Within this context, key recommendations and areas of focus include: Strategic planning and analysis of tribal legal, land, labor and capital advantages to inform and justify new manufacturing initiatives and lobbying efforts at the association, inter-tribal and individual tribal levels Coordination of lobbying and public messaging between tribal associations with a focus on tribal manufacturing development Active lobbying and pursuit of grants and low-interest loan programs for the diversification of supply and repatriation of manufacturing capacity through multi-tribe and tribal/non-tribal consortiums that marry land and labor with capital and expertise Further strengthening of inter-tribal purchasing to support increased manufacturing production Exploration of vertical integration and value-added manufacturing opportunities by agricultural tribes, either alone or in partnership Active diversification of supply and sales outlets by existing tribal manufacturing ventures to protect against future disruptions with a particular focus on other tribal sources and outlets Increased automation of tribal manufacturing, particularly of new ventures to protect output capacity in case of new public health or other emergencies Research into product improvement for PPE and other new or existing supply needs for Indian gaming to increase the proportion supplied by tribal vendors Wholesale Trade Wholesale trade recovery in tribal economies will mirror patterns in the manufacturing sector that feeds it and the retail sector that buys from it. Accordingly, diversification of supply chain and repatriation of manufacturing initiatives may provide new opportunities for tribal wholesalers to expand their own offerings and move into new markets. It will certainly drive tribal wholesalers to pursue their own diversification efforts for the same reasons as the general economy. Those opportunities will be balanced at the retail level by the lingering effects of decreased consumer spending, decreased consumer confidence and reduced retail sales capacity due to lingering public health restrictions. For wholesalers supplying non-brick and mortar retail, that will be somewhat less of a problem but it will not be entirely removed.
∴ PRESCRIPTIONS
123
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs