The group anticipates an annual incremental economic effect on the region of between $4.7 billion and $9 billion, as well as the creation of 29,000 to 53,000 jobs, each with a median wage well above state averages, according to INCOG. Under the project, Oklahoma State University will partner with the Osage Nation to build a 114-nautical mile flight test range for aerial mobility technologies and establish a research and technology center through the school. The project aims to “transition the region from its legacy of oil and gas and traditional manufacturing to advanced mobility, automation, and unmanned aerial systems,” according to an INCOG statement. In Tulsa, Okla., the Indian Nations Council of Governments received approximately $39 million from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge to create a regional Advanced Mobility corridor focused on manufacturing electric and autonomous vehicles. We’re going to build a whole ecosystem of support.” “The tasks we’re addressing include financing, workforce development, seed availability, building nurseries, hatcheries, processing and testing facilities. “I think the impact here is potentially huge - I know it’s huge,” Venables said. In tandem with regional partners, including Alaska Native Corporation Sealaska, the Southeast Conference plans to create workforce development, sustainable growth and processing capabilities in the area and build a network of support for the region’s mariculture producers. “A quarter of the funding we receive is targeted to benefit Alaska Natives and 25 percent goes to underserved communities, many of which are Alaska Native villages, so there’s a strong focus on reaching out to and working with our tribal partners,” Venables said. While Southeast Conference is a regional economic development corporation, the area it is targeting for by the mariculture cluster is mostly Alaska Native villages, Venables said. Three predominantly Native or tribally-led projects, including the Southeast Conference’s mariculture initiative, are among the 21 winning projects. The EDA selected 21 awardees from a group of 60 finalists, who each received a $500,000 seed grant. The $1 billion grant challenge asked communities to identify interconnected investment opportunities that could drive significant economic growth. The money comes from the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge, which was initially funded by 2021’s American Rescue Plan Act and administered by the Economic Development Administration at the Commerce Department. What was once expected to be a 20-year project to establish a $100 million mariculture industry in rural, coastal Southeast Alaska now has a “much shorter time frame,” Southeast Conference Executive Director Robert Venables told Tribal Business News. The $49 million in federal funding that the Southeast Conference of Alaska was awarded for its proposed mariculture industry cluster effectively hits the fast-forward button on the project.
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