American Indigenous Business Leaders prep for national conference

MSU’s chapter of the American Indigenous Business Leaders (AIBL) organization had its weekly meeting this past Tuesday night in the Elders’ Collaboration Room in the American Indian Hall to discuss their business proposal for the organization’s annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

AIBL advisor Virginia Bratton said that one of the key aspects of the organization is to “learn about and celebrate Indigenous cultures.” According to AIBL’s website, its programs are “designed to engage students in activities that stimulate, enhance and expand educational experiences beyond traditional academic methods.”

The national AIBL conference will take place March 11 and 12 of 2024 at the Caesar’s Palace Hotel located in downtown Las Vegas, where campus chapters from across the country can participate in a number of competitions. 

The Business Plan Competition, which the MSU chapter will compete in, is separated into three divisions: high school, tribal college and university. 

According to the official AIBL website, there are three place winners, with first place receiving $1,000, second place receiving $500 and third place receiving $250. For the past two years, MSU’s chapter has received the second-place award, according to club advisor Virginia Bratton.

This idea of expanding “beyond traditional academic methods” as stated by AIBL is evident with the MSU chapter’s proposed business plan for this year: a publishing company called the Valley of Flowers Publishing Group, which would produce and publish children’s books about Indigenous cultural experiences and traditions.

Tuesday’s meeting focused on beginning a business proposal document that lays out the mission statement and business concept and other things including a business description, industry analysis and marketing strategies. Business proposals are judged on a one to five scale for various points under these main objectives, according to a scoresheet available on the AIBL website. 

One of the traditions discussed at Tuesday’s meeting was a game taught to children in order to teach them hunting skills. Shanell Sinclair, a member of the Blackfeet tribe and an MSU student, demonstrated two versions of this game to the meeting’s attendants. According to Sinclair, the Blackfeet way of playing the game is to throw a hoop and try to knock it down with a willow branch in order for children to learn a helpful skill for hunting. 

The Valley of the Flowers Publishing Group would aim to teach children, parents and educators about cultural practices such as these stick and hoop games as a way of spreading awareness and understanding of tribal traditions. 

Towards the end of the meeting as the club was discussing how to best present their proposal at the conference, Bratton said, “I think there’s something to be said about really [emphasizing] why is this important [and] why does this matter? We really focus on that and the appeal and how it perpetuates Indigenous culture, learning and preservation, and I think that will really have an appeal at Nationals.”

AIBL will meet two more times before winter break to expand their objectives and overview of their proposal according to Bratton. 

After the meeting, Bratton expanded on the questions she previously posed during the agenda. “I think that when you think about thriving Indigenous communities, business and economic development are at the heart of that, and so it goes hand-in-hand.”