Important Message from Kenneth R. Ramirez, Chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

February 3, 2022

Dear Honorable Tribal Leader and Official:

In early 2020, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians awarded a grant to the University of Nevada Las Vegas to design and implement a program specifically to prepare Native American candidates for careers in gaming and hospitality. Now, as we prepare to officially launch this important effort, I am writing to ask for your help in getting the word out about what we believe is the most exciting educational undertaking to benefit Indian gaming and tribal communities today.

With San Manuel’s support, the Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV is developing a first-of-its-kind educational program in Tribal Hospitality and Gaming. The program is being designed to serve the needs of tribal citizens seeking career and economic development opportunities in the hospitality and gaming industry. This program also provides an opportunity for individual tribal citizens and tribal nations to secure their futures.

Designing the program will require UNLV to gather as many tribal voices as possible. Using the survey below, it is our goal to discover: What type of courses are most beneficial to your community; and What type of educational delivery method(s) will best suit your needs. Tribal input through the survey, which is completely anonymous, is a critical step in building this unique program.

After you respond to the survey, please share this message and survey link with other tribal leaders, your community members, and your tribal gaming executives. These insights will help ensure that the coursework to be created meets the needs of our tribal nations, Native American students, and your tribal gaming properties as they prepare for leadership and career opportunities in hospitality and gaming.

We believe you will agree that Indian tribes have made significant progress with our government gaming enterprises over more than three decades. However, the one area where we still need improvement is having more of our Native Americans in top-level executive, management, and leadership positions within the Indian gaming industry. We hope you agree that with more than 500 tribal gaming facilities operated by Indian tribes today, we should have more of our own tribal citizens and Native Americans in top positions overall.

If you have questions, please reach out to Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D., at Harrah College of Hospitality. His email is [email protected].

Here is the link to the survey: https://youropinionsdomatter.com/SS002M/index.pl?s=12

Thank you for your support and interest.

With sincere regards,
Kenneth R. Ramirez, Chairman
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians