Exec to advise BIA on tribal economic development

One of Indian Country’s most prominent business leaders has been tapped to help the Bureau of Indian Affairs strengthen tribal economies.

On Tuesday, Lance Morgan, chief executive of Ho-Chunk Inc. in Winnebago, Neb., will assume a nearly full-time advisory role to the head of the BIA to help reshape bureau policy and economic development.

By JODI RAVE
Missoulian

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/10/09/build/state/50-bia-exec.inc

"I’ve been aware of what he has done at Winnebago, on how he’s taken basically a zero-based economy and turned it into a $100 million economic powerhouse," said Dave Anderson, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.

Anderson wanted Morgan’s help – and his business expertise – to fulfill his vision of using education and economic development to better serve Native people.

As the leader of Ho-Chunk Inc., the business arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, the 36-year-old Morgan has helped transform the reservation town of Winnebago into a thriving community.

Ho-Chunk now has a multimillion-dollar portfolio that includes manufactured housing, fuel sales, construction and retail businesses. And a subsidiary is behind the creation of a 110-home village for the tribe.

For a man who dislikes bureaucracy, Morgan’s self-description as "a zealot and a believer" helps explain his part-time move to Washington: He is zealous about helping his tribe, and others, make money.

Officials from other tribes regularly travel to Ho-Chunk’s headquarters for advice, and Morgan regularly visits their economic development departments.

Morgan seemed natural for what Anderson hopes to accomplish. "Who do I reach out to in Indian Country who has a proven track record, that understands all the dynamics of working with tribal economic development? I think all of us know there’s only one person. That’s Lance Morgan," Anderson said.

As assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, Anderson fulfills the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities to 562 federally recognized tribal governments. He also oversees the BIA and its 10,500 employees in 12 regions. The bureau serves about 1.4 million Native people.

"We were pretty much reacting to everyday brush fires caused by a thriving and growing Indian community faced with the complexities of change. And because of that, I recognized that many of the ways that the bureau had been doing business in the past were not relevant to the needs of tribes who have become more sophisticated as sovereign governments," Anderson said.

Although Morgan’s contract with the bureau is brief – it ends in December – Anderson said extended work is possible.

Morganalso will continue to manage Ho-Chunk from afar and through weekly return trips.