Tribes and tribal entrepreneurs are looking outside the U.S. borders in search of business opportunities.

The Navajo Nation recently signed a trade deal with Cuba. Karlene Hunter, a business owner on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, provides support services for Chinese companies. Joe Anderson, a Tuscarora businessman from New York, exports his tobacco brand to Canada, Japan and the Middle East.

The Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma hopes to cash in as well. With its eye on the exploding economy in China, tribe recently signed a deal to host an assembly plant for a Chinese company.

"I think China will be the leading power in the next 20 years," Brian Campbell, the chief executive of Chickasaw Enterprises, told The Los Angeles Times.

Campbell said the tribe is trying to get away from gaming, through 90 percent of revenues come from its casinos.

Get the Story:
Tribes place bets outside the casino (The Los Angeles Times 12/10)
pwday
Diversifying tribes take a global view (The Los Angeles Times 12/10)

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