Winners of 2023 American Indian Business Awards Announced at Reservation Economic Summit 2023
The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (The National Center) honored the professionals, organizations, and businesses making significant contributions to Indian Country and its economy during an awards ceremony at the 2023 Reservation Economic Summit. A full list of winners of the 2023 American Indian Business Awards is below.
“It is our distinct honor to recognize the tribes, individuals, and businesses that are moving Indian Country and its economy forward,” said Chris James, President and CEO of The National Center. “The 2023 class of American Indian Business Award winners represent the best of the best, and we look forward to benefitting from their continued contributions in the years ahead.”
A full list of winners of the 2023 American Indian Business Awards is below:
Native Woman Business Owner of the Year Award: Jade Blankenship (co-founder Jensen Peone). This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership, management, quality performance, and commitment to excellence as a successful Native American woman business owner.
Jade Blankenship founded Indigenous Boutique & Spa with her sister Jensen Peone. Blankenship, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in central Washington state, earned a degree in accounting from Western Carolina University. Blankenship strives to “set an example for young indigenous women to follow their dreams, take risks, and build something amazing.”
Tim Wapato Public Advocate of the Year Award: John Echohawk. This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership in support of American Indian business and economic development.
John Echohawk currently serves as the Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and has been with NARF since its inception in 1970. In addition, Echohawk serves on the Boards of the American Indian Resources Institute, the Association on American Indian Affairs, the Indigenous Language Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, and The National Center. He has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal and was the first graduate of the University of New Mexico’s special program to train Indian lawyers.
American Indian Leadership Award: Morongo Band of Mission Indians. This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership in support of American Indian business and economic development endeavors in tribal communities.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, set at the foot of the San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Mountains. As one of the largest employers in Riverside County, Morongo provides over 3,500 jobs and nearly $3 billion in regional economic activity across a diverse portfolio of business enterprises in gaming, energy, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, tourism, dining, and recreation.
American Indian Business of the Year Award: The Akana Group. This award is in acknowledgment of the success of an American Indian or tribal nation-owned business and its demonstration of excellent corporate citizenship.
Chad Johnson is President of The Akana Group, which is a Native-owned small business enterprise focused on providing strategic and reliable operational support for tribal, government, and private sector partners and specializing in agriculture, forestry, construction, roads, and commercial cleaning equipment. Johnson focuses on building strategic partnerships with the federal government and private sector, bringing purpose to the Choctaw name “Akana,” which means ally.
Corporate Advocate of the Year Award: Amazon. This award recognizes the leadership team of a corporation for demonstrating a sincere commitment to growing business opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native-owned companies and bettering the economy of Indian Country for future generations to come.
Amazon and its Indigenous Program Management Office have shown commitment to supporting economic development in Native American communities and creating positive change in Indian country. The office has invested in Native communities by partnering with nonprofits benefiting Native American youth, sponsoring a Native American Film Festival, and supporting Native American founders, to name a few examples. Amazon also supports an employee-led affinity group called Indigenous at Amazon, which fosters a community of Indigenous employees and allies through networking and shared experiences.
Tribal Gaming Visionary Award: EBCI Holdings, LLC. This award is in recognition of leadership demonstrated in the tribal gaming sector and efforts to advance opportunity for American Indian-owned businesses.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ gaming entity, EBCI Holdings, LLC, was established in late 2020 to diversify the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ economy, by pursuing opportunities in the commercial gaming and hospitality industry. EBCI Holdings, LLC has grown substantially since, with the purchase of its first casino in 2021 – Caesars Southern Indiana. The same year EBCI Holdings announced the creation of a “gaming technology incubator” fund, where they would invest in gambling startups. In 2022, two major projects were announced: EBCI Holding’s joint venture with Caesars Entertainment in the development of Caesars Virginia and the approval of EBCI Holdings to take a 48% stake in a horse racetrack. Both are set to open in 2024.
Congressional Achievement Award: Rep. Ruben Gallego. This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership by a member of the United States Congress and in appreciation of that member’s support of American Indian business and economic development endeavors of tribal communities, Alaska Native villages, and American Indian and Alaska Native entrepreneurs.
Congressman Ruben Gallego represents the 3rd District of Arizona, including parts of Phoenix, Glendale, and Tolleson, in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States (SCIP), which he formerly chaired. Through these committees, he has advocated for tribal sovereignty and federal trust responsibility to Native Americans and Alaska Natives. In 2019, he held a hearing on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the first on this topic in the House. He has also advocated to protect sacred spaces and affirm tribal nations’ right to sovereign homelands, and invest in broadband on tribal land.
The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (The National Center) honored the professionals, organizations, and businesses making significant contributions to Indian Country and its economy during an awards ceremony at the 2023 Reservation Economic Summit. A full list of winners of the 2023 American Indian Business Awards is below.
“It is our distinct honor to recognize the tribes, individuals, and businesses that are moving Indian Country and its economy forward,” said Chris James, President and CEO of The National Center. “The 2023 class of American Indian Business Award winners represent the best of the best, and we look forward to benefitting from their continued contributions in the years ahead.”
A full list of winners of the 2023 American Indian Business Awards is below:
Native Woman Business Owner of the Year Award: Jade Blankenship (co-founder Jensen Peone). This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership, management, quality performance, and commitment to excellence as a successful Native American woman business owner.
Jade Blankenship founded Indigenous Boutique & Spa with her sister Jensen Peone. Blankenship, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in central Washington state, earned a degree in accounting from Western Carolina University. Blankenship strives to “set an example for young indigenous women to follow their dreams, take risks, and build something amazing.”
Tim Wapato Public Advocate of the Year Award: John Echohawk. This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership in support of American Indian business and economic development.
John Echohawk currently serves as the Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and has been with NARF since its inception in 1970. In addition, Echohawk serves on the Boards of the American Indian Resources Institute, the Association on American Indian Affairs, the Indigenous Language Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, and The National Center. He has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal and was the first graduate of the University of New Mexico’s special program to train Indian lawyers.
American Indian Leadership Award: Morongo Band of Mission Indians. This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership in support of American Indian business and economic development endeavors in tribal communities.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, set at the foot of the San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Mountains. As one of the largest employers in Riverside County, Morongo provides over 3,500 jobs and nearly $3 billion in regional economic activity across a diverse portfolio of business enterprises in gaming, energy, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, tourism, dining, and recreation.
American Indian Business of the Year Award: The Akana Group. This award is in acknowledgment of the success of an American Indian or tribal nation-owned business and its demonstration of excellent corporate citizenship.
Chad Johnson is President of The Akana Group, which is a Native-owned small business enterprise focused on providing strategic and reliable operational support for tribal, government, and private sector partners and specializing in agriculture, forestry, construction, roads, and commercial cleaning equipment. Johnson focuses on building strategic partnerships with the federal government and private sector, bringing purpose to the Choctaw name “Akana,” which means ally.
Corporate Advocate of the Year Award: Amazon. This award recognizes the leadership team of a corporation for demonstrating a sincere commitment to growing business opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native-owned companies and bettering the economy of Indian Country for future generations to come.
Amazon and its Indigenous Program Management Office have shown commitment to supporting economic development in Native American communities and creating positive change in Indian country. The office has invested in Native communities by partnering with nonprofits benefiting Native American youth, sponsoring a Native American Film Festival, and supporting Native American founders, to name a few examples. Amazon also supports an employee-led affinity group called Indigenous at Amazon, which fosters a community of Indigenous employees and allies through networking and shared experiences.
Tribal Gaming Visionary Award: EBCI Holdings, LLC. This award is in recognition of leadership demonstrated in the tribal gaming sector and efforts to advance opportunity for American Indian-owned businesses.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ gaming entity, EBCI Holdings, LLC, was established in late 2020 to diversify the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ economy, by pursuing opportunities in the commercial gaming and hospitality industry. EBCI Holdings, LLC has grown substantially since, with the purchase of its first casino in 2021 – Caesars Southern Indiana. The same year EBCI Holdings announced the creation of a “gaming technology incubator” fund, where they would invest in gambling startups. In 2022, two major projects were announced: EBCI Holding’s joint venture with Caesars Entertainment in the development of Caesars Virginia and the approval of EBCI Holdings to take a 48% stake in a horse racetrack. Both are set to open in 2024.
Congressional Achievement Award: Rep. Ruben Gallego. This award is in recognition of outstanding leadership by a member of the United States Congress and in appreciation of that member’s support of American Indian business and economic development endeavors of tribal communities, Alaska Native villages, and American Indian and Alaska Native entrepreneurs.
Congressman Ruben Gallego represents the 3rd District of Arizona, including parts of Phoenix, Glendale, and Tolleson, in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States (SCIP), which he formerly chaired. Through these committees, he has advocated for tribal sovereignty and federal trust responsibility to Native Americans and Alaska Natives. In 2019, he held a hearing on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the first on this topic in the House. He has also advocated to protect sacred spaces and affirm tribal nations’ right to sovereign homelands, and invest in broadband on tribal land.
