Everything Co-op With Vernon Oakes

November 21, 2024 In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Vernon interviews Pamela Standing, Co-Executive Director of the Minnesota Indigenous Business Alliance (MNIBA). Pamela shares strategies MNIBA employs to connect Indigenous business owners with resources. Pamela Standing's experience demonstrates that Indigenous-run organizations and businesses can thrive, achieve financial growth, and succeed within the mainstream business system without sacrificing cultural values. She is committed to bridging the disparity gap through cooperative efforts, collaboration, and establishing partnerships and alliances that lead to resource sharing. In 2019, through her partnership and contract status with Cooperative Development Services (CDS) she was able to participate in CooperationWorks’ co-op developer training series. It was through her participation in this program that inspired her exploration into how Indigenous language, Cultural Lifeways and practices aligned with Eurocentric cooperative practices.