ONABEN gears up for Trading at the River conference for Native businesses
PORTLAND. Ore. - ONABEN-
A Native American Business Network and
the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
Economic Development Corporation
(ATN1-EDC) are pleased to announce that
registration is open for the 10,h Annual
Trading at the River on April 19-20 at the
Embassy Suites (Portland Airport).
Trading at the River is the premier
conference for American Indian busi
nesses and leaders in economic develop
ment. This year’s conference theme is
Transforming our Communities Through
Entrepreneurship: Catch the dream. Fol
low the Spirit, Make it Happen.
This is the second year that ONABEN
and ATNI have joined forces to celebrate
the successes of Indian-owned enterprises
and the resources that provide funding and
technical assistance to American Indians
in business.
“We are working hard to ensure that
this year’s event continues to provide a
unique opportunity for vendors to connect
with one another and leaders in business
development to share best practices.” said
Veronica Hix. ONABEN marketing and
entrepreneurial services manager. “Our
group understands the importance of
growing not only businesses, but the pro
grams and resources that support Native
American-owned companies throughout
Indian Country.”
According to Hix, ONABEN will
provide weekly updates in an effort to
grow participation levels and to keep
registrants up to date on important infor
mation leading up to the conference.
Trading at the River offers vendors a
venue to showcase their products and ser
vices, while providing insightful informa
tion on business development resources
and a platform for programs to share
information and knowledge to further the
position of Indian-owned companies in
the business community.
Online registration for Trading at the
River is available at onaben.org. Sponsor
ships also are available.
ONABEN, a Native American Busi
ness Network, was founded in 1991 as
a nonprofit organization by four Oregon
Tribes to enable American Indians to real
ize their dreams of a better quality of life
through owning and operating a successful
business. The vision of the organization
is of a healthy economy for the Pacific
Northwest American Indian community.
The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest
Indians, founded on the principles of unity
and cooperation among Indian govern
ments and people, is a nonprofit organi
zation representing 54 Northwest Tribal
governments from Oregon. Washington,
Southeast Alaska, Northern California
and Montana.
To better serve its member base, the
ATNI Economic Development Corpo
ration was established to advocate for
member Tribes and their business enti
ties with a mission to support economic
development as a distinct entity separate
from Tribal governments.
Together, ONABEN and the ATNI-
EDC strive to provide the technical assis
tance and advocacy that will help drive
Native-owned businesses to a greater
levels of success. Trading at the River is a
step forward in their mission-driven direc
tives and evidence of the commitment that
each organization has to Indian Country.
For more information about the con
ference, contact Veronica Hix at veron-
ica@onaben.org, or call 800-854-8289.
New online course available for American Indian small business owners
WASHINGTON - American Indian
entrepreneurs have a new tool to help
determine if they’re ready for business
ownership and to help them get started.
Native American Small Business
Primer: Strategies for Success is a
free, self-paced online business course
developed for American Indian business
owners. The course provides an overview
of basic business principles and makes
them aware of the programs and services
available from the U.S. Small Business
Administration.
“Native American Small Business
Primer: Strategies for Success will
enhance the agency’s effort to provide
important resources for emerging Native
American entrepreneurs,” said SBA
Administrator Karen Mills. “Our ultimate
goal is to help create jobs and stimulate
economic and business development in
our Native American communities. This
course is an essential business develop
ment tool for the entrepreneur’s toolbox.”
The new online course emphasizes
business planning and market research
as essential steps to take before going
into business; informs Native American
entrepreneurs about the legal aspects of
starting a business, including the type of
ownership (legal structure) and licensing;
and provides key information on seed
money for starting up, raising capital and
borrowing money.
In addition, it includes a section on
how to estimate business startup costs
that can help assess the financial needs
of going into business.
The course is available from the
SBA's Online Small Business Training
web page under Online Courses for Start
ing Your Business at sba.gov/content/
online-courses-starting-your-business.
SBA’s Office of Native American
Affairs works to ensure that American
Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawai
ian communities have full access to all
SBA programs and services. Each year,
more than 200,000 American Indian- and
Alaska Native-owned and 29,000 Native
Hawaiian-owned businesses add billions
to the American economy.
Course participants completing the
online training programs can earn a cer
tificate of completion from the SBA with
their name, date and course title. The
Native American Small Business Primer
course is one of nearly 30 online tutori
als offered by the SBA’s Online Business
Training (sba.gov/training). Free courses
are offered on starting a business, manag
ing a business, financing a business and
contracting.
SBA also can help pair new business
owners with expert advisers, counseling
and mentoring services through an SBA
representative or resource partner about
management assistance, financing options
or participating local SBA lenders.
Leasing reform will spur commercial, residential and renewable energy
development on Indian lands, restore greater control to Tribal governments
Proposed rule will
remove federal
roadblocks to
economic development
WASHINGTON - Secretary of
the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo
Hawk announced in November a sweep
ing reform of federal surface leasing
regulations for American Indian lands
that will streamline the approval process
for home ownership, expedite economic
development and spur renewable energy
development in Indian Country.
The proposed rule would modify
regulations governing the Bureau of
Indian Affairs’ process for approving the
lease of surface acres on lands the federal
government holds in trust for Tribes and
individuals. As trustee, Interior is respon
sible for managing approximately 56
million surface acres in Indian Country.
“The proposed changes are the most
comprehensive reforms of Indian land
leasing regulations in more than 50 years
and will have a real impact for individu
als and families who want to own a home
or build a business,” said Salazar. “This
reform underscores President Obama’s
commitment to empower Indian nations
and strengthen their economies by expand
ing opportunities for individual landown
ers and Tribal governments - generating
investment, new jobs and revenues.”
“At its core, this reform is about
good government and supporting self-
determination for Indian nations,” said
Echo Hawk. “The revised regulations
will bring greater transparency, efficiency
and workability to the Bureau of Indian
Affairs approval process and will pro
vide Tribal communities and individuals
certainty and flexibility when it comes to
decisions on the use of their land.”
The existing regulations, adopted in
1961, take an antiquated “one-size fits
all” approach to processing all surface
leases. Under the current system, which
lacks a defined process or deadlines, it
is not uncommon for a simple mortgage
application to languish for several years
while waiting for approval from the fed
eral government.
The proposed reform identifies spe
cific processes - with enforceable time
lines - through which the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) must review leases.
The regulation establishes separate sim
plified processes for residential, business
and renewable energy development so
that, for example, a lease for a single
family home is distinguished from a large
solar energy project.
The proposed rule provides a 30-day
limit for the BIA to issue decisions on
residential leases, subleases and mort
gages. For commercial or industrial
development, the BIA would have 60 days
to review leases and subleases. If the BIA
does not complete its review of subleases
in this time frame, those agreements will
automatically go into effect.
Other proposed changes would
eliminate the requirement for BIA
approval of permits for short-term activi
ties on Indian lands, such as parades, and
require the BIA to approve leases unless it
finds a compelling reason to disapprove.
Under the new rule, the BIA would defer
to the Tribe’s negotiated value for a lease
of Tribal land and would not require addi
tional costly appraisals.
“The proposed regulation incorpo
rates numerous changes requested by
Tribal leaders during extensive consulta
tions this past year and better meets the
goals of facilitating and expediting the
leasing process for trust lands,” said Prin
cipal Deputy Assistant for Indian Affairs
Del Laverdure.
During the initial consultation period,
more than 2,300 comments were received
from more than 70 Tribes as well as sev-
eral federal agencies, including HUD,
USDA and the IRS. The publication of
the proposed rule in the Federal Register
of Nov. 29 kicked off a 60-day public
comment period with additional Tribal
meetings scheduled.
The BIA regulatory drafting work
group is expected to review the comments
and publish the final rule in 2012.
When you call the Siletz
Community Health Clinic at
541-444-1030 or 800-648-0449, you
can choose from the following:
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February 2012
Schedule or confirm a dental
appointment, press 1
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appointment, press 2
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appointment, press 3
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Siletz News
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