November is American Indian Heritage month

    November is designated as National American Indian Heritage Month. Throughout this month let us honor and recognize the original peoples of this land. American Indians have been an integral part of the American spirit and against the odds, America’s first peoples have endured, and remain a vital cultural, political, social and moral presence to this nation.
    The U. S. Small Business Administration is committed to ensuring that American Indians seeking to create, develop and expand small businesses have the access they need to business development and expansion tools…from training and technical assistance…to mentoring, counseling, lending programs and government contracting activities. SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs in Washington, D.C. engages in tribal consultations, economic development conferences and other outreach activities to ensure that the needs of Native American entrepreneurs are met.
    In 2007, SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs worked closely with the Small Business Training Network inside the agency to make on-line business training programs available through the network of Tribal colleges and universities located in Indian Country. These free, self-paced learning programs cover many things you need to know to determine if business ownership is right for you and how to start one. Online courses can be found at http://www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html.
    SBA’s entrepreneurial development resource partners are also available to counsel emerging or existing Native firms: SCORE, the Small Business Development Center Program and SBA’s Women’s Business Center Program offer one-on-one counseling, training and specialized services.
    SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program prepares minority-owned firms to enter the government contracting arena while the HUBZone and Small Disadvantaged Business Programs can help small firms access federal contracts.
    Anyone interested in availing themselves of these SBA program opportunities should contact the Maine District Office at 622-8274 for more information.