Calvin C. Pohawpatchoko Jr., a member of the Comanche Nation, is a Ph.D. candidate in an interdisciplinary program in technology, media and society at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He supports insourcing call or data centers that can be based at a distance from their customers (compared to outsourcing to India, the Philippines, or other places).

The idea is not without drawbacks—for cost-conscious business leaders, services abroad might still be cheaper in terms of educated workers commanding relatively low wages in unregulated working conditions, but in America’s job-starved economy insourced call or data centers might provide social capital.

Call centers involve employees who seem to belong to a computer firm, for example, as they respond to questions from callers, but generally they are employees of the call center. Data centers, sometimes combined with call centers, store data for others, as in digitizing data for states and the transportation industry as part of a growing global field.

Pohawpatchoko says educated workers are a critical component for reservation-based business, so ventures near tribal colleges or universities might be a place to start. He notes that in South America, for example, “it’s the role of universities” to create economic skills and economic stability in the area.

One challenge for Indian America is that more than 50 percent of Native American students drop out of school before they graduate, 20 percent may go to college but only half graduate, so “we may be left with 10 percent actually graduating from college,” he notes.

Other hurdles include elected tribal councils that may change every two years or so, sovereignty issues that could discourage outside investment, and lack of funds for needed infrastructure, he said.

Some reservations have already taken the plunge into call and data systems, a field which Powhawpatchoko, who worked as an employee of Electronic Data Systems has watched with interest.

Cayuse Technologies, owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, offers such services as digital document processing, software development and a call center to governmental and commercial clients.

The tribally owned firm in northeastern Oregon was initiated “to diversify the local economy and to create living wage jobs that allow people of the Umatilla Reservation and surrounding rural communities the opportunity to live and work on or near the Umatilla Reservation and their homes,” reads the Cayuse website.

There are other data or call center enterprises in Indian country, one of them Lakota Technologies Inc., in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, where jobs are scarce. The firm has 10 to 15 tribal members as employees, primarily in data conversion work and it is “an opportunity for our people economically,” said Candace Le Beaux, operations supervisor.

An umbrella organization of seven tribes and several Native nonprofits, the Intertribal Information Technology Co. LLC, was formed primarily to meet Department of Defense needs for advanced digital formats and through its Native American Document Conversion Program “has created employment for as many as 500 people in Native communities [including Eagle Butte] typically suffering 50 percent or greater unemployment.”

Pohawpatchko lauds these and other ventures: “We haven’t really grasped the idea of sovereignty itself—we still have the mindset of trying to catch up. We should always be looking forward and seeing what could be done.”

Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/01/native-proposes-reservation-business-95163 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/01/native-proposes-reservation-business-95163#ixzz1lNVrhC00

How balanced is your life? Are you able to spend equal time on everything or everyone that matters to you? What about your work life? Do you spend time doing everything that is important in your professional role?

Most of us don’t realize how off balance we are until it’s too late. We may spend most of our time on one or two things and neglect other important areas. When this happens we may end up facing significant losses, both to our professional and personal lives. As Native Americans, balance is an important part of our cultural beliefs.

We must remember that a balanced life can make all the difference, not only in how productive you are – but in the quality of life you lead. Imbalances can lead to many problems. In order to determine if your life is off balance, you might want to do a simple analysis of your daily or weekly activities. You can then develop a proactive plan to regain your balance.

The process can be as simple as:

1. Evaluate: First you should identify all the things in your life that are important to you – Family, your job, or furthering your education. This may take some considerable thought. And in your professional life; what do your scope of work duties entail? What are your business goals and what are your desired outcomes? You should take inventory and know what to include as you allocate your time and attention to these things.

2. Analyze: Then determine where you’re spending most of your time. Are you making time for your family, your health or your spiritual activities? Everyday, every week? What about your work role? Are you attending to all the areas that are important for you to accomplish your job successfully? For example: Client or customer contacts, research, or report writing, etc.

3. Act: If you are not giving equal time to everything important to you, then you might want to rethink your life and your processes. You should develop a schedule that will allow you to attend to everything that is important to you. Use time and task management techniques. Remind yourself of what you value in life and in business what will be the greatest payoff for your success. These things must all be considered. You can set priorities, but you must include time to address all that matters to you. Keep a healthy balance among all things, not just a few.

Taking these steps will help you to keep a fair and comfortable balance in your life. You will feel better and in more control. This will also help to reduce stress, which can create a mass of health and psychological problems. Your relationships will improve and your professional life will have a greater chance for success.

Traditionally we were taught to maintain balance in our lives, but our modern lifestyle has shifted some of these practices. We often get swept away in a few areas that consume our time and energy. If we plan out our time, identify our priorities and know what is important to us, we can resist overextending ourselves or neglecting important things. We will be able to keep a good balance in both our personal and professional lives.

Lucinda Hughes-Juan has many years of teaching and training in the fields of business and management, with a focus on the cultural dynamics in Native businesses and organizations. She is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation. She holds an MBA in global management, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in business and organizational management. E-mail her at MLS8090@aol.com.

View the original article here

“The counseling programs this funding will support are crucial in helping thousands of families avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Every day, our HUD-approved counseling organizations help families to make more informed choices about buying or renting.”

HUD-approved counseling agencies provide home ownership counseling as well as financial literacy education to renters and homeless individuals and families. This year HUD’s Housing Counseling Grant program will provide approximately $55 million for comprehensive counseling; $9.5 million for Reverse Mortgage Counseling, and $14.5 million for supplemental funding for Mortgage Modification and Mortgage Scam Assistance. There will also be a heightened focus on providing services in languages other than English.

National and regional agencies distribute much of HUD’s housing counseling grant funding to HUD approved community-based housing counseling organizations that provide advice and guidance to low- and moderate-income families seeking to improve their housing conditions. These larger organizations help improve the quality of housing counseling services and enhance coordination among their counseling providers. In addition, HUD approved counseling agencies provide services in a variety of languages to meet to the needs of the population in the service area as well as ensuring communications and access is provided for persons with disabilities.

HUD will award grants to approximately 550 applicants. Instructions are posted on Grants.gov. To apply, go to https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms–apps–idx.html and enter 14.169 in the CFDA field. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. The application deadline is 11:59:59 pm eastern time on August 27, 2010. If applicants have difficulty accessing the information, they may obtain assistance by calling the help desk hotline at 800-518-GRANTS or by e-mailing support@grants.gov The Grants.gov help desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, except federal holidays.

This post brought to you by the author and TribalBiz.com

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 371, had filed a petition for the election that covers about 375 bartenders, beverage servers, lounge hosts and bar porters; however, the tribe argued that the NLRB did not have jurisdiction on tribal land and it wanted the election conducted through its own labor relations agency, created three years ago in response to an earlier union petition.

In issuing his decision, Regional Director Jonathan B. Kreisberg relied on previous decisions by the NLRB: The Board would take jurisdiction on tribal lands except in matters of “self-government in purely intramural matters,” in cases where it would abrogate treaty rights or where there is “proof” in statutory language that Congress did not intend for the law to apply to tribes. He found that none of those conditions applied.

He also found that the tribe’s labor relations law is not comparable to the National Labor Relations Act in that it bans strikes, exempts employee safety and other subjects from collective bargaining and requires tribal licensing of any union business agent.

The NLRB has ordered two previous elections at Foxwoods, one involving the United Auto Workers.

Three union elections have been held at Foxwoods, all for different unions and sets of employees and all under the tribe’s labor relations law.

This post is brought to you courtesy of the author and TribalBiz.com.

As Native American tribes have begun to prosper with gaming, some of the more progressive tribes have turned to assisting entrepreneurship. This buoying of new small businesses extends the teach a man to fish idea. Feed a man to fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime. Tribes could and do take gaming dollars to provide services to tribal members in education, culture, social services, and health care. The tribes also attempt to provide jobs through the casinos and subsequent economic diversity efforts. That is developing a business portfolio in many industries. But in the long run the best way to make everyone more self-sufficient is to develop Native American small businesses.

The Cherokee Nation is largest tribe in America, based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. They have also been very progressive in assisting the Native entrepreneur. The Cherokees opened a small business assistance center. The center provides technical assistance and also has a loan program available for entrepreneurs. One of the most unique aspects is that the center provides guidance on how to do business with the tribe. The Cherokee Nation does have a preference program for Native vendors.

The Citizen Potawatomi have established an award winning community development organization that networks with lenders to provide Native entrepreneurs with needed capital. The loan funds can come from the Citizen Potawatomi’s own funding program or with network partners. The organization may also provide technical assistance to development a loan application.

These are just a couple of examples of tribal efforts assisting Native entrepreneurs and each has its own requirements. Other tribes in other locations will have their own requirements. Still, the amount of help available to Native American small business is growing. If help is not available locally one can seek out non-tribal help at Native American Business Enterprise Centers. They are funded by the US government’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).

More Minority Business Help

More minority business help is available. There is a business grant minority overview at http://hubpages.com/hub/Business-Grant-Minority-Overview. Also available at http://hubpages.com/hub/Native-American-Business is more Native American business oriented information. Plenty of good reading for the minority business enterprise (MBE).

Tourists headed through Alabama to the Gulf can now stop at top-line restaurants opened by country singers John Anderson and Lorrie Morgan, catch big-name entertainers like Hank Williams Jr. and Reba McEntire, and gamble in pricey new digs that look like they belong in Las Vegas rather than rural, Bible-belt Alabama.

“We are not a pass-through corridor any more,” developer Ronnie Gilley said.

Alabama’s casinos don’t have slot machines and table games like the casinos in Mississippi. Instead, they are filled with electronic bingo machines, which resemble slot machines with their flashing lights and quick play. The experience can be much the same as slots.

Gambling expert Bill Eadington of the University of Nevada at Reno said Alabama’s new attractions have a lot of potential because they are located on major travel routes, and their opening is likely to be felt next door in Mississippi, with its Gulf Coast casino row.

“The more supply you have, the more difficulty you have capturing customers,” Eadington said.

The Alabama developers’ multimillion-dollar gamble is not just about pulling customers away from Mississippi. Courts in the state are hearing lawsuits challenging the legality of electronic bingo in some counties, and Eadington, director of UNR’s Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, said some counties are on shaky legal ground.

But that hasn’t stopped the growth in Alabama.

Milton McGregor cut the ribbon Dec. 9 on a 300-room luxury hotel at this Victoryland complex in Shorter, about 20 miles east of Montgomery on Interstate 85. His Oasis hotel will be followed in the new year by a 1,500-seat entertainment center and convention complex.

The hotel and its additions are a $100 million investment in a gambling complex that started with a dog track 25 years ago.

Victoryland opened a modern casino in 2005 and kept expanding until it now houses 6,400 electronic bingo machines – more than any single casino in Nevada, New Jersey or Mississippi has slots, according to Casino City’s North American Gaming Almanac.

McGregor said he built the hotel – and has two more in the planning stages – because visitors demanded Victoryland be more than a stopover for a few hours.

“In order to be where we needed to be and wanted to be, we had to become a destination point,” McGregor said.

So far, it’s paying off, he said, with 40 percent of the weekend business coming from out of state. That compares to about 70 percent for Mississippi casinos.

Country Crossing in the southeast corner of the state opened its $87 million first phase on Dec. 1, with more new attractions in the new year pushing the total investment over $200 million.

A country music-themed complex south of Dothan looks very different from Victoryland.

Country Crossing uses an architectural style that blends TV’s “Mayberry” and “Petticoat Junction” into a made-from-scratch small town. This hamlet just happens to offer restaurants named for country singers, an inn called George Jones’ Possum Holler, a concert amphitheater, an RV park, and electronic bingo machines.

For now, Gilley, the developer, is hoping to get tourists to stop briefly on their way to and from the beach on U.S. 231. He’s expecting that to start changing when he opens two hotels, a water park, a bowling alley and family entertainment center next year.

“We expect in the next five years we will become a destination and the beach will become a day trip,” he said.

Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians opened the $245 million Wind Creek complex at Atmore in January. In addition to electronic bingo, it features a 236-room upscale hotel, four restaurants, an amphitheater with major headliners, and a cooking studio directed by award-winning chef Stafford DeCambra, who previously worked at a Mississippi casino.

Wind Creek sits along Interstate 65, a major route to Gulf Coast beaches and Mississippi’s coastal casinos, and its 17-story hotel has become a landmark towering above the rural area’s vast stretches of pine forests.

“From the beginning, we were intent on providing patrons with an experience incomparable to anything else offered in the region,” Jay Dorris, president of Poarch Creek Indian Gaming, said at the opening.

So far, Alabama casinos are drawing primarily from Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

The executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, Larry Gregory, said Alabama’s new attractions “have had very little impact on our market over here.”

Gregory said Mississippi offers clusters of casinos, with multiple entertainers and amenities to choose from – an aggregate convenience Alabama doesn’t have.

That doesn’t bother Mae Childers and Ina Lay, two Alabama widows who were playing recently at Victoryland. They said they used to travel out of state to gamble, but now spend their money in Alabama.

“I’ve been to Biloxi, Tunica, Las Vegas and Atlantic City. This compares favorably,” said Childers, 72, of Alexander City.

“It’s like some of the casinos in Las Vegas,” said Lay, 74, of Dadeville.

At Country Crossing, retiree George Carter of Bruce, Fla., said playing electronic bingo took some adjustment because, unlike slot machines, it requires more than one push of a button each game. But he had nothing but compliments for his surroundings.

“This used to be farm field. Now it’s a nice place,” he said.

This post brought to you by the author and TribalBiz.com

“The successful completion of this vital project reflects the concerns we all share – nationally, regionally and locally – about the critical energy challenges facing communities across the United States,” Salazar said at the dedication ceremony near Heber, Arizona.  “The partnership that built Arizona’s first commercial-scale wind energy project demonstrates a common desire to reduce our dangerous dependence on  foreign oil by using our domestic renewable resources to meet a larger share of our energy needs.  This strategy will also help us  reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change, while creating clean energy jobs around the nation.”

The Dry Lake Wind Power Project is located on a combination of the public lands managed by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Trust Lands, and private lands on the Rocking Chair Ranch in Navajo County.  Phase I will generate 64 megawatts of wind energy with 30 wind turbines.  When fully constructed, the project could provide up to 378 megawatts of wind energy from 100 to 200 turbines.

In addition to Interior agencies, the project partners included the Arizona State Land Department, Rocking Chair Ranch, Navajo County, Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, Iberdrola Renewables — and the Salt River Project, which has agreed to buy the power produced here. Their efforts were recognized at the dedication by the Department of Energy’s presentation of its Carpe Ventem (Seize the Wind) Award.

“We stand here today, united in our belief that wind energy will play a role in both Arizona’s and our Nation’s green energy future,” said Salazar, who noted that Arizona has set statewide renewable energy goals.  The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Environmental Portfolio Standard requires utilities to procure 15 percent of the state’s electricity from renewables by 2025.

Salazar noted that President Obama has encouraged the expanded use of renewable energy and launched initiatives to spur the development of these resources on U.S. public lands, most of which Interior manages. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the President and Congress made $41 million available to facilitate a  rapid and responsible move to large-scale production of renewables on public lands.

“At Interior we have made the production, development, and delivery of renewable energy one of our highest priorities,” Salazar said.  “I have directed our agencies to work collaboratively with other federal agencies, States, local communities and private landowners to encourage the timely and responsible development of renewable energy and associated transmission, while protecting and enhancing the Nation’s water, wildlife, cultural, and other natural resources.”

Interior has set aside 1,000 square miles of public lands in 24 Solar Energy Study Areas, for example, that it is evaluating for solar energy development across the West.   If developed, these tracts could generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of solar electricity. We have established renewable energy coordinating offices and teams in 10 western states to expedite development.

Salazar offered a special note of thanks to private landowner Bill Elkins, of the Rocking Chair Ranch, who has been very supportive and actually was the person who proposed the area for this Project.

This post brought to you by the author and TribalBiz.com

“The Department of Energy is committed to partnering with tribal communities to help them meet their energy needs through clean energy and energy efficiency technologies,” said Secretary Chu. “Clean energy projects will create jobs and economic opportunities on tribal lands, while reducing energy use and increasing energy security for Indian Country.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act greatly expanded opportunities for cooperation between the Department of Energy and Indian Country with the goal of working together to promote energy development and energy efficiency.  Under the Recovery Act, the Department has made more than $35 million in direct grants for energy efficiency projects available to all 562 federally-recognized Indian tribes and 12 Alaska Regional Corporations, and provides funding that empowers tribes to make strategic clean energy investments in their communities.  With these funds, tribal governments will conduct a wide variety of projects, including: weatherization, energy efficiency audits and retrofits, transportation programs, financial incentive programs for efficiency improvements, installing renewable energy technologies on municipal buildings, developing an energy efficiency and conservation strategy, and educating tribal residents on ways to save energy in their own homes.  The Department expects to award another $29 million in Recovery Act funding over the next few months.

For example, the Resighini Rancheria will use  Energy Efficiency and Community Block grant funding from the Recovery Act to provide financial incentives to tribal homeowners to change out old, inefficient household appliances with energy efficient appliances, while the Cherokee Nation is planning to use Recovery Act funds to establish a Home Energy Audit program that will provide tribal citizens with the information needed to make their homes more energy efficient, creating local tribal jobs and yielding substantial energy savings.

In addition to the Recovery Act funding, the Department has also awarded more than $13 million for new clean energy projects on tribal lands this year.  This funding will be matched with other additional public and private investments to support more than $40 million in total projects. Under the Tribal Energy Program, 36 Native American tribes and Alaska villages received competitive awards to help develop and deploy a range of clean energy projects that will advance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Indian Country.  For example, the funding will support projects to expand tribal wind and hydroelectric power generation, improve building and lighting efficiency, and implement new training programs for weatherization workers.

This post brought to you by the author and TribalBiz.com

The tribe was among more than 120 recipients in dozens of states that were awarded $338 million in grants by the U.S. Department of Energy at the end of October to jump-start the domestic geothermal energy industry. Maps developed by agency show potential across much of the West, including a large portion of New Mexico.

Steve Blodgett, director of Jemez Pueblo’s resource protection office, said Monday he was hoping to get the funding earlier so work could start in January. Now, he said, it looks like the formal award could take several months to get to the tribe.

“They haven’t given us any time frame. They’re basically saying we’ll get around to it when we get around to it,” Blodgett said.

Stephanie Mueller, a DOE spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said Monday that the agency expects to award the money for the geothermal projects soon. But before any funds are given, Mueller said the agency confirms all aspects of the project and negotiates a contract to ensure that the project can be completed.

The process ensures “the highest degree of accountability” for taxpayer funds, she said.

The energy department awarded the grants in different categories, from exploratory efforts such as the one at Jemez Pueblo to a nearly $25 million demonstration project in Oregon that will test technology that has the potential to expand geothermal energy production beyond traditional hot spots. The grants are aimed at identifying and developing new geothermal resources and reducing the risks associated with geothermal development.

Blodgett said the agency has prioritized the grants based on their categories, and the pueblo’s $5 million grant is not among the top priorities.

The Jemez project will test new seismic imaging techniques, as well as a new chemical tracing method developed by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Utah. It is expected to generate six or seven temporary jobs.

The DOE has said the projects represent a dramatic expansion of the U.S. geothermal industry and will create or save thousands of jobs in drilling, exploration and operation of geothermal power facilities.

The tribe plans to drill at least two 3,000-foot-deep wells to see how much hot water is available beneath the reservation. The tribe hopes the resource is significant enough to develop a power plant. If not, it’s considering aquaculture, a physical therapy center or a spa.

The tribe had wanted to get the necessary geologic mapping and seismic studies done before farmers began preparing their fields for the growing season. Much of the surveys would take place along the Jemez River, which courses through the pueblo and along its agricultural fields.

Jemez is known for its chile and corn crops, which are important sources of income for the tribe.

“The reality is if we have to wait, the irrigation season here starts mid-March and it ends around the first of November and during that time farmers are out in the fields working. But we’ll just have to work through it whenever we get the formal award in place,” Blodgett said.

This post brought to you by the author and TribalBiz.com

The Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which runs Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, reported Tuesday that slot revenue for November totaled $53.7 million. That was down 1.4 percent from November 2008 and down 2 percent from October of this year.

The Mohegan tribe, which operates Mohegan Sun, said it netted $59.6 million from its slot machines last month. That’s down nearly 11 percent from November 2008 and down about 5 percent from October of this year.

The casinos give the state 25 percent of their slot machine revenues every month, under their gaming compacts. The Mashantucket Pequots gave the state $13.7 million and the Mohegans gave $14.9 million for November.

This post brought to you by the author and TribalBiz.com