Gaming isn't the only game in town: a number of pueblos work to broaden their economic base

New Mexico Business Journal, July, 1998 by Kent Paterson

While gaming has been the cash cow of New Mexico's pueblos, efforts are underway to secure a more diversified economic base for the 21st century.

Among the more evident trends are new tourist facilities, farming and ranching businesses, arts and crafts enterprises, smoke shops, and retail outlets. The projects range in size from small to large scale.

Three years ago, a small Native American-owned business was literally poised to go to the big leagues. But when a logo design deal between Santa Ana Pueblo's Warrior Apparel Corporation and the National Football League fell through, hearts sank at the 646-member community north of Albuquerque. "We were all ready to go with it," remembered Warrior Apparel board member Walter Cristobal. "We had the T-shirts, the sweatshirts, the caps. Then the president of the NFL got fired and everything fell to pieces."

But today, Warrior Apparel is off and running. Specializing in the reproduction of Native American art, the four-year-old company ships denim jackets, caps, t-shirts, and sweatshirts to customers as far afield as Japan and Europe. The garments, made under contract in Albuquerque, feature the artwork of talented creators such as Jim Yellowhawk and Art Mechego. Eye-catching images of eagles, bison, motorcycles, and moons emblazon the apparel.

According to Warrior Apparel general manager Clare Wade, the denim jackets, which retail for about $100, are the most popular seller. "We're not cheap. We're not somebody on the corner from whom you can buy three t-shirts on the dollar," said Wade. "We're not the cheapest and not the most expensive; we're producing art that has to be exemplary."

Wade, who's been with the firm since January, 1997, assessed 1998 as "a pivotal period" for Warrior Apparel, a year when she hopes to realize $1 million in sales. If achieved, that number will represent a $300,000 leap over 1996's figure. Future ideas for expansion include moving into the bed and bath market. On its way to winning world recognition, Warrior Apparel is just one of several businesses owned by what Wade called the "entrepreneurial" Santa Ana tribe.

In addition to the well-known Star Casino, Santa Ana owns and operates the Prairie Star Restaurant, a 27-hole golf course, Santa Ana Agricultural Enterprises, and land that is leased to Sandoval County for a soccer field. Headquartered in the tribal government building, Santa Ana Agricultural Enterprises oversees a farm, blue corn mill, native plants nursery, and retail garden center.

Santa Ana is a buzz with activity, as workers lay pipes and build roads to accommodate new infrastructure needs resulting from a 15-year upturn in visitation and traffic. Tribal administrator Roy Montoya said pueblo leaders are reviewing their economic plan, an assessment made necessary by slimming gaming revenues resulting from the State of New Mexico's 16 percent cut of casino profits.

Economic growth also has been the story at the Pueblo of San Juan, near Espanola. Recently, the tribe broke ground for the Ohkay Clarion Casino-Resort, a 124,000-square foot complex set to open in 1999. Dubbed a "stay and play destination," the facility will incorporate a hotel, restaurants, golf course, convention center, and, of course, a new gaming palace. Non-gaming businesses are diversifying San Juan's economic portfolio. Founded in the early 1990s, the Tsay Corporation, which is owned by the tribe, presides over 11 businesses with 350 employees. They include a lakeside recreation area, RV park, cabinetry and woodworking shop, travel center, and construction company. Said Tsay Corporation marketing director Julianna Barbee, "What (San Juan) is doing is putting into other businesses. The goal is to promote, using the revenues and in turn creating jobs for people in the valley around here."

As one example of the job-creation, Barbee mentioned that the construction firm will employ about 200 people -both tribal and non-tribal - during the first phase of the Ohkay Clarion building.

Barbee, an Espanola Valley native, assessed San Juan's strategic geographic location between Santa Fe and Taos as making it a promising place for economic development. The tribe has won the draw for the permanent site of the 8 Northern Pueblos Arts and Crafts Show, an event that was previously switched between several pueblos. "They won't be bouncing around anymore. That's a real advantage for us," said Barbee.

Like Santa Ana, San Juan Pueblo is making measurable strides in becoming a specialty food producer for the Southwestern market. In 1992, several tribal members began the San Juan Agricultural Cooperative with financial help from the Netherlands-based Ecumenical Cooperative Development Society. Six years later, the coop manages 200 acres of cultivated land, with about 12 acres set aside for vegetable production and the remainder devoted to hay and alfalfa. Coop members discovered a niche for value-added, home-grown San Juan products. New Mexican cuisine aficionados will probably delight at the dried apples, green chile stew, smoked dried tomatoes, sweet corn chicos, and smoky corn and tomato soup.