Women have made progress advancing through the ranks of tribal gaming. But what of the next generation? How will they progress?
During the session “Inspiring & Supporting Future Generations of Global Gaming Women” at the Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Convention in Anaheim, California, the panelists emphasized inherent opportunities for young women, while acknowledging there’s still work to be done.
Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians President Shannon Holsey said her mother worked at various non-traditional jobs. But it wasn’t until she was in her 20s that Holsey realized women didn’t have many tribal leadership roles. Meeting former United States Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Ada Deer led Holsey to believe that she could make a difference for her tribe.
“There wasn’t a growth mindset, we weren’t progressing, and I wasn’t being heard,” Holsey said. “At that point, I said to (Deer), ‘What should I do?’ She said, ‘You’re either going to step up or you’re going to step out.’ At that point, I decided that in order to help my tribal nation progress forward, I needed to let women see themselves in a position of authority.”
Holsey then ran for president of the Wisconsin tribe. “I kept telling myself, stop making yourself small. You know you have capabilities, but you have to have faith in yourself.”
Jana McKeag also experienced a somewhat rocky path. Currently president of Lowry Strategies, she previously worked in Washington, D.C., in various government positions, including chairman of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, and on the Racial and Ethnic Advisory Committee of the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.
Many of her first mentors were men. But even today, after decades working in the capital, she still faces sexism. McKeag said it’s best to deal with such experiences professionally.
“There’s ways to do that to increase your strength,” McKeag said. “For example, if somebody asked you to get coffee, instead of saying, ‘You’re a sexist pig, I don’t get coffee,’ you can say, ‘Oh, because I have two advanced degrees in engineering? I should get the coffee?’ There’s a way of doing it that will earn you respect and a way of doing it that, frankly, won’t help.”
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures VP of Technology Danielle Kristensen says she’s fortunate to have the support from her employer. A single mom, Kristensen admitted that she initially felt bad about asking for assistance.
But after a certain point, she realized that it was incumbent to find an employer “who aligns with your values and supports you as a mother and as an employee,” Kristensen said. “That’s vital. So now, I depend on my mother, I depend on my neighbors, I depend on my friends. For the longest time, I had a problem asking for help, because I didn’t want to feel like I couldn’t do it all. There’s a stigma around asking for help.”
Moderator Melissa Aarskaug, GLI Vice President of Gaming, noted that she’s been in gaming for only 13 years. When she started in the industry, she knew very little about it. But Aarskaug realized that it was a field she could embrace and thrive in, just like she learned she didn’t want to be a patent attorney after shadowing one for a prospective job.
“I think we need to put programs in place that give people the opportunity to try things out,” she said of the need for job shadowing. “Maybe putting together a ‘lunch and learn’ at your casinos or businesses, so you can have people like Danielle (Kristensen) sit in the front of the room and talk about what she does. I thought I knew what patent law was, but when I sat in a room with the patent attorney, I thought, that’s totally not me.”
