Tribes across the country are exploring new opportunities in traditionally taboo businesses to diversify their economic development. This session was presented at Raving NEXT 2025, and experts addressed how organizations are enhancing their business development side and leveraging tribal advantages. Experts reviewed innovative approaches to expanding a tribe’s business enterprises, how to overcome political and legal challenges in different jurisdictions, and how to utilize external and internal resources to manage these new businesses.
This article summarizes key points and opinions by Lael Echo-Hawk, Principal, MThirtySix, Inc.; David Bean, Vice-Chairman, Indian Gaming Association; and moderator, Colleen Echohawk, President, Headwater People.
Ten key takeaways
1. Cannabis and alcohol as economic ventures
Tribal communities are diversifying their economies by exploring cannabis and alcohol businesses. Despite historical stigma, many tribes see these industries as valuable revenue sources.
“We’re entrepreneurs. Natives across the land are entrepreneurs. We just took advantage of the opportunity,” David Bean said.
2. Tribal leadership in the cannabis industry
Tribes are pioneering regulated cannabis markets, ensuring safety, testing, and compliance.
“I really believe that we need Native people. We need tribes leading in every single industry in our country, and we’re getting there slowly but surely,” Colleen Echohawk said.
3. Economic benefits for tribal communities
Cannabis businesses create jobs, tax revenue, and unrestricted funds that support tribal programs.
“This was their first job. It led to them having their first bank accounts, their first house,” Bean said.
Lael Echo-Hawk added, “Tax money is not tied to a grant. It’s unrestricted revenue, which tribes don’t have access to very often.”
4. Medical benefits and changing perceptions
Cannabis is increasingly seen as medicine for pain relief, epilepsy, and other conditions.
“Until a person is personally impacted, rarely will they feel compelled to act,” Bean said. “My wife got sick, and they were trying to pump her with opioids. She said, ‘Those things will kill me.’ So, we sought a natural path, and cannabis provided that path.”
On her mother’s change of heart about cannabis, Colleen Echohawk said, “She’s still anti-dope. But if my back hurts, she’ll say, ‘Colleen, get your back dope!’”
5. Regulatory and legal challenges
Tribes must navigate federal, state, and tribal laws, especially since cannabis remains illegal federally.
“Some tribes are stuck because the Bureau of Indian Affairs won’t approve a tribal cannabis ordinance, which you need to operate legally,” Lael Echo-Hawk said.
6. Innovative tribal business models
Beyond retail, tribes are investing in testing labs, processing facilities, and cannabis-infused products.
“We just bought a chocolate company,” Bean said on the topic of vertical integration. “Now we’re exploring ways to infuse cannabis into our fine-quality chocolates.”
“The first company to make over a billion dollars in cannabis wasn’t a dispensary—it was a lighting company,” Lael Echo-Hawk said. “Ancillary businesses are a huge opportunity.”
7. Tribal sovereignty and state collaboration
Tribes sign compacts with states to ensure their cannabis businesses operate smoothly.
“We created a separate corporation,” Bean said. “We want to be good business folks. We signed a compact, we collect a tax, and we use it for government purposes.”
8. Future growth opportunities
New ventures like cannabis lounges, infused drinks, and even psychedelics are on the horizon.
Lael Echo-Hawk sees a chance for real business growth: “What’s next? Psychedelics. There is real science showing how mushrooms and ketamine can treat PTSD and anxiety.”
Colleen Echohawk also sees the benefit of cannabis lounges: “Tribes are the best at hospitality. Imagine a high-end restaurant where you can enjoy infused drinks or gummies—why not?”
9. The importance of community education
Educating tribal communities is critical to overcoming stigma and ensuring responsible use.
“When we opened our first store, the first people in line were our tribal elders,” Bean said. “One said, ‘It helps me sleep.’ Another said, ‘It helps my shoulder pain.’”
Lael Echo-Hawk described an example of overcoming stigma: “We had to rewrite HR policies, foster care rules—because what happens when grandma, who is on medicinal cannabis, tests positive in a zero-tolerance policy?”
10. Intertribal cooperation and knowledge sharing
Tribes are learning from each other’s successes, similar to Indian gaming.
“Just like we did with gaming, we’re sharing knowledge,” Bean said. “Tribes visit Puyallup every month to see our model. We help each other grow.”
Lael Echo-Hawk said of cannabis business expansion, “Tribes will be trading cannabis and infused products across state borders and into Canada soon—it’s just a matter of time.”
