Category: News

Civic and business leaders expound on enhancing the quality of life and creating more economic

opportunities in Rural Louisiana

Click here for photos from the 2023 summit

Marksville, LA – (September 15, 2023) – Monday, September 11 and Tuesday, September 12, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana partnered with the Southern University Law Center (SULC) and the Southern University College of Business University Center for Economic Development in co-hosting the second annual Louisiana Rural and Economic (LaRuE) Development Summit, sponsored by T-Mobile, in Marksville, Louisiana, at Paragon Casino Resort.

Several Louisiana leaders including business executives, industry experts, and state and local elected officials teamed up to educate attendees on better ways to develop and expand the business capabilities of the state’s rural communities. With its extensive agenda featuring panelists and keynote speakers, LaRuE successfully stood by its mission to enhance the quality of rural life by connecting those leaders with business owners, professionals, investors and faculty and students from all Louisiana universities.

Originally debuted in 2019, and subsequently placed on a pandemic-induced hold, LaRuE’s return comes at a critical time for small business owners who are trying to build or rebuild their enterprises in this ever-evolving landscape. To help those individuals, LaRuE’s rundown provided a wide range of topics for discussion including 5G and broadband expansion, technological advancements, agriculture, affordable housing, workforce development and job training programs, accessible healthcare and mental health services, navigating state or federal funding and creating relationships with Native American Tribal Governments.

“For too long, our friends and neighbors living in rural communities have been separated from essential needs and opportunities,” said Marshall Pierite, Chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe. “Through careful coordination with LaRuE, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe devotes itself to providing more opportunities, more experiences, more training and a better shot for a fulfilling life to families both in our area and all across Louisiana.”

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana has long supported and encouraged economic development and growth among Native Americans, including its citizens who reside in rural Louisiana. Already in 2023, the Tribe has secured more than $70 million in grants to assist in stabilizing and propelling its citizens through workforce development training, increased access to the internet and various small business support systems.

Before the two-day summit kicked off, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe held a free community health fair at Paragon Casino Resort. The public was treated to healthy food options from a lineup of vendors along with being educated on ways to be active and health-conscious every day. To celebrate the health fair, the world-renowned Southern University Human Jukebox Band gave a special performance.

In closing, Chairman Pierite said, “Although the 2023 LaRuE Development Summit is over, providing resources for Native Americans and rural neighbors is never over. We are looking forward to seeing how LaRuE helped boost our communities for the remainder of 2023 and use that information to improve for the 2024 event.”

For more information on Southern University Law Center, visit www.sulc.edu.  

For more information on the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, visit https://www.tunicabiloxi.org/.

$128 Million in Total Awarded to Tribal Communities for the Construction of New Affordable Housing.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana was awarded a $6.4 Million grant to build nineteen new, affordable housing units in Marksville, Louisiana, to provide safe, reliable and secure housing opportunities while combatting inequities in the community. U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge announced the distributions last week as part of a $128 Million grant to tribes across the country through the Indian Housing Block Grant project, which funds affordable housing activities including new housing construction, rehabilitation and housing services and more.

“I would like to thank the Secretary of HUD, Marcia Fudge, all of her staff, the Tunica-Biloxi Housing Department, the Tunica-Biloxi grant writing team, and our tribal citizens and their families for all of their patience and support while we address our housing needs and challenges. These funds will allow us to provide an affordable and stable housing environment for nineteen families,” said Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Marshall Pierite.

Chairman Pierite serves on the first-ever Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (TIAC), created by HUD in 2022. The TIAC is comprised of dozens of tribal leaders who are committed to strengthening the nation-to-nation relationship between HUD and Tribal communities, coordinating policy across all HUD programs, and advising HUD regarding the housing priorities of the American Indian and Alaska Native peoples.

Regarding the creation of adequate housing opportunities, Pierite stated, “Having a roof over your head and walls around you protects us from the elements of nature and creates the solid foundation under your feet that keeps a family together. The stability of a home creates a solid foundation and together as a Nation – through strategic partnerships like these – we create that foundation for all and accomplish great things together.”

The grant will allow the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana to build housing for nineteen families to address the housing shortage and instability that is the result of poor economic conditions and natural disasters. The newly constructed units will consist of multiple floor plans for three-bedroom homes and will have mixed uses including elderly housing, emergency housing, and housing for dislocated tribal citizens and low-income tribal citizens while being ADA accessible.

Project and Construction Director Ron Bordelon will lead the development and construction, utilizing his years of experience including the construction of one new emergency temporary housing unit for tribal members at risk of homelessness due to economic conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and/or natural disasters.

The $128 million tranche of funding will be distributed to twenty-two communities through a competitive grant program. View the list of awardees here.

_{Photo Credit: STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE The Advocate}

Originally published on NOLA.com

If you pass the casino in Marksville going north on La. 1, turn right by the Dollar General and then drive through a working-class neighborhood toward the oxbow lake known as Old River, you’ll come to an old metal single-bar gate.

Behind that nondescript gate, far off any beaten path, is one of Louisiana’s major historic treasures: a Native American mound complex that dates back two millennia and once may have served as an important ceremonial site.

Since the middle of the last decade, however, the site has been closed to the public, the victim of low visitor numbers, crumbling facilities and dwindling state funding. Its lone building has fallen into disrepair, with shattered display cases, weeds growing in the courtyard and debris strewn about.

Marshall Pierite wants to change that.

Pierite is the chairman of the 1,500-member Tunica-Biloxi Tribe, which is headquartered just a couple miles away and owns the nearby Paragon Casino Resort and reservation.

In 2022, the Tribe acquired the rights to run the mound complex in an agreement with the city of Marksville, which had obtained the land from the state.

For Pierite, it was an important day for the site’s future because of its past. Today’s Tunica-Biloxi is a successor tribe to four earlier tribes — the Tunica, Biloxi, Ofo and Avoyel — that allied with each other in the 18th century and combined in the 19th before eventually gaining federal recognition in 1981. The tribe has a long history in northern Mississippi and central Louisiana. 

“We made a promise to ourselves that if we do reacquire the property that we are going to maintain it and build it up,” Pierite said during a recent tour. “I hear the voices of the blood coming out of the ground.”

A long history

The Marksville mounds are less well known than Louisiana sites like Poverty Point, a sprawling complex in northeast Louisiana that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; or those on the bustling campus of LSU, which some have argued may be the oldest man-made structures in the Americas.

Marksville’s 42-acre site includes one semicircular embankment and six mounds along what is known as Old River which during the time they were built around 2,000 years ago would have been the path of the Mississippi River. One of the mounds, known as Mound 4, contained human remains that were mostly excavated a century ago. 

The mounds are commonly dated to what is known as the Hopewell culture, which began around 50 B.C. and lasted about 450 years.

Hopewell sites are distinguished by the construction of elaborate earthworks — often circular, like what is present in Marksville — and by certain pottery designs and burial styles, according to Louisiana State Archaeologist Chip McGimsey, an expert on archaic Native American sites.

The origins of the Hopewell lie far to the north of Marksville, however, probably in the Ohio River Valley, McGimsey said. Some Marksville pottery decorations are virtually indistinguishable from others found as far north as Illinois, he said.

“This is why Marksville is important,” McGimsey said. “It really shows for the first time how connected North America was in the past. It wasn’t little communities isolated from each other.”

The Hopewell people were exchanging raw materials across great distances, traveling along the riverways, he said. They also shared ideas about the cosmos and humans’ role in it.

From one of the six mounds, known as Mound 5, sightlines to other mounds marked the rise and set of the sun, moon and other stars, research has shown.

“In Native American history, this is the first time you see a cultural expression that spans such a large area,” McGimsey said. At least one of the mounds contained human remains.

About 400 or so years after it was constructed, the site was abandoned for reasons that remain unclear.

“Whatever it was that made Hopewell popular, it faded from history and you start to see local traditions spring up again,” McGimsey said.

A personal mission

More than 1,600 years after the site was abandoned, Pierite now sees great potential for its future.

“The plans for the building are to restore it as well as transition some of the educational cultural programs over there,” Pierite said. He also envisions returning the site to its observatory roots by building a “state-of-the-art planetarium.”

It won’t be cheap — Pierite said the costs could run to $5 million, which he hopes to cover through tribal funding and grants.

Pierite’s effort is a nod to his own past.

“My first summer job was actually working here, cutting grass and keeping up the building,” he recalled. Then, in the mid-1970s, the tribe hadn’t yet obtained federal recognition, which didn’t come until 1981. But the site was “well-maintained” Pierite said. 

The Spanish-style white-brick museum building used to house exhibits about Native American culture, art and religion. Today, however, it is in a poor state. Shattered glass from the displays is on the floor. Some cases are tipped over. The courtyard is overgrown with weeds; creepers reach up the outside walls.

“It was very sad to watch over the years to see the place decline,” Pierite said. “We knew from Day One it was part of our ancestral homelands.”

The new attractions, Pierite hopes, will generate new interest in the site engage nontribal community members with the tribe and its history and educate all Louisianians about Native American and Tunica-Biloxi history in Louisiana.

“Everything we do from back into the present day is as inclusive of the nonnative community,” He said. “It’s our goal and spiritual obligation to teach our children to be great community partners.”

Originally Published on Tribal Business News

The Tunica Biloxi Indian Tribe will restore and rehabilitate an old manufacturing building by way of a $1.6 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant. It’s the most recent thread in a larger plan to build economic sovereignty for the Louisiana tribe, according to its chairman. 

The Louisiana tribe purchased the Marksville, La.-based property, known as the Garan Building, more than two years ago, but this new infusion of funding should help kickstart new operations in the facility, according to Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Marshall Pierite. 

The EDA grant will be matched with $250,000 from local funding and is expected to generate $1.4 million in private investment once it’s up and running, according to the grant announcement. The tribe plans to run half the building as a manufacturing operation and the other half as a cut-and-sew cloth goods business, Pierite told Tribal Business News. 

The enterprise will open under the guidance of Tunica-Biloxi Industries, Pierite said. The facility, once operational, should bring up to 110 jobs to the area while creating a new revenue stream for the tribe.

“We had dreams of revitalizing it through refurbishing, restoring, and we were thinking about manufacturing opportunities,” Pierite said. “We think this is the best way to honor those opportunities.” 

The cut-and-sew operation will begin producing tribally branded sheets, towels, and pillowcases for sale to the general public. Eventually, it hopes to leverage the operation to make products for a larger customer:  the federal government.

 Tunica-Biloxi Industries recently received an 8(a) certification under the Small Business Administration and plans to use the new textile business to bid on federal contracts for US military uniforms and American flags, Pierite said. 

That falls in line with a surge in tribal enterprises pushing toward federal contracting, which has become a major revenue driver for tribes in the wake of economic diversification efforts prompted by COVID-19, per prior Tribal Business News reporting.

For Pierite, the Garan Building also represents an opportunity to “take back” a small portion of an industry that has largely been outsourced to other countries, he said.

“We realized around five to six years ago that a lot of these cut-and-sew opportunities, a lot of these manufacturing opportunities have migrated away from the United States,” Pierite said. “We can bring some of those opportunities back to rural America, and we see this as a way to kickstart that across Louisiana.”

Pierite said the Garan Building’s new businesses will allow the tribe to offer pay and benefits packages that would set the pace for the job market in the region, as well. He pointed to a $15 starting wage, as well as financial literacy, credit restoration, and mental health programs. 

Pierite called it a “holistic approach” to workforce development that could positively impact the whole surrounding community. From there, he said, the Tunica-Biloxi could take their employment model and share it with other small tribes for similar results elsewhere. 

“We’re a very small tribe, but with a very large vision,” Pierite said. “We think by creating this model, we can help other tribes with this same model, and overall get the stakeholders in Indian Country to become the solution to rural America’s problems —  bringing back these textile jobs, these manufacturing jobs.”

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards called the EDA investment and tribe’s involvement in the project a “critical” infusion for the surrounding region. 

“We are excited about working with the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana to ensure this investment results in jobs that will provide living wages and will help create sustainable growth for communities throughout the region,” Edwards said in a statement. “We are grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and the EDA for this announcement.”

Alongside the Garan Building project, Tunica-Biloxi Industries continues to broaden its revenue base with a variety of non-gaming economic development efforts, Pierite said. 

The tribal enterprise is also looking at acquisitions across the country, including a company in Washington, D.C. that could help spur the tribe’s federal contracting business, he added. He refused to name the potential target, but said it could help the tribe offer services to state governments, a strategy that would be “a little bit out of the box.”

It wouldn’t be the first time the tribe has thought outside the box recently. In the last few months, Tunica-Biloxi signed a historic partnership agreement with a local college to advance research and economic development, obtained its 8(a) certification, and cut the ribbon on a TopGolf Swing Suite at its Paragon Casino. 

“Taking control of our sovereignty, our economic prosperity and our collective future as a Tribal nation has been a long road for the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and all native nations,” Pierite said. “We are centrally located in Louisiana, so we think it would be unique for us to create and become that economic hook, to supply staffing as well as these opportunities to all of Louisiana and Indian Country.”

Shows are free and open to the public, no ticket or registration is required!

Click here for photos

Paragon Casino Resort is bringing back its legendary Gator Feeding Shows beginning on Saturday, July 15. Hotel guests, casino visitors and the public can enjoy a free, educational and entertaining 30-minute live-feeding with the live alligators in the “Gator Bayou” located inside the hotel’s atrium. Photo opportunities with a baby alligator and a “holding” snake will take place after each show and will be free to the public.

Paragon Casino Resort General Manager, Marshall Ray Sampson Sr. is delighted about the return of the shows, “Paragon Casino Resort is Central Louisiana’s premier entertainment destination, and unique offerings such as our Gator Bayou and the Gator Feeding shows set us apart. As we continue to add new amenities and upgrades, we’re eager to be able to bring back this tradition to our guests and the community at large.”

During these shows, gator specialist Gary Saurage will share fascinating facts about Louisiana’s signature bayou dwellers and Louisiana culture. Saurage, who has been featured on more than 50 national TV shows as seen on CMT, A&E and Animal Planet, owns Gator Country Louisiana – the largest alligator park in the state – where Paragon’s Gator Bayou alligators are raised.

The 7-acre property houses over 250 alligators and is run by Saurage and his wife, Shannon, who are excited to showcase their expertise and bring live-feeding shows back to Paragon. “We are very educated about the Louisiana alligator, so this will be a great opportunity for people to learn and have fun,” says Gary, “Afterward, we will have baby alligators and snakes for the participants to hold and take photos – our favorite part!”

The shows run every Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., and are free and open to the public, including students, summer campers, and any organization interested in the experience. No registration is required.

Beginning on Saturday, July 29^th, the Tunica-Biloxi Singers and Legendkeepers will perform “Traditional Songs & Stories of the Tunica Biloxi Tribe” following the gator shows. The traditional songs and stories they will share tell the stories of alligators and other native flora and fauna found in south Louisiana. The alligator has a symbolic meaning for the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and is woven into the Tunica creation story.

Taking control of our sovereignty, our economic prosperity and our collective future as a Tribal nation has been a long road for the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and all native nations. Investments like this are the result of decades of hard work. Through the dedication and support of our stakeholders, including Congresswoman Julie Letlow, Senator Bill Cassidy and the Department of Commerce, we are now able to bring cut-and-sew, advanced manufacturing and rare earth processing opportunities to central Louisiana. As the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe strives to be a champion of economic development and prosperity in central Louisiana, we will utilize this opportunity to redefine advanced manufacturing opportunities, stoke workforce development and job training, establish living wages, and holistically bring dignity and respect back to the working households of our Tribal citizens and beyond.

– Chairman Marshall Pierite

The below article was originally published on www.eda.gov.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.6 million grant to the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, located in Marksville, Louisiana, for construction of a multi-enterprise manufacturing facility that will support the growth of the region’s manufacturing sector and create new jobs.

This grant will support the design and construction of the Garan Building to support business expansion in local industries including sewing fabrication and rare earth materials. This EDA investment will be matched with $250,000 in local funds and is expected to create 110 jobs and generate $1.4 million in private investment, according to grantee estimates.

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is jumpstarting manufacturing growth across the country,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA investment will provide the infrastructure the Tunica and Biloxi people need to continue supporting the growth of Central Louisiana’s manufacturing sector, while creating new jobs for the local economy.”

“The Economic Development Administration is pleased to support the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe as it seeks to build a resilient and sustainable Tribal economy,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “This project will create new opportunities for manufacturing and create new jobs for the tribe and its members.”

“We are grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and the EDA for this announcement,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “This investment in Central Louisiana is critical to the area’s manufacturing sector and the state’s overall economic growth. We are excited about working with the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana to ensure this investment results in jobs that will provide living wages and will help create sustainable growth for communities throughout the region.”

“Investment in manufacturing like this commitment to the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe builds a better future for Louisiana,” said U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D.

“I proudly support the EDA investment for the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe that will provide much needed manufacturing support and growth for Louisianans,” said Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05). “This grant will help bolster economic growth, spur competitive wages, and foster future stability for the Tribe, Avoyelles Parish, and surrounding areas within the Fifth District.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning and Development District (KDPDD). EDA funds KDPDD to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development framework which strengthens the regional economy, supports private capital investment, and creates jobs.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and United Way of Central Louisiana join forces to raise funds to aid those in need

Marksville, La. – (June 26, 2023) – Today, Paragon Casino Resort and the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana partnered with United Way of Central Louisiana to host the Hit for Hope Tunica-Biloxi Governors Cup Golf Tournament, which was held at the Tamahka Trails Golf Course and raised funding to support United Way of Central Louisiana Programs that benefit the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population.  

“The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe values our community above all else. We are always searching for opportunities to give back to our family and friends in need,” said Marshall Pierite, Chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana. “The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe, along with Paragon Casino Resort, extends our thanks to United Way of Central Louisiana and its focus on chartering a new path for those most vulnerable in Central Louisiana.”

ALICE is a driver of innovation, research, and action to improve life across the country for families who may be unable to afford the basics of childcare, housing, food and healthcare.

“The generous partner organizations across Central Louisiana helped make this philanthropic event a success,” said Michelle Purl, President and CEO of United Way of Central Louisiana. “We are grateful to surround ourselves with good-hearted people and hope to continue working alongside the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and the Paragon Casino Resort to serve those in need throughout Central Louisiana.”

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and Paragon Casino Resort have supported the mission of United Way of Central Louisiana for numerous years. The long-standing investment into surrounding areas has resulted in various strides to minimize the ALICE population’s struggle, including providing safe, affordable housing opportunities, reliable technology necessary to work and equality in access to healthcare.

The annual grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities will be used to sustain and improve the quality of life for Tribal citizens

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana was a recent recipient of a 2023 Louisiana Culture Care Fund Grant totaling $10,000 to support its continuing efforts to serve its citizens, preserve its culture, and engage with the residents of Avoyelles Parish. Funding for this 2023 Louisiana Culture Care Fund Grant has been provided by the State of Louisiana and administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH).

“Grants like this from the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities add sustainability to the continuous work of our language and culture teams,” said Marshall Pierite, Chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana. “As we move into the future, it is our responsibility to bring those historical and cultural parts of our past with us as we grow, flourish, and prosper into the next several decades. Funds such as these are crucial to ensuring the continued preservation of our language and the building further and further upon our legacy.”

A main beneficiary of the grant, the Tribe’s Language and Cultural Revitalization Program (LCRP) aims to prepare future generations of Tribal citizens to lead successful, fulfilling lives and to have a deep understanding of their culture. Under the guidance of John Barbry, the LCRP’s director, the LCRP has brought the Tunica language back to life through recordings, text, language classes, workshops and summer camps over the last decade. Additionally, the  Cultural & Educational Resources Center (CERC), which houses the Tunica-Biloxi Museum and the Cemonia Strother Williams Library & Research Center, will continue to provide services focusing on Native American culture and traditions.

The Tunica-Biloxi Museum is home to the “Tunica Treasure,” a vast collection of Native American European trade items and other artifacts deposited as grave goods by the Tunica from 1731 to 1764. The Tunica Treasure represents a rich cultural legacy of entrepreneurship and political influence in the eighteenth century. The museum includes a state-of-the-art conservation lab that provides preservation and restoration services specializing in material culture from the 18th century.

To learn more about the Tunica Biloxi Tribe, its language and culture offerings, the Tunica Biloxi Museum and more, visit https://www.tunicabiloxi.org.