By Jan Carroza, CSRSI Team Member

RES 2010 (24th Annual Reservation Economic Summit & American Indian Business Trade Fair) held in Las Vegas in February was an eye-opening experience. As a new associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association, I was looking forward to meeting members of the tribes and some of their employees at casinos and hotels who work with electronic payments with issues of cost, liability, fraud and compliance.

RES 2010 provided an understanding of tribal relationships with their businesses, the closely interwoven nature of culture and the importance of educating their youth and training members.

I was delightfully surprised to be included in music and cultural activities far beyond my wildest dreams. Entertainment ranged from native dancers to Indian comedy, interviews with actors and performance art. Indian Country members like Chairman Ernie Stevens shared their most personal thoughts on family and contributions of many important tribal leaders.

I have to say that it was the most welcoming group of convention attendees with great stories to share and a philosophy to enjoy themselves while conducting serious business. I look forward to meeting more members of Indian Country and their business associates as we continue to work to help more tribes review their merchant processing costs, and find/remediate PCI (Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standard) and PII (Personally Identifiable Information) compliance weaknesses.