“It’s been diversifying over the last, say, 15 to 20 years.”
Joe Boomgaard is Editor at Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. It hosted a Power Breakfast for regional business leaders.
“Originally, they were very focused on casino gaming when that became legalized in the 1990’s, and since then they’ve been looking at how can they go beyond gaming.”
Boomgaard says the economic impact of tribal non-gaming businesses has surged from $288 million in 2019 to over $1.2 billion in 2024.
Fueled by companies like Grand Rapids-based Waseyabek Development Company, owned by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, which manage investments in commercial real estate, defense, and manufacturing. Boomgard says that diversification leads to stability.
“When you think of private equity, they look at five-to-seven-year investment horizon? Tribes think in seven generations, so it’s one thing to be rocked by tariffs at this time, but they’re thinking long-term position.”
Michigan has 12 federally recognized tribes employing over 2,800 people statewide.
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