Stephanie Bryan’s story is one of the most unlikely and inspirational, not only in tribal gaming, but also the entire gaming ecosphere.
During the session “Transformative Tribal Trailblazers – Their Insights and Strategies to Rise to the Top” at the Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Conference in Anaheim, California, Bryan recalled being so poor she had her teeth cleaned in an Airstream that visited the Poarch Band of Creek Indians grounds in Alabama. Bryan was so shy that when she won an award, she asked her sister to accept it. And after she became the vice chair of the tribe, by a coin flip, and eventually tribal chair, she was served papers by Alabama’s attorney general challenging the Poarch Band’s sovereignty.
Bryan fought against and won the challenge to the tribe’s sovereignty, helping to grow Poarch interests to a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
“All I can think about is my experience, growing up in poverty, being part of the growth of the tribe, and watching the tribe prosper and raising the quality of life for so many people,” Bryan said during the session. “They’re able to get an education and the best health care. We can never go back there (to poverty levels), but we should also remain humble and never forget where we come from.”
Coeur D’Alene Casino CEO Laura Penney has been in the gaming industry for 31 years. But about eight years ago, she was demoted, even as the change was presented to Penney as a promotion. Instead of accepting the demotion, she developed a plan to fight back.
“I was very upset and I went home and let myself go through the process of being angry,” Penney said. “But I really dug deep as far as what my purpose is. As I said, I’d been there for 31 years and truly invested my time, my effort, into my position.”
A few days later, Penney sat down with her boss and told him she was going to make his job easier.
“I had to get in the right mindset,” Penney said. “I told him, ‘I’m going to focus, do the best I can, and make the best of this position, and I’m going to move forward and work with you.”
Sometimes for women, transitions come through roundabout or unexpected circumstances. Robin Miller, CEO of War Horse Casino in Nebraska, has a background as a mechanical engineer in aerospace and manufacturing. Her key to advancing? Being willing to learn through quizzing others.
“We basically all have the same questions,” Miller said. “We generally have the same experiences. Why should we have to go through this struggle and figure out how to do it, when somebody else has done it and is willing to share those experiences with you?”
For Jeannie Hovland, vice chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission, advancement meant leaving South Dakota and moving to Washington, D.C.
But the opportunity to effect change, even if Hovland had to move away from her family do so, was too important to resist. She learned how to collaborate with members of Congress and tribal and community leaders. Most of all, Hovland made sure that the federal government make good on its commitments to tribes.
“It was important that I followed through and was very transparent,” Hovland said. “I’ve worked on the Senate side, on the grant side, and on the regulatory side. No matter what we’re doing, it is so important for us to commit to seeking the voice of our people and community-driven solutions and ideas. That’s what we’ve done at our agency.”
