Sec-Treasurer Explores Economic Development Opportunities with Cherokee Visit

By Jennifer Cadotte LCO PR Specialist

The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board (LCO TGB) Secretary/Treasurer Bill Trepanier and Tribal Cannabis Consultant Thi Le recently visited the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) in Cherokee, NC. The visit aimed to explore economic development opportunities, including cannabis production.

Secretary/Treasurer Trepanier emphasized the importance of self-sufficiency for our community stating, “Self-sufficiency is important to our community. We live in an extremely rural area and need to be creative with an economic development strategy to elevate the impact here for our community. The EBCI have opened their doors to show us how they have succeeded in their economic development efforts. These efforts have allowed them more flexibility and freedom to address housing and energy needs for their Tribe. Connections and cultural exchanges such as this are valuable resources that we can learn from to create our own economic development strategies to address our needs.”

One of the more notable success stories for the EBCI is the Great Smoky Cannabis Company (GSCC), a medical cannabis retail dispensary owned and operated by the EBCI. Due to tremendous success, GSCC expanded their enterprise to offer adult-use cannabis sales, despite marijuana still being outlawed in North Carolina.

Tribal Cannabis Consultant Thi Le highlighted the EBCI’s achievements stating, “The EBCI continue to make historic strides in cannabis and overall sovereign regulation of health and economic development...They serve as a model for strategic development and industry leadership. While they have different legal limitations than Lac Courte Oreilles, their actions have imprinted an irrefutable precedent for the overwhelming positive impact of Tribally regulated cannabis...”

According to Trepanier, this visit marks a significant step in fostering connections and cultural exchanges that can help shape the economic development strategies of the Lac Courte Oreilles community.