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http://www.freep.com/business/native19_20000219.htm

NABA sees future in Michigan
An organization operating in 42 states and Canada that
represents Native-American companies will soon call metro
Detroit home

February 19, 2000

BY ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

The nation's largest Native-American business organization,
which represents 270 member companies, is moving its
headquarters to the Detroit area from Englewood, Ohio.

The Native American Business Alliance, which will be based
in Bingham Farms, hopes to focus more attention on its
members in a state that outranks most others in its number
of Native American businesses.

The move, scheduled for early March, coincides with the
selection of Bloomfield Hills resident Richard Wilson as
executive director for NABA.

NABA, a nonprofit organization operating in 42 states and
Canada, was formed in 1996. The Alliance works to develop
relationships with large corporations seeking goods and
services that can be provided by Native American-led small
businesses.

"We believe Native Americans should share in the wealth of
our country," said Wilson.
 

State's potential great

NABA records show there are 53 privately held Native
American-owned businesses in the state, the majority of
which are in southeastern Michigan. The companies, separate
from tribal-owned businesses and highly publicized casinos,
range from small arts-and-crafts boutiques to auto parts
manufacturers to heavy trucking operations.

A Native American-owned business, as defined by NABA, is one
in which the primary owner has at least a 51-percent
interest and is a registered member of one of the 557
federally recognized Native American tribes.

The large concentration of NABA members in metro Detroit
makes relocating the alliance headquarters a logical move,
according to Wilson, who took over as executive director
Jan. 24. He said NABA will maintain an office in Ohio.

"There are so many advantages for Native Americans to do
business in Michigan versus many other parts of the
country," said Wilson. "There is so much manufacturing and
engineering and access to corporate boardrooms in the state
that can't necessarily be found elsewhere."

Native American businesses are a microscopic portion of all
privately held companies nationwide. According to U.S.
Census data, Native American firms make up less than 1
percent of the more than 3 million private small businesses
in the country.

Although Michigan is a leading state for Native American
business, the state has a Native American population of only
about 60,000; of those, fewer than 10,000 live in Wayne
County, according to statistics from the Michigan Department
of Management and Budget.

Wilson, 62, and a member of the Oklahoma Choctaw tribe,
became NABA executive director following the resignation of
S.D. (Sully) Sullivan, who left to pursue other business
opportunities.

Wilson spent 30 years working for supermarket giant Safeway
Inc., including a stint as a vice president and divisional
manager. After Safeway, he served as president and chief
executive officer of Kansas City, Mo.-based Food Barn Stores
Inc.

Wilson retired from the retail food industry in 1992 to
start Wilson & Associates, a business consulting firm, which
he moved to Michigan three years ago.

Most NABA board members agree that Wilson was selected to
lead the organization because of his combination of business
experience and knowledge of Native American cultural issues.

"We have such a diverse group of businesses here in
Michigan, it's very much a reflection of America," said
Wilson. "The problem is, business ownership hasn't been
deeply ingrained in the culture. We hope to change that."
 

Women make their mark

Two of the top five Native American-owned businesses in the
Detroit area are headed by women.

Rush Trucking Corp., founded in 1984 by Andra Rush, a member
of the Mohawk tribe, is the top revenue-grossing Native
American company in the state.

Rush decided to go into the trucking business after
completing an internship with a shipping company while she
was enrolled in the University of Michigan's MBA program.

After her internship, Rush decided to start her own
transportation company, which required her to do everything
from keeping the books to driving the big rigs.

Now, 16 years later, the Wayne-based trucking company,
employs more than 600 people and hauls products for all the
automakers.

Rush created a company logo true to her Native American
roots. It features a slanted staff with six feather-like
flags representing the six nations of the Iroquois
Confederacy, of which the Mohawk tribe is a part.

"We do business from Maine to Mexico and New York to
California," Rush said proudly.

"Corporate America will gain from working with the Native
American business community," said Rush. "We have a sense of
determination that helps us provide the kind of service
large companies expect."
 

More work needs to be done

But the Native-American business community faces significant
challenges.

Kenneth Jones, a Native American businessman and former
Indian Commissioner for Michigan, says Native Americans must
continue to seek coalitions among tribes and build bridges
with corporate America and business owners of all races.

"It's been a struggle because we have no one with real clout
in the Indian community," he said.

Jones, a 49-year resident of Detroit, is president and chief
executive officer of Melvindale-based Cyntell Tool Co. and a
member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe. He cites
examples set by other minority business groups as blueprints
for Native Americans.

"The blacks have Jesse Jackson and the NAACP behind them,
while the Hispanics are joining forces and helping each
other out. We need to start doing the same," he said.

Some scholars contend that cultural histories emphasizing
communal, tribal efforts over individual business
achievements are partly to blame for the low number of
successful Native American businesses.

In addition, most Native-American-owned companies suffer
from anonymity in the larger business community, said Manley
Begay, a lecturer at the Harvard University Graduate School
of Education and a codirector of the Harvard Project on
American Indian Economic Development.

Begay suggests too much emphasis is placed on tribal casino
ventures. He contends the attention paid the Native
Americans gaming industry leads to inaccurate perceptions
that most Native American businesses are monolithic in
scope. That ignores the complexities and unique histories of
Native American economies, he said.

"The gaming issue has been overblown and has inappropriately
overshadowed the larger issues of economic development of
Indian communities," said Begay, a member of the Navajo
tribe.

"Only a handful of tribes are actually making a go of the
casino business," he added.
 

Corporations take notice

Nevertheless, corporate America seems encouraged by the
rising participation of Native American businesses in the
larger economy.

Stephen Larson, manager of minority supplier development for
Ford Motor Co., said Ford did about $3.3 billion worth of
business with minority companies nationwide last year. He
wouldn't reveal the Native American portion of that sum, but
conceded it was below that for other minority groups.

Larson said he is confident that picture will improve over
the next decade. "I think Native American businesses face
the same kinds of challenges all small businesses face,"
said Larson. "But the thing about NABA is that they are
devoted to helping Native-American companies prosper and
grow."

NABA member Bill Largent, owner of Allegra Print & Imaging
in Lake Orion, said being located near people like Larson is
a help. "We have an advantage here in Detroit in that the
auto companies are very aware of our plight," he said.
"We're encouraged that there is more awareness, but the next
10 years will be critical for Native Americans to band
together and establish a common agenda."

Richard Wilson appears ready to move toward that goal. NABA
is planning its first national business forum this summer in
July. The event is tentatively entitled "Bringing the Circle
Together: Advancing America's First Businesses."

---
ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA can be reached at bodipo@freepress.com

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