Menominee Tribe Seeks Member for Loan Fund Committee Seat

Enrolled Menominee tribal members who want a say in who gets access to capital have until noon June 1 to apply for a seat on the Loan Fund Committee. The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is asking interested members to send a letter of interest by email or in person to the MITW Chairman’s Office.

The opening matters because the committee sits close to the part of tribal government that can influence lending decisions, business growth and the flow of financial support for families and entrepreneurs. Even without a long policy memo attached to the notice, a Loan Fund Committee is the kind of body that can help shape how tribal dollars are used, what priorities guide lending and how the tribe supports people trying to start or expand a business in Keshena, Neopit and across the Menominee Indian Reservation.

The June 1 posting also fit into a busy spring of tribal board and committee recruitment. The tribe had already posted interest notices for the College of Menominee Nation Board of Directors, the Law Enforcement Committee and several other bodies. A similar Loan Fund Committee call had been posted twice before, with earlier deadlines of Oct. 6, 2025, and Nov. 20, 2025, showing that the tribe has continued looking for members willing to step into the role.

That makes the seat especially relevant for tribal citizens who follow economic development. Menominee planning documents say one long-term goal is helping tribal members successfully start and operate small businesses, while also increasing awareness of and access to business resources. Those same plans point to a resource network that includes GLITC Economic Development and Small Business Technical Assistance, the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin and First American Capital Corporation.

The broader tribal context gives the opening added weight. The Menominee Indian Tribe says its history in the region goes back 10,000 years, and that its original land base, once estimated at about 10 million acres, was reduced through treaties and later federal actions to a little more than 235,000 acres today. The tribe says its creation history begins at the mouth of the Menominee River, about 60 miles east of the present reservation. In that setting, lending policy is not just administration. It is part of how sovereignty turns into practical opportunity.

The tribe’s own finance structure shows that lending is an active part of government operations. The Budget and Finance Committee page lists Joan Delabreau as chair and includes Samantha Grignon, Dana Waubanascum, Eva Johnson, John O’Kimosh and Joshua Pyatskowit. The Lending & Tribal Taxes department also lists a director, specialist and loan officer, underscoring that the Loan Fund Committee would sit within a working financial system already serving tribal needs.