Kake Foods gets showcase status at tribal summit
Kake Foods Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kake Tribal Corp., has been selected as a showcase business at the upcoming National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies.
The summit, which will take place Sept. 16-19 in Phoenix, Ariz., will be attended by Native tribes, tribal and Native-owned enterprises, major corporations, and hundreds of representatives of federal agencies from around the United States. The purpose of the summit, according to the invitation released by Neal McCaleb, Interior Department assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, is to "produce employment opportunities in Indian Country ... and develop processes for sustainable market-driven tribal economies." Interior Secretary Gale Norton will host the summit.
Kake Foods is one of 120 successful Indian country businesses that will be showcased at the summit. Duff Mitchell, chief operating officer for the company, will present the changes Kake's management has made to turn its fishing industry around, Mitchell said.
"We try to take fresh fish and maximize the value and quality of our product," he said. The company smokes, packages and distributes its fish and roe, and is developing a salmon carcass composting program that will further increase the value of the fish.
"Kake Foods is employing lots of people, making a profit, and growing, and that says a lot about them in today's fishing industry," said Myrna Gardner, business development technician with the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
Mitchell said that Kake Tribal Corp. has chosen an active investment route, which sets it apart from many other tribal corporations. "A few (corporations) like us have invested in their own people. We invest in our community and try to provide meaningful jobs and meaningful careers."
Sam Jackson, president of Kake Tribal Corp., said the corporation is proud to be a strong and vital business in Alaska.
"Our products are from Alaska fishermen, processed in Alaska and bear our name; these combined factors generate a great line of products that we are proud of," he said.