Tulsa World: Tribal businesses urged to stay smart

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Tribal businesses urged to stay smart

By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
Published: 10/31/2008 2:13 AM
Last Modified: 10/31/2008 2:41 AM

With an economy in free-fall, a credit market tight as a drum and bankruptcy a very real possibility for some businesses, staying smart and aware of one's options is a must for American Indian and non-Indian businesses alike, an expert said.

Neal McCaleb, chairman of the board of directors of Chickasaw Nation Industries and board member for the tribally owned Bank 2, gave more than 50 tribal business owners and employees some advice on navigating the current economic crisis Thursday at the Native Business Network luncheon in Tulsa.

During the luncheon, McCaleb, who was also appointed as assistant secretary of the Interior in 2001, was honored with Native Business Network's Lifetime Achievement Award, and several other businesses and people were lauded as well.

"The business climate right now is, shall we say, not all that great," McCaleb said. "It's important for us to take a cautious, thoughtful look at the business climate and how we can operate, or more specifically, survive."

McCaleb said the economy is in recession, and the only questions were how deep the recession is and how long it would last.

"This is not just an aberration that's happening on some segment of the East Coast or on Wall Street or even just in the United States, it's worldwide," he said. "What we have is an ebb tide receding."

Networking and information sharing between American Indian businesses is one good way to gain access to inside information and can be useful to surviving in the economy by reaching into new markets, McCaleb said. Also, he said people should look at options through the Small Business Administration and use programs geared toward furthering American Indian businesses.

With credit markets tight, American Indian businesses should look for alternative ways besides traditional bank loans to get access to credit and capital using innovation and collaboration, he said.

Clifton Adcock 581-8462
clifton.adcock@tulsaworld.com

Award winners

Neal McCaleb—Lifetime Achievement Award

National Indian Monument and Institute (Monetta Trepp, CEO) — Visionary Award

Lillian Williams, Indian Education for Tulsa Public Schools—7th Generation Award

Creek Nation Communications Department

—Tribal Enterprise of the Year

Buffalo Hills Golf Course —Small Business of the Year

Pam Nielson (Oklahoma Insurance Department) —Community Spirit Award

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians—Employee’s Choice Award

By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

3 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment Ayo2, T-Town (10/31/2008 8:16:48 AM) Vote to return America to the middle class. Vote for true ethics. (i.e., don't bilk the State for over $20,000.00 to pay for the governor's kid's travel, don't bilk the state for per dium to work from home, don't bilk the state for your familier grocery bill) Vote for a true change. OklaBama: Change sweeping across the plain! Obama watch party at Sound Pony. Tuesday.
	Report Comment Mary, (10/31/2008 8:40:39 AM) Too bad there's not a category on the ballot that we can choose that says "None of the above".
	Report Comment lil sparrow, Tulsa (10/31/2008 12:27:45 PM) Congratulations Monetta.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.