National Center’s Chris James Shares Insights on Business Education in Indian Country

Written by Sherry Salway Black, Johnson Scholarship Foundation board vice chair

Over the past 30 years, the Johnson Scholarship Foundation (JSF) has been supporting Native students pursuing business education through scholarships at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), Native-serving institutions and other universities. 

The focus on education comes from the founder, Ted Johnson, Sr. The “business” education focus was the result of site visits to Indian Country. In the early and mid 1990s Ted Johnson, Jr. and Malcolm Macleod, son and nephew of JSF founders, respectively, traveled and met with TCU and tribal leaders. They heard about—and saw firsthand—the need for more economic activity in Native communities. They knew it was a golden opportunity to help make change.

Given JSF’s mission and focus, I was excited to be talking with the head of the oldest, largest business-focused organization serving Indian Country—and someone with significant business knowledge and experience personally, to get his take on the importance of Native students pursuing business education and degrees. Here is what Chris James has to say.

Q: Given your longtime involvement in Native business, what do you think is the role of business education for Native people?

A: Tribes continue to grow their enterprises. They need to have people, preferably from their communities, to manage these entities. We need to have people trained in management, finance, accounting, marketing, and other disciplines. Having a pipeline of Native people educated in business is important to meet the needs of tribal businesses. 

Alaska Native corporations have done this well, supporting their members through scholarships, internships, and pathways to management. Ho Chunk Inc. has also done this well, building a pipeline of tribal citizens to move into their expanding tribal enterprises. I know there are other tribes doing this as well.

How can we create management jobs within our companies that are accessible to our own people? With the growth of tribal enterprises and the increasing sophistication of tribal government programs, sometimes in the billions, we need people from our communities with management experience. We need team members with the community and cultural knowledge and business education and sense to achieve success.

It’s important to engage youth early. Youth may not see many pathways growing up on the reservation. I didn’t really see many when I graduated high school. I had the option to go to college or to stay at home and work in the family business. Creating these pathways to college, entrepreneurship, and work is important. 

Citizen entrepreneurs are important because then you have a business owner—and every time you have a business owner, you have a potential community leader. These are the people who may become leaders of the tribe, council members, school board members—making important decisions for their communities.

Q: What advice would you give to Native students who want to study business?

A: My advice is to look for a mentor. This person could be from inside your community or from the outside. Look for someone to whom you can just say, “Hey, how did you do it?  What was your path? What classes did you take in college? What motivated you to go to college? What opportunities were there for you inside or outside of your community?” 

And do not be afraid to ask questions. It’s okay to send emails to folks and say, “I know you have a successful business. I’d love to have a conversation.”

Try to find someone who might have an opportunity. The National Center works with hundreds of businesses throughout Indian Country. There could be a mentor or internship opportunity there. And if you are told “no” the first time, don’t get discouraged. You may have to go to 20 people before someone says, “Yes, I can help you with this.” You have to be the one empowered. Everyone can give you resources but you have to find the strength within yourself and know how to use those resources to be successful.

Q: At the annual JSF Entrepreneurship Scholarship meeting when we bring together representatives of the schools we are actively working with or have endowments, the need for mentors and internships is always a high priority.  What advice would you give to Native business students who are looking for mentors and internship placements?

A: #1. You have to search, dig, and put yourself out there. Use all the technology you have available to search for opportunities. Use artificial intelligence, like chatGPT, to help you. And think through the type of internship you want. Use your community networks. There may be opportunities working for your tribe, perhaps in offices you hadn’t thought about before.

#2. Make sure you are prepared. Take some time to work on your resume—work with your school, parents, and even technology to get your resume up to par. It may take someone else to see or hear about your experience and [help you] present it accurately.

#3. Get out of your comfort zone. You need to be proactive and engaged if you want to get to the next level. Instead of waiting for someone to ask you to do something, be there with ideas. Never go to a meeting with an empty notebook. You bring your ideas to the table. That’s going to help you be prepared when you get the job or the internship.

The National Center has this great recognition program, “40 Under 40”, and you can go to the website to see all 600 amazing Native people over the past 15 years. This list could be one of those resources to look for a potential mentor.

Q: What are the types of businesses that a younger generation might be interested in starting?

A: There are so many exciting areas where we see potential growth. These go hand-in-hand with those mentioned in the part one of our interview—technology, exporting to international markets, federal contracting, and environmental businesses. Let me focus specifically on one sector: agriculture. We have land that is either leased to others or not used efficiently. How can we put it to more productive use? Farming itself has changed since I grew up. Now technology can analyze specific needs for specific products. Food sustainability and safety are big challenges now—and places to look for opportunities. 

And I want to be sure to mention the growing number of Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs)—close to 70 certified organizations across 27 states. These organizations make capital, training, and technical assistance available to Native people with existing and startup businesses. The National Center recently launched its own CDFI—Native Edge Finance to focus on clean energy projects. 

Native people—particularly students in business-related degree programs, have so many exciting opportunities available today. 

 

Author’s note: This interview took place before the December 18 announcement of philanthropist MacKenzie Scott awarding more than $100 million to Native CDFIs in the United States.