State of Our Union: ‘A little bit of socialism goes a long way’ in business, Ho-Chunk CEO says

Money generates power to “wave the magic wand” and solve problems in the community, said Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., a business project of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

Before Ho-Chunk, Winnebago was a pretty stark place, Morgan said. There was generational poverty, very little housing, and few people held bachelor degrees.

“If you were betting, you would not bet on us,” Morgan said, but Ho-Chunk has turned conditions on the reservation around with the backing and innovation of the tribe.

Morgan’s remarks came during the State of Our Union event organized by The Atlantic magazine in partnership with the Flatwater Free Press. The event, hosted in Lincoln Wednesday, featured a series of discussions with local leaders, policy makers and journalists on topics of regional and national importance.

Morgan said the tribe’s median family income 20 years ago was about $26,000. Now, it’s $57,000. 

They achieved that growth, he said, and “created a middle class from scratch,” by building up every aspect of the community including education, health, housing, and economic opportunities.

“A little bit of socialism goes a long way,” Morgan said, in business now when striking a balance between being sustainable and being successful.

Preserving tradition while working in the American capitalist system was an internal fight and worry when the company was founded. But as the years went on, they decided to stop worrying because Ho-Chunk’s board of directors and executive team are tribal, and they all held the same set of values “that don’t necessarily tie into capitalism,” Morgan said.

Thanks to our sponsor

Ho-Chunk Inc. supports a nonprofit arm with capital each year, then that nonprofit goes out and generates funds for social-oriented community projects. It’s a symbiotic relationship, Morgan said, that allows both sides to maximize their opportunities.

“We’re not trying to make the most dollar. We’re not just trying to get credit for a charitable thing,” Morgan said. “We’re just trying to find out systems and institutions in our community that will generate growth.”

The Atlantic’s State of Our Union live series is meant to explore the importance of local journalism. Mississippi hosted the event in 2023.

By Destiny Herbers

Destiny is a Roy W. Howard fellow through the Scripps Howard Foundation. She earned her master’s degree in journalism at the University of Maryland. While at UMD, she covered NASA and Congress for Capital News Service, reporting on everything from cheese served at state dinners to future missions to Mars. She worked on the Howard Center’s award-winning project, “Mega Billons,” an investigation of state lotteries, and was part of an ongoing Associated Press investigation into law enforcement practices. When she isn’t reporting, Destiny loves swing dancing and thrift shopping.

Leave a Reply

Subscribe

FLATWATER’S FREE NEWSLETTER

Every Friday, we’ll deliver to your inbox Nebraska’s most interesting, meaningful, deeply reported and well-written news stories.