Manistee Township, Michigan (AP)

Tribes in Michigan are looking for ways to extend their business activities beyond casinos.

Representatives of several tribes met during October at the Little River Casino Resort for a conference on seizing entrepreneurial opportunities.

“The casino is nice, but it’s just not sustainable long-term,” said Steve Parsons, council speaker with the Little River Band of Ottawa.

“People talk about minority-owned businesses, but how do you set them up? What do you do? We’re trying to jump-start that.”

Dennis Archer, former Detroit mayor and CEO of The Diversity Network, moderated the program.

“My observation of the tribal members is they’re outstanding in the business they do,” Archer told the Ludington Daily News. “They’re associated with casinos, but they are able to produce outstanding business and do business with anyone. They just haven’t taken that step.”

Tribal members could establish a consortium of companies providing related services and partner with one another, he said.

Many speakers at the conference emphasized the need for tribal members to become certified as minority-owned businesses so they could gain access to government assistance and contracts.

“There are thousands of jobs to be created and millions to be made by businesses that are minority-owned,” Archer said.

William Largent, national director of Native American Affairs for the U.S. Small Business Administration and a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian community, said tribal economies have moved through different phases. In the past, they were based on government assistance and natural resources, he said.

Now, gambling and entertainment are the focus.

“The consensus is that gaming’s good, but we better diversify,” Largent said. “It’s hard to find something that gives us the return on investment gaming does. We need to create economies in individual tribes. No two tribes are alike.”