By Darryl Noble

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).