Grant helping Utah Indians develop businesses

In 2001, Ivan Wongan, a member of the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Tribal Council, wanted to do something to help his people. Now he's the chief executive officer of his own company, thanks in part to a leadership training program geared toward American Indians.

"When you leave there, you feel like you can do something, like you can accomplish things," Wongan said of the ASSET program. "That's the way I felt . . . I have within me the potential to do this."

ASSET, designed to instill a sense of self-esteem and business savvy in members of Utah's eight American Indian tribes, was recently awarded an $81,706 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Forrest Cuch, executive director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs.

"The thrust is to encourage business development," Cuch said. "We want this to benefit American Indians throughout the state of Utah."

The grant will fund the program for one year, training about 30 people, Cuch said. He hopes seven businesses — including two in information technology — will be created as a result.

Carey Wold of the state's Division of Business and Economic Development said those who have attended the training have since started companies that have earned government contracts and created about 85 jobs.

"Over the next few years I would predict several hundred (jobs)," he said. "These are multimillion-dollar contracts."

One of the new businesses is NWB Technologies, founded by Wongan of Idaho Falls in 2002. The Brigham City-based information-technology company has since branched out to construction and foreign language. Wongan said his company is just getting off the ground and has nine employees; about half are tribal members.

He said the ASSET program helped him move his plans into reality.

"The classes were really informative; it tied in with what we were doing," he said.

The program is tailored for American Indians, many of whom, Cuch said, lack a strong sense of identity.

"We're testing lower than all the ethnic groups," he said. "There's such a disparity in between American Indian scores and Anglo scores in the state of Utah. It's an alarming situation."

Cuch said he hopes to continue the training, which started in 2001, long enough for 300 of the state's 29,684 American Indians to attend. He said nearly 50 people were trained in the first two years of the federally funded program, which was not funded last year.