A Look Back
As we close out another year, I reflect on the progress we have made as an organization and the gratitude I have for our employees, our clients, and the opportunity to serve our owners, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. The Seven Generations philosophy is to acknowledge the generations who came before us, while building a sustainable world for future generations we may never meet.
In the fall, we celebrated the reaffirmation of the Pokagon Band’s sovereignty. 2024 marked 30 years since President Bill Clinton signed the Band’s sovereignty into law. That day in 1994 would not have been possible without the generations who came before and met and organized as a government even though they were not federally recognized. They had a vision for future generations and never gave up on the hope that one day they would be a sovereign nation.
With their sovereignty, the Pokagon Band established gaming on their land. Once again, they had the foresight and vision for a prosperous future and began to reinvest and diversify their profits. Today, Mno-Bmadsen is the non-gaming investment enterprise of Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and invests in manufacturing, construction, commercial real estate and professional services (Bodwé!). It is deeply rewarding to know that as the professional services arm of Mno, we are giving back revenue to the Band to reinvest in their legacy and economy.
September 30 marked the end of the government’s fiscal year. Because federal work makes up almost 90% of our business, the end of the fiscal year marks a big push to secure contracts that we have been nurturing throughout the year. I am thrilled to report that over this last fiscal year, we secured 19 contracts and an additional $6M in work for Bodwé in planning, criteria updating, historic structures reports, full design, hydraulic modeling, and staff augmentation. Our new contracts are with the following agencies: the United States Army Corp of Engineers, Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of Energy.
One Bodwé Continues to Grow
In 2024, we began to see the positive impacts of our strategic One Bodwé initiative that began in 2023. The reorganization of Bodwé into branches – Buildings Services, Infrastructure Services, Federal Support Services, and Support Staff – has allowed us to serve our clients more effectively and provided opportunities for our employees to develop their knowledge and skillsets. Aligning our services under the One Bodwé initiative also positions our team favorably for the promising developments that await us in 2025 and years to come.
In December, our leadership team met for two days to create our strategic plan for the next five years. I am energized and ready to go! Although we have just started this process and have a lot more work to do, we have the right people in place to take us into 2025 and beyond.
During our time together, we engaged in thoughtful discussions about our current state and future potential. We explored the collective strengths of our branches and areas for growth, identifying opportunities that will help us thrive in the years to come. Over the next few months, the team will work on goals and strategies, creating a roadmap for achieving the growth we desire to fulfill our mission of growing the legacy and economy of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and to provide meaningful career opportunities for our staff.
Infrastructure Branch Advances Federal Partnerships
The Infrastructure Services Branch has continued to strengthen our position as a trusted partner with government agencies, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Bodwé was awarded multiple contracts with the BIA in September, supporting Safety of Dams as well as Irrigation & Power projects over the next five years. Through these contracts, our Infrastructure team will positively affect Indigenous and Tribal communities nationwide.
→ WBK Selected by BIA for Multiple Contracts for Safety of Dams, Power and Irrigation Projects
In late December, the Infrastructure Services Branch celebrated the submission of final project deliverables for the Pine Ridge Reservation Roadway Drainage Infrastructure Improvements project.
Back in September 2022, a Bodwé team spent two weeks in South Dakota evaluating over 50 sites and making recommendations on how the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) could mitigate flooding and reduce road erosion. In April 2023, the team was again contracted to continue supporting the OST Department of Motor Fuels, preparing hydrologic and hydraulic analyses for properly sizing the culverts, designing gravel surface roadways, and preparing engineering plans, specifications, and cost estimates for the proposed improvements.
For many years, flooding and road erosion on the Pine Ridge Reservation caused a multitude of issues for members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe residing in west-river South Dakota. Our work on identifying site improvements and providing OST with construction-ready documents allows the Tribe to begin putting these projects out to bid, which they have already started to do,. These efforts will increase access for Tribal members to everyday necessities such as food, healthcare, and each other.
Big Wins for Federal Support Services Branch
This year we have also put a lot of time and care into nurturing our Federal Support Services branch. Since February, we hired Brett Hysinger to lead this branch and have built out the verticals under his leadership to support future growth. We have started to see the fruits of our labor – we have embarked on a joint venture with an established logistics organization, KGV and in the final hours of 2024 were awarded a NAVSUP Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC) 2.0 MATOC award. This 10-year contract, which includes a five-year base period, and five one-year option periods, boasts a base ceiling value of $225 million and an overall contract ceiling of $455 million. The award reflects Bodwé-KVG’s unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional logistical, operational, and expeditionary support services in demanding environments worldwide.
Earlier in 2024, we secured a contract with the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and leveraged our small business status to secure a position in the OASIS+ Small Business Pool, which is estimated to equal more than $130B in contracts over the next 10 years. These opportunities will allow us to continue delivering federal contracting services and solidifying our role as a leader and valued partner in the industry.
→ Bodwé Federal Services Secures First Contract Award with U.S. Defense Health Agency
→ Bodwé Technology Solutions Secures Position in Prestigious OASIS+ Small Business Pool
Buildings Services Branch Impacts Found Nationwide
Our Buildings Branch team has been hard at work supporting a wide range of projects across the country. From education to healthcare to mitigation activities, we celebrated a number of project milestones. Our work was also recognized in various publications throughout the year, highlighting several projects that reflect the cultural identities of the end users.
The recent inclusion of the Mille Lacs Band D1 Health Clinic in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Magazine shows that our projects, even years after work is completed, are impacting communities and helping to preserve culture.
The Buildings Branch team has continued to grow our presence in the cultural heritage and historic preservation sector, as we completed several cultural projects throughout the year and were awarded another contract with IHS to continue our work in Rapid City, SD. Another important effort for our team were the presentations we conducted as part of the Rapid City Mitigation Activities project. Buildings Branch team members spoke at various conferences about our mitigation work at the site of the new Oyate Health Center, with the most recent presentation being at the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) 2024 conference in Palm Springs, CA. Under the new contract with IHS, our team is in the process of completing community engagement workshops to gather input for a memorial to honor the original Sioux Sanatorium/Sioux San Hospital.
→ Seven Generations A+E Hosting Virtual Presentation as Part of Mitigation Activities
In Chicago, our team was able to bring to life the vision of Dr. John Low, a professor of American Indian and Museum Studies at Ohio State University and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi citizen, and Andrea Carlson, MFA (Ojibwe). Our work on the exhibit “Nwi Yathmomen, We Will Tell Our Story,” began at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the spatial intervention that the curators envisioned showcases Native presence, perspectives, and physical appearance in an authentic and non-historicizing way. The exhibit opened in October of this year and invites visitors to the Marquette Building to learn more about the past, current, and future presence of the Potawatomi in and around Chicago.
In the healthcare market, we are thrilled to be working on a project in the state of Michigan, where Bodwé is headquartered. We were selected as the designer for renovations to the Richard J. Lacks Sr. Cancer Center for Trinity Health Grand Rapids. The Lacks Cancer Center is a patient-centered care facility that treats more than 1,500 new cancer patients annually and provides follow-up care to thousands more. Our Buildings Branch team is currently working on this project, with a goal of starting renovations in mid-2025.
→ Trinity Health Grand Rapids to renovate Lacks Cancer Center | Crain's Grand Rapids Business
We are continuing to support improvements to the quality of healthcare for Native communities. Bodwé also recently negotiated a sole source, direct award contract with IHS to provide planning services over the next two years. This contract allows IHS to directly award contracts, and we have already been awarded three seed project task orders. Understanding the unique needs of Indigenous healthcare, we are grateful for the opportunity to further our partnership with IHS.
→ A Bodwe Company Negotiates Sole Source Contract with Indian Health Service
Most recently, our team celebrated the groundbreakings of several BIA school projects in the Southwest region. In November, team members traveled to Navajo, NM and Sells, AZ to attend the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Crystal Boarding School and the Santa Rosa Ranch School, respectively. Throughout construction, our team will provide contract administration and quality assurance services for these two projects. We then kicked off December celebrating the start of construction on Many Farms High School, which our Buildings team completed the design for. We are excited to support these projects and the communities they serve, providing generations of Indigenous students with safe, effective, and culturally responsive learning environments.
→ Building Quality: Insights from the Santa Rosa Ranch School Project
Looking Forward to 2025
Bodwé means to light a fire for someone, a calling that fuels our mission to serve others. As we close out another year, the Bonfire Newsletter reflects on remarkable achievements for the Bodwé Group and its branches. 2025 promises exciting growth and opportunities across our entire organization. We look ahead to fostering new partnerships, delivering transformative projects, and honoring the cultural and economic legacy of the Pokagon Band. The year ahead is brimming with potential, and we remain steadfast in our mission to serve with excellence and purpose, and to light fires for each other.
