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[article provided by Lona. Thanks!]

02/22/2000

Like Mississippi's Choctaw Band, Native Americans Seeking
Ways To Expand Economic Foundation

By Matt Moore

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (AP) _ On the reservation that is home
to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Silver Star
Resort and Casino looms high into the night sky, its lights
beckoning.

The casino, an island of entertainment in a sea of rolling
hills and woodlands, has been the fulcrum of growth for the
Choctaw Indians.

Like other tribes across the country, the gaming house has
proffered economic prosperity and, what is more important,
has given the Choctaws freedom to chart the Band's own
economic course.

In the past six months, the tribe has assumed full
management of the resort in rural Neshoba County about 60
miles northeast of Jackson.

"Full operational and management controls are necessary for
the tribe to guide its resort and leisure development into
the future," says Chief Phillip Martin. "This action by the
tribe will provide new opportunities as the expansion of the
Silver Star Resort and Casino brings in greater economic
opportunities for the tribe and east-central Mississippi."

The casino, however, is only the most visible economic
endeavor of the tribe.

Since the early 1990s, more than 1,400 jobs have been
created by Choctaw Band, thanks in large part to the
introduction of its Chata Enterprise, which includes the
production of greeting cards, electronics and other
manufacturing services.

Today, the Mississippi Choctaws employ more than 6,000
people and generate more than $123 million annually in
wages.

The Band's success is becoming a blue print of sorts for
other Native American tribes across the country.

In Hattiesburg earlier this month, the University of
Southern Mississippi staged a four-day conference that
focused entirely on economic development on Indian
reservations. The Choctaw Nation was its main example of
success.

More than 30 representatives from nine states attended the
conference.

"It gives us a chance to see what our competitors are
doing," said Dave Anthony, a representative of the
Potawatomi Nation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. "The
outline for the conference (was) very good, very
intriguing."

Lowell Goodman, owner of the consulting firm The Goodman
Group Inc., said the Choctaws have one thing that other
tribes lack _ continuity of leadership.

"The Choctaws have a very long-term government and there's a
lot of continuity ... as a result, they can start a project
and can see it through fruition," Goodman said. "Most tribes
have an election and they bring in a new group and they
throw everybody out that was there and have to start all
over again.

"Then they get started and two years later there's another
election and they're gone."

Goodman says its the Choctaws' continuity that has enabled
them to become an economic development giant.

Where other tribes experiment with pursuits, the Choctaws
research projects thoroughly, noting every aspect, including
how it could fail and how it could succeed.

And they invest off the reservation, too.

"If you can tap into a large source of capital and you have
good management and a good tribal government then it becomes
successful," Goodman said.

The Choctaws have operations that include plastics
manufacturing, printing and publishing, as well as gaming.

By being diversified, they've spread out the risk of
day-to-day operating expenses and pitfalls.

As an example, when the Band built the Silver Star in 1994,
it chose Boyd Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas to manage the
facility and handle the day-to-day operations of the state's
only land-base casino.

In October, the Choctaws bought out the management contract
from Boyd for $72 million, nearly two years before its
contract was due to expire.

Goodman said that's an example of how the Choctaws maintain
their businesses and operate them efficiently.

"They will work with outside industries and they will
partner with them, but the bylaws say they have to own 51
percent. The Choctaws allow the other entity to manage it
because they know they know how to do it."

This approach has other tribes taking notes.

"I do work on a lot of reservations around the country and
the one thing that is common is that everybody knows Chief
Martin of the Choctaws and they are all aware of the
Choctaws," he said.
 

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