National Center’s Chris James Shares Insights on the State of Native Business and What’s Ahead

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

There are few people in Indian Country who have the well-rounded experience and depth of knowledge about Native business and economic development than Chris James. He comes from a family of small business owners in western North Carolina, the homelands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. He grew up with firsthand experience. And he learned more about business in his youth through Junior Achievement USA, coming full circle as he now sits on the board of the national Junior Achievement organization. 

Before he left his Cherokee home, he served as staff for the Sequoyah Fund, Inc., a Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI)—serving his home community with business technical assistance and capital. Chris took that hands-on experience to Washington, D.C, where he worked as a liaison between the Treasury Department CDFI Fund, Tribal governments, and other federal agencies. He was appointed in 2011 by President Barack Obama to serve as Associate Administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration, where he led the Offices of Field Operation and Native American Affairs and launched the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. 

In 2017 Chris became the president and CEO of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (National Center), the oldest and largest Native organization providing business development and training. During his tenure, he doubled the National Center’s revenue, expanding procurement and training programs throughout the country while boosting attendance at the annual Reservation Economic Summit by nearly 30 percent in the last five years.

I was fortunate to visit recently with Chris and his amazing staff in their Mesa, Ariz. headquarters—and participate in a podcast episode (ep. 14). As a quid pro quo, Chris kindly agreed to an interview with me to honor Native American Heritage Month.

Q: Describe your view of the state of Native business and entrepreneurship today and the major changes over the past 20 to 30 years.

A: I see the state of Native business and entrepreneurship from a global perspective in two key areas: growth in diversification and growth in federal and corporate partnerships.

Gaming was a new sector for tribes 30 to 40 years ago. Going from bingo halls to casino gaming was a big transition in the late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s and had been the laser focus of tribal economic development. Now gaming is just one piece. Diversification of tribal businesses might include agriculture or building an IT company or government contracting. There are so many diverse business opportunities. These businesses can be tribally- or individually-owned.

Q: Could you explain what you mean by federal and corporate partnerships?

A: Twenty years ago, a federal agency or federal program may have had one Native coordinator, but they were few and far between. Even 15 years ago when I was in the federal government, I was sometimes the only Native voice in the room. Fast forward to today—the Biden Administration has really increased that number. This growth is a big deal. Now, instead of one voice in the room, you often have four to five voices. That’s all the way from the White House level and trickling down through the agencies. The National Center did a profile in 2020 of Native individuals in key positions in the federal government. We identified more than 10 in high-level key leadership and decision-making positions, starting with Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland.

Q: Is the same true for corporations?

A: Yes, it is. Twenty years ago, we rarely had an office or a person who was dedicated to Native American business and communities. Now Amazon, Walmart, and Alaska Airlines all have coordinators. Nike has a huge division—N7. It’s the Native voice not only diversifying the corporation but also advocating for more Native businesses in the supply chain, more support for youth programs, and support for more Native employees. We are well under one percent in those corporations, but there is an increased focus. Those employees are having an impact. 

And, corporations are starting to understand the diversity of Native business. Fifteen or 20 years ago, these corporations may have had a notion of a Native business as an artisan—which is a great business. Now they are seeing that a Native business actually has the capacity to do a half-a-billion-dollar contract. Corporations now want to partner more with Native businesses. 

Q: What do you see in the future for Native businesses?

A: I see the trends above continuing. Tribally-owned corporations will continue to grow and diversify. This helps the community with job creation; it helps the community foster a sense of entrepreneurial spirit, and it’s an income stream for the tribe to diversify their own portfolio. I don’t see that stopping. In fact, I think there are even more resources out there to help them grow. About two years ago the National Center launched an export office. We’re helping not only individuals, but tribes get into international markets. About 96 percent of companies do business only in the US. There are markets outside the U.S. Our tribally- and individually-owned businesses are seeing those opportunities and going after them.

There has been an emphasis in the Biden Administration with the CHIPS and Science Act, bringing more technology back to the United States, especially manufacturing semiconductors and microchips. Tribes need to be able to access these opportunities—from manufacturing all the way to an individual being part of a subcontract. It also brings in more job creation for our communities.

Another opportunity is to create more environmentally friendly businesses, looking for ways to create cheaper and more sustainable energy sources. We need to think about helping the earth heal itself. It could include solar, wind, or hydrogen energy technology. Tribes are looking at those environmental projects to not only support their communities by creating more energy for environmental sustainability, but also creating more jobs.

Q: What about the role of the individual entrepreneur or small business owner in the future?

A: There is also more focus on the citizen entrepreneur. There are opportunities with the growing number of Native CDFIs—especially the “legacy” NCDFIs that have been around for over 20 years.

When I started in the CDFI industry, we were like a start-up business. We struggled, constantly looking for funds, trying to get more clients and projects; trying to figure out our role in the community. Now over 20 to 30 years later, the established CDFIs, the legacy CDFIs—there are probably about 10 or so that I could name. They now have a track record, they know their communities, they are innovating, and they’ve built programs specifically around the needs of their communities and supporting that entrepreneur—the citizen entrepreneur—giving them the tools to build sustainable businesses, supporting them with capital and crucial training. The CDFIs have done well in our communities and will continue to do well. We need to look at the impact and what has been created over the years. The impact is multi-generational, and the institutions are stable. Now there are more than 65 NCDFIs in 27 states and more in the pipeline—supporting Native citizen entrepreneurs.

Stay tuned for more insights from Chris James this December in a second article, which will focus on Native business students and business education.