Overview:
The fifth annual Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit will bring together tribal leaders, business executives, financial institutions and development partners to explore how tribal economic development projects are financed, structured and brought to completion.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Tribal leaders, economic development professionals, finance executives and development partners will gather Oct. 6–7 in Mount Pleasant for the fifth annual Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit, focused on how tribal priorities become financed, constructed and operating projects.
Tribal Business News, Native News Online’s sister publication, in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, will host the summit at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort under the theme “How Projects Get Done.”
“This is our fifth annual tribal summit. The good news is that with innovation and economic development in Indian Country, we never run out of topics to present at our summits,” Levi Rickert, co-publisher of Tribal Business News, said. “It is a great time for those who want to do business with tribes and their tribal business enterprises to connect.”
The summit will examine the practical steps involved in developing and financing tribal projects, using real projects and transactions to explore how tribal priorities are identified, structured, financed and carried through to completion.
“Tribal leaders are being asked to build housing, healthcare facilities, schools, energy infrastructure and businesses that create jobs and revenue,” said Brian Edwards, co-founder and editor of Tribal Business News. “This summit is about moving those projects from a community priority or strategic plan to something that is financed, built and operating.”
The program will begin with tribal leaders discussing the projects their communities are seeking to develop and the challenges involved in turning those needs into viable projects.
Former Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin will lead a session examining governance, leadership alignment and organizational capacity, including the structures needed to turn tribal priorities into executable plans.
Other sessions will address the financing and development challenges facing tribes, including opportunities and risks associated with data centers on tribal lands.
Topics will include financing for tribal healthcare, education, workforce housing and infrastructure, as well as the ways tribes can combine different sources of capital.
Speakers will examine how Section 105(l) lease revenues, bonds, New Markets Tax Credits, grants, tribal investment and private capital can be combined to finance tribal priorities.
One session will explore the “capital weave” behind a flour mill project, examining how public, private, philanthropic and mission-driven financing can work together to support tribal economic development.
The summit also will address how governance affects development projects and what lenders and business partners look for when evaluating tribal projects.
Another discussion will examine how tribes weigh economic development opportunities against community values and long-term interests.
Featured participants include Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Treasurer John Morseau; Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick; Tanya Gibbs of Mshkawzi Law LLP; Ted Piccolo of Mission Driven Finance; Shad Schoppert of Tribal Development Partners; Ben Reckhemmer of KeyBank; and Casey Lozar of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ Center for Indian Country Development.
Representatives from Sovereign Bank, Bay Bank and Native American Bank also will discuss the availability of capital for tribal projects, what makes projects bankable and the role Native-owned financial institutions can play in supporting tribal development.
A session focused on tribal energy finance will examine how tax credits, grants, debt, bridge financing, tribal investment and outside capital can be assembled to move projects from development into construction.
The summit also will take a closer look at the growing interest in data centers on tribal lands. Speakers will examine issues involving land, energy, water, taxation, regulation and potential community impacts while considering the distinction between viable economic opportunities and market hype.
The summit will conclude with Lozar examining emerging research on tribal economic development and access to capital, including the use of New Markets Tax Credits, Section 105(l) agreements and other financing tools to advance tribal priorities.
There is still time to REGISTER:
