, will be the keynote speaker and will moderate
a breakout session on entrepreneurship. For the Cherokee Nation, creating new
entrepreneurs is critical to our long-term future, and it’s something I have always
championed as a small business owner myself.
Our Kawi Café, located in downtown Tahlequah, was recently named Best Educational
Program by the Native American Finance Officers Association. Kawi Café was
started two years ago as a hands-on business training program for aspiring
Native American entrepreneurs.
The community of Tulsa and the Cherokee Nation
remain focused on supporting and growing entrepreneurs, and RES Oklahoma reinforces
this mission with a specifically designed boot camp designed for Native
American high school and college-aged students interested in business and
entrepreneurship. It is a rare chance to learn more about what it takes to succeed
in business.
For more information or how you can attend, please
visit http://res.ncaied.org/.
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