Ready to lead Oneida Tribal Chairwoman-elect Tina Danforth (photo by H. Marc Larson). News-Chronicle Incoming Oneida tribal chairwoman Tina Danforth talks about compacts and new development The person taking the leadership reins of the Oneida Nation on Aug. 5 said her combination of community involvement and national perspective will help her be an effective leader. "I've been involved in the community the last 27 years, and I've also had a good perspective of what goes on nationally and at the state level," said Cristina (Tina) Danforth, the current vice chair who was elected tribal chairwoman on Saturday. She will take over from Gerald Danforth, who did not pursue re-election after serving his three-year term. "People around here just know me as Tina," she said. "And having had the ability to travel the U.S. has helped me keep a broad perspective of what communities are about and what economies are about. It's helped me keep a perspective beyond this community." She also talked about her volunteer work with several national Indian groups, including helping the Native American Sports Council become part of the United States Olympic Committee. Tina Danforth acknowledged she's in for a busy time immediately, with two major issues already on the table for the tribe: The local tribe's role in land claims made by New York Oneidas against that state; and its gaming compact with the state of Wisconsin coming up for renewal in May 2003. She met with News-Chronicle managing editor Warren Bluhm and reporter Christopher Clough to discuss those items, other issues facing the tribe in the near future, and how she believes she can be a good leader. News-Chronicle: What has your role been so far in the New York and compact issues? Tina Danforth: The New York land claims settlement process, I am one of the lead negotiators, along with the chairman, the treasurer and our general manager. With the gaming compact, I am currently involved as a negotiator as a committee representative. The Oneida Tribe has reunited with the United Tribes effort, a statewide tribal initiative to pursue gaming compacts based on principles based on term of the compact, scope of games, age limits and expansion of games. There are seven or eight of the 11 tribes in the state involved in that, strategizing what we want to collectively pursue. Have you heard anything from the state on the compact? Last time it seemed not much happened until the last minute. Verbally we've been told they are willing to engage. They've appointed some people who will work with Oneida. Of course, due to the elections, we've pursued it to the point we can. With some new people coming on board the Business Committee, one of the things we have to do is bring them up to date on the issue and get their perspective on what is necessary to move forward. Have you been in touch with the candidates for governor? We have done some work around that. I have met briefly with Tom Barrett, Jim Doyle has been to our committee, and I feel we still have an ongoing relationship with Gov. McCallum. I did attend a candidates forum at Ho-Chunk, and there was a good representation. We have a good working relationship with Sen. Gary George, so that's encouraging. Kathleen Falk has been active in pursuing tribal interests as well. I think we have a fairly good relationship with all the candidates. Most people are at least somewhat familiar with the gaming compact and New York land claim issues, both of which have been in the news. Are there any other less-publicized issues that you think the tribe will face in the coming months? I don't know if they're issues, but there are some activities coming up. We did a kickoff of our Small Business Development project about a month ago, and I'm looking forward to see which entrepreneurs will receive some of the funding that's been earmarked. That's something to be real optimistic about. Another thing that's happening is Tower Foods having its grand opening Thursday. We did say we were looking at something that would promote the microeconomy of the community, and I believe those initiatives say that we've been doing some work in those areas. The hotel opening and casino renovation is bringing in more tourists. I think we're doing some exciting things in economic development, bringing more tourists in, which also benefits the greater Green Bay community as well. There's going to be internal issues. There's always going to be some needs to improve what we have, the need to provide more educational and health services as the population grows. That is something I'm interested in: We have a new health facility being built, and we're still not going to meet the need for health services. We're looking at that as a major concern, and I'm willing to put some effort into providing a health insurance plan for our membership, like a group health plan for our tribal members. What is the Small Business Development program you mentioned, and how is it working so far? It's premature to tell how that's program is going, but there are over 30 applicants. There's approximately $4 million in tribal funds set aside to provide loans for entrepreneurs. It's a revolving loan program to which tribal members can apply. They have to have an established business, a business plan or have participated in Urban Hope's program. (Administrators) will look at the business plan and the capabilities and feasibilities of the project. It is designed for people within our area, but it may expand outside. It is open to tribal members in the state. With the Tower Foods project about to open, what movement is being made with other larger-business projects within the tribe? I don't see anything immediately. I know some of the incoming Business Committee members have some ideas, and that's one of the things we need to sit down and talk about what's feasible, what can be accomplished in the next three to five years, and see if we can get some of their plans off the ground. We understand that we generate a lot of revenue for other businesses in the area, and we need to partake in some of those ventures for our own membership. There are five new people coming in to the committee. Does it look like they'll be able to work together? Oh yeah, I think so. I think the new people coming in all have something to bring to the table. I have listened to their platforms, they all bring something positive, and their contributions are welcomed. We definitely need to do some group goal-setting when they come in, find out what their interests are, so they can complement what already exists. Because some of them can be overly optimistic (smiles)- and that's good - but my job will be to help them keep realistic about what they can accomplish. There's been some contentiousness in the Oneida government in the past few years. Do you see yourself as being able to smooth some of that out? I guess I don't see any contention as far as the people coming in. There are one or two individuals I don't know really well. But I tend to be open-minded, I tend to look at the bigger picture rather than the narrow view of things. So when it comes to things that may be perceived as contentious, I believe there's a way to get around that. And it's through having an open mind, education, sharing information and good communication. It's going to be important to alleviate any contention that may exist by improving communication among ourselves. That's something I strongly believe I need to pursue as leader of this group. I want us to be able to work well together. I guess I'm known as a person who's willing not only to take a position on an issue, but to inform you why I'm taking that position. And I'm always open to alternatives. Sometimes through creativity or more shared information, you can make a better decision. We're going to have differences, we're not going to agree on everything. But it's OK to agree to disagree, to have a good debate, to come away from an issue and move forward. It'll be interesting, and it'll be fun. We have a good group of people coming on.