So we got back from my very first conference on Tuesday. A few of my colleagues, Casey, Joe and I attended the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Mid-Year Conference. This year’s conference was held in Rapid City, SD at the convention center. Since we are close enough to drive, we left on Sunday for the five-hour drive at 6 p.m., and we arrived at our destination about 11:30 p.m. because Joe kept directing us to go in the opposite direction that we needed to go.

It is drilled into the minds of all business school students (like me) that it is vital to the survival of your business to know your customer. After all, how do you create a product that satisfies your customers’ needs if you don’t know what those needs are? You could say the effective marketer’s motto should be: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

 Over the last several years there has been an increased interest on health and wellness throughout our culture. I have recognized this emphasis at conferences over the last two years as well. At both the National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention last year and the National Indian Child Welfare Association Conference this spring there were native organizations promoting health and wellness. The interest and focus on health and wellness has gained prominence in our communities, tribes and workplaces.

While doing research to keep up to date on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), I’m reminded of just how complicated an ICWA case can be. Starting in 1978 the Federal Government passed the ICWA to empower tribes with jurisdiction over Native American children both on the reservations and off when it comes to foster care and adoption because native children were being taken from their communities and placed with non-native families at an alarmingly high rate.

Mohegan Tribe has already developed a Tribal Information Management System (TIMS) on RiteTrack. This system holds all of their membership information and their own process for Enrollment. Also included in the system are all communication methods with their members. Mohegan is using using their TIMS system as a jumping off point for complete Tribal management through their RiteTrack system. Their next phase is Education management for their Tribe.