Tribal Gaming Internship Program

For more than 30 years, The Innovation Group (TIG) has proudly served the Native American community, always seeking new ways to support tribes in reaching their broader development goals. Our Tribal Gaming Internship Program is an extension of that ambition, created to support individuals pursuing professional careers in tribal gaming by offering them the opportunity to participate in comprehensive studies — involving expansion feasibility, economic development, and database analysis — as paid interns side-by-side with the TIG project team. In addition to offering interns valuable insights to bring back to their careers and operations, the program also invigorates TIG’s work by adding direct tribal client perspective to the process.

How does it work?
The Innovation Group engages in studies with Native American Indian Tribes and First Nations on a regular basis. Upon engagement in any project work, the following steps can be undertaken to qualify and participate:

1. Tribal Leadership (Tribal Council, Economic Development Authority, or a designated manager) must submit the name of the internship candidate to The Innovation Group.
2. Candidates must be either a tribal member pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in finance, business, or a related field (or graduates of such programs); or currently be serving as a staff member in Tribal government or property operations.
3. Interns will work with The Innovation Group staff remotely, on-site at a property, or in our offices, as needed. Project work will be approximately half-time, or 20 hours per week, and will entail background research, demand model building, economic impact analysis, customer database analysis, and operational assessments. Current employees may continue to work half-time in their normal jobs.
4. Interns will be compensated at the base hourly intern rate at The Innovation Group and technically considered as sub-contractors on project work. Typically, one intern will be approved per project, although on large-scale or long-term initiatives, more than one intern may be appropriate.

What happens when the project and internship are complete?
There may be several outcomes form the Tribal Gaming Internship Program. When a project and the associated internship are complete, the following may occur:

1. Interns should be in a great position to continue to communicate research findings to tribal leaders and members, and track implementation measures for projects in which they were involved.
2. If the intern is a student or is not currently employed, a relevant position within tribal property operations or government may become a viable opportunity depending on the needs of the tribe.
3. Current employees of tribes are expected to return to their full-time duties with the new experience, insights, and tangible skills they garnered through their internship.

Ultimately, it is The Innovation Group’s intention that its Tribal Gaming Internship Program will foster self-sufficiency in many areas of Planning & Analysis at the property level and on behalf of tribal government. We hope to have meaningful ongoing relationships with former interns and their tribes, and interested interns may be welcomed back into The Innovation Group as analysts when relevant positions become available.

For more information about our Tribal Gaming Internship Program, please contact company President Michael Soll or SVP Chris Irwin.