Women in tribal government are lifting their nations to greater power and influence , with strength forged by challenge . Here are a few of their stories
Founding
Mothers
Women in tribal government are lifting their nations to greater power and influence , with strength forged by challenge . Here are a few of their stories
By Marjorie Preston
In 2006 , when Stephanie Bryan became the first female vice chair of the Poarch Creek Tribal Council , she had to fight to make her views known . “ In meetings , my suggestions sometimes fell on deaf ears ,” she says . “ Then , an hour later , when a man said the same thing , it was , ‘ Great idea .’”
As the only woman on a nine-member council , Bryan took the selective hearing in stride . “ I let them know I knew ,” she says . “ But a good leader doesn ’ t need credit as long as the job gets done .”
Though the Alabama tribe is matrilineal , with ancestral kinship traced through the female line , some male leaders openly said a woman wasn ’ t fit for the highest leadership positions . Bryan set out to change their minds . “ Eventually , they saw my drive and intellectual ability , and finally said , ‘ She can do great things for our tribe .’” In 2014 , she became the first woman CEO and chair of the Poarch Creek Band .
Among her first and most important goals was a “ 10-year vision ” to diversify the tribe ’ s portfolio beyond gaming . Today , the Poarch Creek Band is an economic powerhouse with 42 separate enterprises : hotels , manufacturing , government services and aviation . It operates convenience stores as well as casinos ; its media arm just won a NASA contract worth up to $ 217.6 million .
But the gaming side is still in full growth mode . Wind Creek Hospitality , which started with a single bingo hall in 1985 , now operates nine casinos and casino resorts in the U . S . and the Caribbean . A 10th will open this summer in Chicago . Last year , the tribe spent $ 96 million to purchase Miami ’ s Magic City Casino , with plans to redevelop the site .
A Village of Support
By any standard , Bryan grew up poor . But the “ little Indian girl from Poarch ” was rich in role models : tribal women who met hardship with tenacity . When Bryan was a young single parent , juggling three jobs , attending college and raising two children , help was always close by .
“ My mom , my aunts , my sisters and a lot of women in the community and church played a pivotal role in shaping me into the person I am ,” Bryan says . “ They taught me to believe in myself , and whatever I did , to give it 100 percent . If not for them helping me , it would have been so easy to say , ‘ I give up .’”
Fortunately for her tribe , she did not . Since her early days as vice chair , tribal revenues have grown more than 1,200 percent .
“ God blessed me to be very strategic and analytical ,” Bryan says . “ And
we have done exceptionally well .”
According to a 2019 report by LeanIn . org , women hold just 21 percent of C-suite positions , but often outperform men once they reach the top . The study credited the so-called “ soft skills ” that are sometimes undervalued in the corporate realm : empathy , communication , emotional intelligence and a willingness to listen .
Most women still take care of home and family as well as business , and may naturally be more mindful of the impact of one on the other . Early in Bryan ’ s career , for example , she wrote block grants for child care and education , worked to secure health insurance for all tribal members and employees , and helped develop a new health clinic and assisted living facility on the reservation .
“ For me ,” she says , “ the passion and motivation came from wanting to help improve the quality of life for people , male and female .”
‘ Those Ladies Were Pretty Tough ’
“ Women are nurturers and multitaskers — it ’ s in our DNA ,” says Melanie Benjamin , chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota . “ We think more about making sure everybody is included in decisions .”
Benjamin , too , has witnessed the perseverance of tribal women facing systemic oppression . When she was young , her family moved from the reservation to the projects of St . Louis as part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs ’ voluntary relocation program .
The plan was launched in the 1950s to assimilate Native Americans
“ The passion and motivation came from wanting to help improve the quality of life for people .”
— Stephanie Bryan , CEO and Chairwoman , Poarch Creek Tribal Council
18 TRIBAL GOVERNMENT GAMING 2024