NCAIED BOARD CHAIRMAN PRESENTS TO TRIBAL LEADERSHIP AT INDIAN GAMING 2017
National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) Board Chairman Derrick Watchman presents to the tribal leadership at Indian Gaming 2017
The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) hosted the bi-annual member tribe meetings as part annual Indian Gaming 2017 Tradeshow and Convention. Part of the membership meeting included presentations by partners of NIGA. Derrick Watchman, Chairman of the Board for the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED), took the stage to discuss the continued partnerships with the NCAIED and NIGA to advance the economic future of Indian Country. Watchman told the NIGA member tribes that the organizations are working together to foster economic development, additional capital to Indian country, help establish positive policy improvements at the federal level and work to provide technical assistance to Native American-owned businesses. He said, “We’ve heard in the last couple of days that gaming in Indian Country is a $30 billion-dollar industry. That is a lot of opportunity for Native American owned business to work side by side to provide their services to tribal-owned casinos.” Watchman has an extensive background in gaming, business and economic development said, “I’m not new to gaming, I was a gaming banker with Chase Bank and operated the Navajo Casinos as their Chief Executive Officer (CEO). As the CEO of gaming, I know first-hand, that
in many instances it is a challenge to hire one of your own [Native-owned] businesses for many reasons. Either lack of capital, lack of startup, lack of supply that casinos require or lack of organization. We want to help provide the tools and education necessary to help the Native small businesses become successful.” Watchman also remarked, “Collaboration is essential, and at the NCAIED, we want to work hand in hand and continue to show our support for NIGA and the other organizations that are out here in this country. We do mean business.” He said that through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the NCAIED and NIGA are joining forces to work towards helping advance those opportunities for Native American-owned businesses. In 2015, the two organizations signed an MOU to enhance each organization’s broader goals: fostering economic development opportunities, as well as workforce development initiatives and training programs for Tribes, Tribal Enterprises, and American Indian entrepreneurs. In the immediate term, NIGA will help promote NCAIED’s revamped Native Edge: the online business training, networking, employment, and development ecosystem built to give American Indian entrepreneurs and business owners, corporations, and tribally owned businesses an “edge” in all aspects of business.
10 | INDIAN GAMING UPDATE - TRADESHOW EDITION 2017
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