There are a variety of small business resources available that have been developed specifically to help Native Americans start and operate small businesses. Native Americans is defined here as American Indians, Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians. Following are some resources available for Native Americans who run or want to run a small business.
SBA Announces New Contracts for Native American Economic Development Initiative
News release from the Small Business Administration on January 26, 2004.
SBA Administrator Announces New Economic Development Plan for Native American Small Business Owners
SBA and Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute Enter into Agreement to Provide Business and Development Tools to Tribal Communities
The American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Southern California
Provide education, mentoring and networking opportunities to American Indian businesses in
Southern California.
Code Talk
A federal inter-agency Native American website that provides information for Native American communities.
The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, specifically created to encourage the creation,
growth and expansion of minority-owned businesses in the United States.
Minority Programs at the Small Business Administration
The SBA strives to reach those sectors of the population currently underserved by its programs, including
ethnic populations, women, veterans, and both urban and rural businesses. They have identified resources
that offer opportunities and assistance.
Native American Sites
Facilitates communication among Native peoples and between Indians and non-Indians by
providing access to home pages of Native American Nations and organizations, and to
other sites that provide solid information about American Indians.
The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
Develops and expands an American Indian private sector which employs Indian labor, increases the
number of tribal and individual Indian businesses, and positively impacts and involves reservation
communities, by establishing business relationships between Indian enterprises and private industry.
National Indian Justice Center
The goals of NIJC are to design and deliver legal education, research, and technical assistance
programs which seek to improve the quality of life for Native communities and administration of
justice in Indian country.
ONABEN
A non-profit, public-benefit corporation created by Northwest Indian Tribes to increase the
success of private businesses owned by Native Americans in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, or Northern California.
ONABEN offers training and support focused on developing entrepreneurship in Indian communities.
Small Business Administration Office of Native American Affairs
The Office of Native American Affairs is dedicated to ensuring that American Indians,
Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians seeking to create, develop and expand small businesses
have full access to the necessary business development and expansion tools available through the
Agency's entrepreneurial development, lending and procurement programs. Additionally, ONAA
administers the Tribal Business Information Centers project designed to offer culturally-tailored
business development assistance to Native American entrepreneurs.
United Indian Development Association (UIDA) Consulting Group
A subsidiary of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. UIDA is solely
dedicated to developing American Indian economic self-sufficiency through business ownership.
UIDA works with various Indian communities in all phases of business planning and development.
Some of the federal and state government agencies also have special programs to encourage minority involvement in business. Check out the Federal Government and State Government pages to explore what might be available for your specific business.
