Mark Tilsen, president of Native American Natural Foods, testified before the Senate Banking Committee on November 10 about economic development in Native American communities. (As far as I can tell, unlike what happens at hearings with Rep. Kristi Noem, Tilsen didn't have to donate to committee chairman Senator Tim Johnson's campaign fund to get a turn at the mic.) He says the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund is a vital "first rung" on the ladder to economic development for reservation entrepreneurs:
Tilsen notes that his business has been able to turn a profit and build national brand recognition from one of the most remote places in America. Tilsen contends elsewhere that the reservations are creating jobs faster than the rest of South Dakota. But Lakota entrepreneurs still need better access to credit, says Tilsen, so they can start their own businesses and build their own futures.
From another corner of Lakota land, check out regular commenter Bill Dithmer's blueprint for economic development on the Pine Ridge reservation. He goes beyond proposing a typical casino and glorified Super 8. Dithmer envisions a sprawling eco-resort just south of Kadoka:
Nine three hundred foot four story monolithic domes set in a circle representing the nine districts on the res. These domes would be connected to one in the middle of the same size by glass walkways. The outside domes would have all together 1000 rooms using the first three stories of those domes. On the top floors would either be nightclubs, restaurants, or some other form of entertainment. On the bottom every dome would have their own pool, workout rooms and all that goes with that kind of thing.
The middle dome would be the convention center with the ability to run two separate conventions at the same time....
The whole complex would be surrounded by an 18 hole golf course with terraces and tiles emptying into containment ponds, and recharging what water is lost through evaporation from the [artesian] well.
To the west of the main complex through the gap in the badlands is enough tribal ground for at least ten miles of both zip lines and a tramway. All of this can be connected by using the one million plus old tires that this reservation has laying around. Ground up and laid with the same technology that is being used on highways today. Without the heavy traffic that running and biking trail would last for many lifetimes.
When your car or bus gets to the parking lot there would be no more fuel vehicles allowed. That would mean an all electric fleet for maintenance and transport [Bill Dithmer, comment, Madville Times, 2011.11.21].
I appreciate Mark Tilsen's practicality, guts, and focus on locally driven economic development. I also appreciate Bill Dithmer's ability to dream big. Building economic momentum on the reservation takes all of those qualities.
Please allow me to throw some more wood on this economic bonfire. First our state doesn’t have any personal or cooperate income tax. I'm not saying that’s right or wrong but why not take advantage of it?
Next the project would be built on tribal ground, no property taxes. When you are going to spend something just under a billion dollars those property taxes add up.
No zoning regulations of any kind. That would mean no hoops to jump through from the start to the end of the construction process.
Green technology means that the resort would enjoy certain tax breaks under federal law that when prorated would mean a substantial savings on their investment.
Employing people in an empowerment zone = more tax breaks. If I'm not mistaken even the training of these people would be covered for the first six months. Hey you take what you can get, that’s the way everybody else does it.
Now lets look at the benefits to the surrounding communities. First as one of the biggest if not the biggest private for profit employers in the state with one of the biggest payrolls I can guarantee that Pierre would set up and take notice. Instead of the legislature thinking of this district as a liability, they would have to recognize who and what was driving the economy. It would give our representatives clout. Right now if you aren't in the I29 corridor, or from Rapid City you cant even get legislation passed the committee.
When the payroll paid out started to roll over again and again it would have an effect on every town from Pierre to Rapid. From new cars, to cloths,to electronics, to entertainment, that money would be used many times. And we haven't even talked about the new businesses spawned as a result of that same money.
All of this without raising anyone's property taxes. Imagine that. The only people that would be against this resort unless I'm messing something here would be the ones that live in Deadwood . But some didn’t want gambling in South Dakota in the first place and Deadwood got what it wanted then. As some are fond of saying, “That’s the biz sweetheart.â€
Still crazy after all of these years I'm still The Blindman
Where is Tanka Bar packaged?
Okay, I might get into trouble for thinking out loud but here goes. Here is a brief.
I think one of the fundamental problems is that when a job creating business proposal or enhancer to quality of life is offered to tribal decision makers they need to understand why a no or yes vote is cast and be able to explain reasons to a public interested in getting a job or having their lives enhanced.
It seems that when a vision is offered someone is quick to veto the vision without full understanding of potential. The other concern is that every vision should not be first thought of as a tribal program. Risk takers need assurances that decision makers won't move the goal post and instead let a competent court of jurisdiction sort our differences when necessary.
Casinos are thought of as enterprises for Indian tribes but the real enterprise is held by individual citizens interested in moving a product or service that can be locally integrated through communities. Casinos are thought of as a destination and less a short walk or drive for purchasing basic needs.
I think it is the Ho-Chunk that used its casino to launch other product oriented and service ventures and is less reliant on its casino.
Bruce correct me if I'm wrong here but are you talking about the Ho-Chunk, Inc. (HCI) of the Winnebago Tribe? To tell you the truth I had forgotten about the split between them and their Wisconsin tribe. Either way it doesn’t make any difference they are both prime examples of how to run a successful reservation government.
In either tribe if you want a job you can get one. In Nebraska they went from 80% unemployment to what it is today by building businesses from the ground up that are not run by the tribe itself but by appointees of the tribal council setting on a board of directors whose only job is to make money and provide jobs for the people around them.
Its to bad that we cant have something like that around here.
The Blindman
Yep, I am sure, Bill, that you know more about them than I do.
Bill, I love your idea, just haven't seen a year 'round return on investment by off-reservation interests under current Native development and construction contracts. Could you firm up a source for your funding mechanism to build a multi-billion dollar property?
Pine Ridge is just one reservation, could your concept work within the entire US?
Ho-Chunk is embroiled in numerous court cases testing tribal sovereignty which send signals to investors to avoid reservation initiatives. Costs of litigation alone send risk analysts elsewhere.
We the People owe the tribes billions. When the Black Hills claim is settled where the lands held by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are moved into tribal management, there is little hope for private investment on the rez...unless reservations were counties in a non-contiguous State.
Cory wondered whether administration was possible. Congressional districts would be drawn that mix wealthier counties with less fortunate ones. South Dakota already fails emergency response on the rez after natural disasters. Consider National Guard battalions for each new county.
Larry right now there isn't a year round return on investment by off-reservation interests under current Native development and construction contracts. That is one of the many obstacles that needs to be addressed. Any projects this large have to have the blessing of the DOI to even get to the drawing board. It seems like this has been a problem for the entire existence of the reservation system. But I think we do have a way around the main problem. In order to suspend the native preference hiring practices that are in place now, there has to be a native that is at least half owner in the business. I hope I have addressed this problem because the tribe owns both the land and the business after the conditions of the lease are satisfied.
As you already know the biggest revenue killer on the reservation is starting a job only to find out that there are going to be cost overruns, lawsuits, and trouble finding labor to finish on time. The water project is just one of the big ones. Just that one project would have been completed well ahead of schedule if it weren't for lawsuits filed by members of the tribe to gain subcontracts. That’s why some minds would have to be changed for this to work and that’s why I stated that there couldn’t be any interference while the construction was going on. The people here would have to except that the lack of jobs at the beginning of the process would translate to many jobs in the future with a huge economic impact for the reservation. I cant stress enough how important a change of thinking would be from the department of the interior.
Could it work someplace else? Of course it would. The success of the project would depend on how unique the property was, the saturation of services already close by, and the willingness to use green technology to do most of the work after the site is up and running. And of course it has to be built where the tax structure would favor the builder both before the project is finished and after. The only places that I know of where that could take place is on a reservation, and one of the only states would be right here in South Dakota.
Now to your most important question about sources of funding. Almost every resort that has been built in the last twenty years has used funding like I mentioned. The only place that I know of that is having trouble right now is Mexico. Because of the violence and crime the resorts that were started years ago are having trouble, and for that mater the ones that have been in operation for years are in the same boat. The sooner this damn war of drugs is stopped the sooner these places will begin to make a profit again and the sooner that happens the sooner the projects that haven't been finished will be.
Larry the success of a resort depends on three things. First it has to be built somewhere that can offer something that the public cant get anywhere else. Second it must give services that are as good or better then other places of its kind. And third it must be far enough from a major population that it cant be influenced by that population. That would mean no air or water pollution and no heavy traffic. This Eco resort would satisfy all of those requirements and then some. It would also be the biggest of its kind in the world and would only be limited by the imagination of the people drawing the plans.
Let me make this as simple as I can. The reason that the worlds oldest profession is successful is because it has a proven formula. Give people what they want and cant get anywhere else. Give it to them at a fair market price. And make sure the experience is so good that they want to come back. The resort would be the whorehouse, the tribe and builder would be the pimps, and the people that came there would be the johns.
This plan might not be the answer. It is only meant to inspire the imaginations of the people that live here. Something needs to be done in the not to distant future or the Pine Ridge will be known a Shakopee West of Seminole Plains, as both of those names are on every major project that is happening now on both the Rosebud and the Pine Ridge.
The Blindman
What's the difference between business climates of China and Pine Ridge. Look how easy is was to build Rapid City on the Great Sioux Reservation. I bet the Chinese would think differently.
Now to ratchet down some. I know Pine Ridge presents itself as difficult but how can it expand without growing pains?
The Wyoming Black Hills have already been sold:
http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-hills-are-not-for-sale-mural-goes.html
Bill D: a hundred day growing season keeps the tribes dependent on outside sources as threats to their sovereignty. There are efforts underway to mitigate some of that.
The geothermal map shows vast untapped energy under the Rosebud and part of the Pine Ridge. Tapping some that to heat greenhouses could make it sustainable while bringing re-connection to the dirt.
The tribes need to learn to stick it to the States like South Dakota that compete against them: demand the Black Hills, Nebraska, and Custer National Forests become part of the BIA Forestry Division and sue for more money.
Larry: food forests! Will that work on Pine Ridge? Is that diverse planting native to the area? Would there be benefits to turning the Black Hills into a food forest?
And as for all that geothermal potential: do we know what it comes from? Is the reservation sitting on a bunch of radioactive material? I find the idea of greenhouses heated from below wonderfully ironic. Can we tap that heat directly?
Yes, you just drill a well and run the plumbing. It's basically just hot water.
Local boy makes good: http://buffalopost.net/?p=16571
Rewild the West.
Thoughts and best wishes to Bill Dithmer on the passing of your mom: RCJ