Hundreds attend launch of Navajo Chamber of Commerce
By Alastair Lee Bitsoi
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, July 2, 2011
(Times photo - Paul Natonabah)
Cal Nez, right, shake hands at the official launching of the Navajo Chamber of Commerce June 24 at the Division of Economic Development in St. Michaels, Ariz.
Navajo and Non-Navajo business leaders and owners from rural and urban centers and tribal, county and state government officials filled the Division of Economic Development's conference room to capacity to witness the launch ceremony and hear from business leaders.
"We seek to create a nation where a business owner can thrive and contribute to the positive economic destiny of our people," said co-founder Cal Nez, who spoke about the entrepreneurial spirit and benefits of having a chamber of commerce.
"We can do it. We have it in our spirit and our heart," he said. "We were self-sufficient, self-reliant before 1492. We have always had it within us. We need to resurrect that entrepreneurial spirit."
The mission of the chamber, which is an independent organization not affiliated with the Navajo government, is to promote economic development through Navajo businesses and work in harmony with governments and businesses locally, nationally and globally.
"We can drive our own economy," Nez added. "Business will allow the freedom from the bondage of government aided by dependency. We are recognized, the Navajo Nation, as a Third World country, sometimes even worse than that due to this dependency.
"The Navajo Chamber of Commerce seeks to change this. We will establish our own economic independence," he said.
Nez said chamber members will be business people who happen to be Navajo and want to provide their products and services to anyone, anywhere.
The chamber is for all Navajos in business, be they an artist, sheep grower, silversmith, cattle rancher, food vendor, or head powwow dancer, Nez said.
It will serve as a lobbying force for business owner interests in political settings and would monitor the number of tribal contracts awarded to Navajo businesses under two key laws, the Navajo Nation Business Opportunity Act and the Navajo Nation Preference Act.
President Ben Shelly and Vice President Rex Lee Jim proclaimed the day, June 24, 2011, Navajo Chamber of Commerce Day to commemorate the moment.
"Lifting our people out of poverty means providing jobs and economic development, a main priority of the Shelly-Jim Administration and the Navajo Chamber of Commerce can help us reach those goals," Jim said.
"It takes working together," added New Mexico State Sen. John Pinto, D-Tohatchi. "To accomplish something, we need to work together as brothers and sisters."
Debra Dup‚e, president of Advanced TechSolutions in Tempe, Ariz., said,
"Navajos have always been extremely innovative. This is a fantastic opportunity for small businesses. So many of the entrepreneurs I met today are working in very critical businesses."
Dup‚e singled out as examples Ron Lee, a legislative affairs and government relations specialist with Mesa, Ariz.-based Native Policy Group; emergency management planner Jimson Joe, who works with federal officials and Navajo officials to manage emergency situations; Patricia Nez Henderson, whose company Navajo Skin Care makes all-natural plant-based products; and world-renowned jeweler Jessie Monongya.
Suzy Baldwin, a consultant and contractor based in St. Michaels, Ariz., said she came to the event to support Navajo businesses and also because the chamber offers an opportunity for entrepreneurs to lobby as an organized force.
Like many entrepreneurs, she has experienced the tedious, lengthy process of operating under the tribe's business regulations. Baldwin specializes in working with organizations and corporations that seek to do business on the Navajo Nation, and is a constant advocate for more business-friendly laws.
"I really do hope the laws change because people sourly need jobs," Baldwin said. "We need to wean the people off welfare and grants."
"Why do we have to import? We can supply products from our own native businesses," Baldwin added.
Monongya, although successful in his own right, said, "From a business point of view, I wish I had this."
Laws are needed to protect entrepreneurs as a medicine bundle provides protection, he said, adding, "Today, for the young generation it will be better."
Levon Thomas, 24, a rising senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the chamber will help business owners communicate with local and central governments and "will hopefully encourage more business people to take more risks to help the Navajo people and Navajo economy."
Lena Fowler, Coconino County supervisor for District 5, presented a check to the chamber's steering committee for the county's membership fee.
"We have a brain drain on the Navajo Nation," Fowler said. "In order for the chamber to work, we need to build partnerships."
Mary West of the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise also presented a check to the chamber for a $5,000 Turquoise membership.
The Navajo Chamber of Commerce offers a sliding fee scale for membership. Students can join for $25. Individual membership is $75. Corporate memberships, including government agencies, starts at $365 and goes up to $5,000, depending on the amount of acknowledgement and advertising a company wants at chamber events.
The Web site is still under construction, so people seeking membership information are asked to write the Navajo Chamber of Commerce, 50 S. Main St., Suite 108 Building 2, Tuba City, AZ 86405.
Along with Nez, the founding members are Asa Begaye, Jennifer Gillson, Pete Nez Jr., and Jessica Stago.
"Between these sacred mountains, we are meant to flourish, self-sustain, dictate our lives," Nez told the crowd of business leaders, who responded with applause. "I just want us to win."