SLOAN, Iowa—The clean white light of the bingo hall illuminated Winnebago tribal chairman John Blackhawk at the front of the room. He casually took a drag off his Kool Super Long cigarette as he listened intently to the questions directed at managers of the WinnaVegas Casino.
Blackhawk stood there as the others spoke. He was quiet. Patiently, he allowed the questions to be answered by the experts.
An inch of ash clung to his cigarette. It never fell off, as if it couldn't leave Blackhawk's presence.
The chairman and managers of the tribally owned casino addressed American Indian Journalism Institute students Thursday. He stressed that the casino isn't as successful as other large tribal casinos. But he made clear to everyone that he has a vision for the future expansion of the establishment.
Blackhawk's vision is for every tribally owned business on the reservation. Making the tribe as independent as possible is one goal of the tribal government. According to Blackhawk, the only way to do that is through economic development.
"Economic development. That's the buzzword," he said. "We need to ask ourselves what part of economic development is our priority."
The youngest man ever voted tribal chairman, Blackhawk has served his tribe since 1988 when he was 32 years old.
He has served four terms as tribal chairman. During the last election, Blackhawk got on the ballot through a write-in campaign. "I used the write-in as a barometer," he said.
The write-in campaign showed Blackhawk that his constituents still wanted him in office. He said he knows he will eventually lose an election. "Everyone does," he said.
"It doesn't matter how damn good you are. People are going to get tired of you. I'd rather just not run," he said.
Early Training
He was trained by two local political figures, Reuben Snake and Neola Walker. Both introduced Blackhawk to the complex tribal political system. He said they taught him how to deal with people and how to talk through a situation.
Blackhawk credits his grandmother for his success in life. "I was raised by my grandmother and she was very well respected in the community," he said. "She raised my father, an adopted son, and me. She raised three generations of Winnebago men."
Blackhawk is a very distinct Winnebago man. His appearance does not give away his age— 47 years. A very laid back man, he walked into the room filled with journalism students in unbuckled sandals, denim shorts with his white Nike tee shirt tucked in. He carried a coffee mug filled with water. He greeted the people he knew with warmth and respect.
Blackhawk knows about every business the tribe runs and he knows the importance of separating the tribal government and those businesses. He knows that with success comes failure, but with failure comes knowledge.
"You have to be analytical about your success and you have to look at your shortcomings," he said.
The chairman has good intentions for his tribe, but he is aware that it takes understanding from tribal members to want to move forward economically. "You can have good dreams and good goals, but there's a tremendous amount of social change involved," he said.
Public Relations
Economically the tribe is well-off. The WinnaVegas Casino pulls in about $50 million in revenue a year and the tribally-owned Ho-Chunk, Inc., and its subsidiaries AllNative.com, Indianz.com, and HCI Distribution, are expected to pull in $80 million this year.
Blackhawk has a feel for public relations, and with a public relations representative like Jim McCarthy on the tribal payrolle, it's no surprise. McCarthy helps tribal council members by giving them to media training classes.
"Everyone is a little suspicious when (the media) wants to come in and do this or do that. It's about having trust, that's why we have media training," McCarthy said.
Blackhawk wants the council members to represent the Winnebago tribe with dignity. He wants the tribe to represent itself with pride.
"Tribes don't recognize the importance of the media," the chairman said.
Blackhawk said that with strong public relations, he can build a stable government base. "With a stable tribal government, you are able to do a lot," he said.