Tribal Leaders Meet in Green Bay to Increase Federal Contracts

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Currents. Discussion »

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – The "2nd Growing Your Capacity with Federal Contracts" workshop in Green Bay on Tuesday attracted some 100 attendees to learn more about growing tribal business by utilizing the Small Business Administration and US General Services Administration opportunities.

Some 100 tribal officials and administrators attended the workshop in Green Bay this week.

The workshop was attended by elected tribal officials and administrators from Wisconsin and Michigan.

The workshop heard from former Assistant Secretary of the Interior – Indian Affairs Ada Deer, Menominee, who told the attendees: "You can make it happen – whatever it is." She recalled being appointed as the first woman ever to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Interior – Indian Affairs during the Clinton administration.

“Tribes need a plan of action. We need to sit down and figure how to help tribes,”

said Ann Kalayil, GSA's Great Lakes Regional Administrator.

“This is a beginning, to have tribal leaders and the federal government to start a working group that can determine how tribes can work better together,”

stated Gwen Carr, program manager of First American Capital Corporation PTAC, the organization hosting the two-day event. On Monday, there was a tribal consultation between tribal officials and representatives of the SBA and GSA.

PTAC is the acronym for Procurement Technical Assistance Centers.

“Sometimes it looks as if we approach business development as one Indian riding on one horse - trying to make this all happen. I think we need to get together and really put something together so we can work collectively for something big such as international trade,”

said Brue Pecore, tribal legislator from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, based in Keshena, Wisconsin.

Discussions also centered on how tribal members who are business owners can benefit from SBA and other federal programs. Some tribal leaders discussed doing business with American Indian business owners.

posted February 1, 2013 6:20 am est