Post by Moon Seeker on Sept 11, 2007 11:17:02 GMT -5
Farmington's John backs Udall's effort to boost American Indian businesses
By Alysa Landry The Daily Times
Article Launched: 09/11/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
FARMINGTON — It takes David John less than a month to start a business in Farmington.
If the former partner at The Head Shop and owner of Hogan Industries selects Navajo Nation land to start a business, he may wait as long as three years.
"Starting a business on Indian land is like starting a business enterprise on federal property such as Bureau of Land Management land," he said. "The procedure consists of 60 or more steps, and people are getting frustrated and quitting."
John, a Shonto, Ariz., native who has owned businesses in Farmington for more than 35 years, is pushing for a bill that would aid entrepreneurs on reservation land. He recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he testified on behalf of Congressman Tom Udall's small business development center act.
Udall, D-N.M., first introduced his bill in 2001, and it passed through the House twice before dying in the Senate. The bill, which Udall introduced again in May, calls for improved business development assistance to American Indians, including natives of Alaska and Hawaii.
If the legislation is signed into law, states would be eligible to apply for small business development grants of $300,000 per fiscal year. States receiving grants would be required to seek the advice of local tribal councils on how to provide assistance to American Indian entrepreneurs and where to locate small business development centers.
There is a chronic unemployment problem on the reservation," Udall said. "The first thing in dealing with unemployment is to look at how to create jobs."
With small businesses making up nearly 90 percent of jobs off the reservations, the same should be true on tribal land, Udall said. His bill takes the outreach and assistance models from small business development centers and adapts them to fit the needs on the reservations.
"Small business development centers would be culturally sensitive," Udall said. "They would develop expertise in terms of how (reservation) politics are organized. They can get them through the obstacles, challenges and hoops that exist."
According to John, one of the biggest obstacles American Indian entrepreneurs face is lack of infrastructure on the land. Before starting a business, people need access to water and electricity, he said, and that money comes out of the business owner's pocket.
"You have to provide everything," he said. "By the time you start your business, you're already in debt."
Assistance from small business development centers located on tribal land would go a long way in pulling vendors off the streets, John said. With Navajo Nation residents operating legitimate businesses, the economy would improve and money would stay on the reservation.
"There are a lot of business people on the reservation with talent," he said. "We need to at least give them a chance to explore opening a small business instead of just saying they can't do it because it's on reservation land."
John testified in front of the House Committee on Small Business in May, and the bill passed through the House in June, said Marissa Padilla, Udall's press secretary. The bill is waiting to be picked up by the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, chaired by Senator John Kerry (D—Mass).
"It's not a controversial piece of legislation," Padilla said. "It's common sense. Small business development offices are nothing new. Because of the low employment rate on the Navajo Nation and among tribes, it's imperative we have at least some help out there."
www.daily-times.com/news/ci_6857361
By Alysa Landry The Daily Times
Article Launched: 09/11/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
FARMINGTON — It takes David John less than a month to start a business in Farmington.
If the former partner at The Head Shop and owner of Hogan Industries selects Navajo Nation land to start a business, he may wait as long as three years.
"Starting a business on Indian land is like starting a business enterprise on federal property such as Bureau of Land Management land," he said. "The procedure consists of 60 or more steps, and people are getting frustrated and quitting."
John, a Shonto, Ariz., native who has owned businesses in Farmington for more than 35 years, is pushing for a bill that would aid entrepreneurs on reservation land. He recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he testified on behalf of Congressman Tom Udall's small business development center act.
Udall, D-N.M., first introduced his bill in 2001, and it passed through the House twice before dying in the Senate. The bill, which Udall introduced again in May, calls for improved business development assistance to American Indians, including natives of Alaska and Hawaii.
If the legislation is signed into law, states would be eligible to apply for small business development grants of $300,000 per fiscal year. States receiving grants would be required to seek the advice of local tribal councils on how to provide assistance to American Indian entrepreneurs and where to locate small business development centers.
There is a chronic unemployment problem on the reservation," Udall said. "The first thing in dealing with unemployment is to look at how to create jobs."
With small businesses making up nearly 90 percent of jobs off the reservations, the same should be true on tribal land, Udall said. His bill takes the outreach and assistance models from small business development centers and adapts them to fit the needs on the reservations.
"Small business development centers would be culturally sensitive," Udall said. "They would develop expertise in terms of how (reservation) politics are organized. They can get them through the obstacles, challenges and hoops that exist."
According to John, one of the biggest obstacles American Indian entrepreneurs face is lack of infrastructure on the land. Before starting a business, people need access to water and electricity, he said, and that money comes out of the business owner's pocket.
"You have to provide everything," he said. "By the time you start your business, you're already in debt."
Assistance from small business development centers located on tribal land would go a long way in pulling vendors off the streets, John said. With Navajo Nation residents operating legitimate businesses, the economy would improve and money would stay on the reservation.
"There are a lot of business people on the reservation with talent," he said. "We need to at least give them a chance to explore opening a small business instead of just saying they can't do it because it's on reservation land."
John testified in front of the House Committee on Small Business in May, and the bill passed through the House in June, said Marissa Padilla, Udall's press secretary. The bill is waiting to be picked up by the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, chaired by Senator John Kerry (D—Mass).
"It's not a controversial piece of legislation," Padilla said. "It's common sense. Small business development offices are nothing new. Because of the low employment rate on the Navajo Nation and among tribes, it's imperative we have at least some help out there."
www.daily-times.com/news/ci_6857361