The NiiJii Enterprise Community came about as a result of the efforts of the Northeast Wisconsin Community Action Program and Lew Boyd, the Project Manager of the Menominee Office of Economic Development. Mr. Boyd found out about the EZ/EC Initiative by the Clinton administration and then worked with all of the communities which have set up the Zone in order to apply for resources for the Zone from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) Initiative is a Presidential Initiative designed to afford communities real opportunities for growth and revitalization. Its mission is to create self-sustaining, long-term economic development in areas of pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general distress. It is also designed to demonstrate how distressed communities can achieve self-sufficiency through innovative and comprehensive, strategic plans developed and implemented by alliances among private, public, and nonprofit organizations.

The NiiJii Enterprise Community is currently in the process of creating a long-term economic development plan. This web site is designed to inform the public about the Community's efforts and to ask for economic and community development ideas that can be considered in the Strategic Plan. The Steering Committee of the NiiJii Empowerment Zone is also in the process of establishing a nonprofit corporation that will be responsible for overseeing all Zone efforts in the future.

The NiiJii Enterprise Community has not yet been designated as an Empowerment Zone by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development office. The NiiJii Enterprise Community is developing the strategic plan in order to compete for Empowerment Zone designation by the USDA.

However, the Steering Committee of the NiiJii Enterprise Community does not consider the success of this application as the justification for forming the Enterprise Community. Since up to $40,000,000 is attached to successful designation of an Empowerment Zone by USDA, competition for this designation is highly competitive. The NiiJii Enterprise Community is a long-term local effort that will exist whether the USDA acts favorably on the NiiJii application or not.

• Economic Opportunity, including job creation within the three Indian communities and throughout the region surrounding the Indian communities, entrepreneurial initiatives, small business expansion, and training for jobs that offer upward mobility;
• Sustainable Community Development, to advance the creation of livable and vibrant communities through comprehensive approaches that coordinate economic, physical, environmental, community, and human development;
• Community-Based Partnerships, involving participation of all segments of the community, including the political and governmental leadership, community groups, health and social service groups, environmental groups, religious organizations, the private and nonprofit sectors, centers of learning, other community institutions, and individual citizens; and
• Strategic Vision for change, which identifies what the community will become and a strategic map for revitalization.

The Steering Committee of the NiiJii Enterprise Community has also noted that this zone will also be deeply concerned with environmental and Native American cultural and spiritual concerns.

For more information about the EZ/EC Initiative, use this link: Rural Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community Program.