The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is doing an economic assessment in the hopes of developing a strategic plan that turns the reservation into a resource for local entrepreneurs and increases the potential benefits the tribe can tap into to improve life for its people.
A meeting was held July 24 at the cultural center for the College of Menominee Nation to gather community input that helps contribute to what is already a 90-page economic assessment draft that will eventually be presented to the Menominee Tribal Legislature. A number of tribal members looked at issues like tourism and businesses that don’t just cater to the local community.
Eric Trevan, chief executive officer for aLocal Solutions LLC, led the discussion and has been working with tribal officials to get the assessment together. He noted that about $312 million is currently being spent elsewhere off the reservation, and the assessment will help to build a case for what the tribe needs to do to expand its economic development.
“In just looking at the cultural heritage and trying to get a grasp on everything, trying to keep things in heritage with the clans and the cultural practices, with the institutions like the cultural museum and here at the college, how do they all fit together?” Trevan said. “We’re pointing them out and assessing them as assets. Building and going forward, these will be critical.”
Some of the more desirable businesses Trevan has heard about include auto repair shops, landscaping services, restaurants, lawyers and tax preparers, to name a few.
“When you look at GDP (gross domestic product), about 65-75% of that is based on consumption,” he said. “You get more consumers by getting the housing demand, that could really impact your economic opportunities. You don’t need a fancy formula for that. You just think that if you have more people, then they’re going to consume more, so where are the opportunities?”
Trevan estimated that if the tribe pursues all of its opportunities, there could be an economic impact on the region of over $582 million. At least 1,500 jobs could sprout from the tribe pursuing all of its potential opportunities, but he cautioned that won’t happen right away.
“It’s important to remember that, when we’re benefiting the tribe, we’re really benefiting the region,” Trevan said.
He noted that the region could include the Shawano area, Suring, Gillett and other communities to the north, and that working together with officials in those communities, everyone can benefit. Many Menominee students go on to graduate with professional service degrees and could be brought back if the chance for prosperity presented itself.
“As we start using the assessment to build a strategy — whether it’s finding investors, whether it’s Wolf River (Corporation), whether it’s the Menominee Nation — then you start to claw back those dollars and you have positive economic income for the entire region,” Trevan said.
One community member suggested that the Menominee not restrict its customers locally, noting that with the internet, tribal members could go online and have global patronage.
Another community member noted that, while tourism is a potential source for the tribe to tap into, there are some on the reservation who are against the idea, noting that some Menominee see it as trespassing on their land.
Trevan acknowledged that tourism requires a delicate balance to work for the tribe. He said he has been touring areas of the Menominee reservation to see if there are tourism opportunities that don’t infringe on tribal members’ right to live on their ancestral land.
“There’s a group called American Indian/Alaskan Native Tourism Association, and one of the conversations they have is the immense opportunity for tourism and do you not want someone who is not from the rez looking in your window?” Trevan said. “Where’s the balance between the two?”
Among one of the goals is the revitalization of Neopit, which has the lumber mill but does not have as many amenities as Keshena.
Besides the in-person discussion, the tribe distributed an online survey through July 25, getting input of what the tribe’s economic needs are.
Trevan expects the economic assessment to completed in the next few weeks.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Economic assessment looking at Menominee tribe
