Kick-Off Event

Over 90 people attended the session from across the country, including from Alaska and Hawaii. Participants came from tribal enterprises, tribal planning departments, Native CDFIs, state and federal agencies, academia, regional tribal associations, and more. Attendees reported a range of experience with EDA grants.

During the session, we introduced the community and its structure, organizers, and goals. We also showcased two economic development projects in the form of spotlight presentations from tribal and Native communities.

Rob Czypinski presented the Red Cliff Fish Company, a tribal enterprise of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. A project rooted in deep ancestral and cultural heritage, strong tribal administrative buy-in and skilled staff have allowed this iteration of the company to succeed. The success of the project has fostered new partnerships with tribal elder food programs and commercial wholesalers while fostering a bridge to new generations.

Tyler Goddard presented the FourPoints Health Facility of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. With more than 900 members spread across 6 counties and 200 miles of space, the Tribe pooled funding from 3 grants to expand the formerly 4,000 sq/ft facility into a new health center totaling 23,000 sq/ft that generates more than $6 million in revenue per year. Tyler pointed out that it is an ongoing challenge to integrate existing health records technology into new systems.

At the end of the session, we asked for your feedback, as CoP community and Resource Group members, about the best approaches for conducting the community and the topics you are excited to learn about in the future. Some of your responses are featured below.