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Demographics
State: Wisconsin
Counties (Census Tracts): Menominee (9701), Forest (9504), Vilas (9509)
Community Population: 6,188
Poverty Rate: 47%
Net Land Area: 502.8 square miles

Background

• Poverty level 39 to 64 percent
• High rates of children living in poverty
• High juvenile crime rates
• High rates of educational failure
• Double digits unemployment rates

The Northwoods NiiJii Empowerment Zone consists of three Indian Reservations and three non-Indian developable sites. All three Reservations are located in the rugged northern forests of Wisconsin. The developable sites are located in Shawano County bordering the Menominee Reservation, the Town of Nashville bordering the Mole Lake Reservation and Vilas County bordering the Lac du Flambeau Reservation. High unemployment, large families, critically substandard housing, crime, alcohol abuse, and dependence on welfare are some of the poverty-related problems that have confronted the Tribe. The strategic planning process created new partnerships between the tribes and local non-tribal governments and organizations. The Menominee Reservation contains the oldest sustainable forest in the world. The President’s Council on Sustainable Development, the United Nations and several other Nation Governments have acknowledged the Tribe as a leader in science of sustainable development. 

Strategic Plan Highlights With the implementation of the strategic plan, the community strives to balance economic and community development.

• Business Development—develop value added businesses in the timber industry, establish retail centers, business retention, projects, and develop capital investment/management corporation;
• Infrastructure—sewage treatment facilities, water facilities, industrial park, and establish tribal utility commission;
• Tourism Development—build trails and roads for biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing, historical and cultural attractions;
• Education—alternative school program, leadership training for tribal legislative members, school to work, tech prep, job shadowing, and related programs, scholarship program for reservation residents interested in earning degrees in Health and Education, and parental training for parents with young children;
• Health Services—form and manage health care service company, elderly health care, develop comprehensive health care plans, build nursing home and assisted living facilities, provide home health care and hospice programs, and resident treatment for youth for mental and spiritual health
• Housing—develop a property management corporation, new housing (single and multi-family)construction, and home ownership projects;
• Transportation—develop and/or improve bus service systems, improve road systems, and maintenance equipment for road maintenance;
• Public Safety—rescue unit and fire department equipment and buildings, increase street lighting, and education for police and EMS staff;
• Social Services—juvenile detention, court facility, building family resource centers, Big Brother/Big Sister mentoring programs, and expanded domestic abuse shelter;

Partnerships include 3 tribal governments and 3 non-Indian partners, local colleges, non-profits and other organizations at the local level to capitalize on existing resources and expertise thereby reducing administrative costs.  Through 2005, the EC built 843 new partnerships to implement projects.  The projects resulting from the NNEC strategic plan, served 4,823 adults, 674 youth and 5,367 families.  1,000 community volunteers were engaged through AmeriCorps VISTA.

Leveraging 

From 1998 to 2005, the EC acquired $6.4 million in grant funding and provided $900,000 in seed funding to projects for feasibility studies, project design, startup, and matching funding.  The EC assisted in the leveraging of seed funding to acquire $70 million in project funding and $7.5 million in in-kind project assistance for a leveraging ratio of 85:1.

  Community Involvement 

Good regional links-strategic plans included from all counties, villages, townships, and cities near the reservations. Also includes Indian and non-Indian participants, including Indian and non-Indian participants. Community planning process is very inclusive. A wide variety and number of community meetings are held on different reservations by each of the tribes. Various techniques such as focus groups, affinity groups, nominative group processes, and door to door surveys were also used in the initial development of the strategic plan.

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