Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/407833
w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m N o v e m b e r 2 0 14 • I NSIGH T | 15 I WA S B O R N I N M I LWAU K E E , grew up in Chicago, and then I moved to Oneida when I was 13. I raised three adult children in Oneida, and I have seven grandchildren. I'm totally invested in my community, but I also understand there's a larger economy. As a tribal leader, I will always support the endeavors of other tribes. We have a longstanding relationship with the Menominee people, and our reservation is ceded territory from the Menominee people. ere's an economic opportunity for the Menominee to expand their business around gaming (with the proposed Kenosha casino), and I do support it from a political standpoint. I think it'll be beneficial to a tribe that has the highest poverty level in the state. I think there's opportunity for us to partner with the Menominee. We've had preliminary discussions around that, but nothing is framed out. We have things we can offer from a financial standpoint. We have our own bank and we have expertise around serving the gaming customers. We just did a $28 million expansion of our casino facility (completed in July). e casino expansion is self- funded. We just finished our 20th anniversary of the main casino, so it's been that long since we've Tina Danforth on thoughtful community growth U P F R O N T FACE TIME P H O T O G R A P H B Y B I L L K A P I N S K I / I M A G E S T U D I O S , F O R I N S I G H T Tina Danforth was elected to her second term as Chairwoman of the Oneida Tribe this summer, having previously served as chairwoman from 2002-2005 and also as treasurer. Danforth, a graduate of UW-Green Bay, also is chairwoman of the Native American Bancorporation and second vice president of the Native American Financial Officers Association. Danforth sat down with Insight Associate Editor Nikki Kallio to discuss economic development plans for the Oneida Reservation, the completion of the $28 million Oneida Casino renovation and her thoughts about the proposed Menominee Casino project in Kenosha. [continued ] »