Band Member Spotlight on Success — From the Urban District to Law School & Beyond

By LISA NOLAN, COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA SPECIALIST, MILLE LACS CORPORATE VENTURES

Aarik Robertson grew up in South Minneapolis around the Urban District. His father was a file clerk at the University of Minnesota and his mother worked as an administrator in the Mille Lacs Band’s urban office. Aarik was fortunate to grow up understanding his culture and the services and programs provided to Band members, as well as had parents that worked hard to provide for their family. He always knew he wanted to make a career championing the community that he held dear.

After high school, Aarik studied American Indian Studies with an emphasis on the Ojibwe language at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. His original goal was to become a history teacher. “I wanted to teach Native history to other Native students. I took a Native history class in tenth grade, and it really opened my eyes to what was lacking in my education,” he says.

However, when he realized that the prerequisites and certification would take three years, Aarik made the decision to attend law school instead. “With law school being the same amount of time, it made sense to me,” says Aarik. “There are many opportunities with a law degree. I knew I could work in the legal field or go into higher education after working five years.” Aarik graduated with a law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law in 2015.

Before working for Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV), Aarik was the president of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association. It is an organization that he is still active in today. For the last six years, he has acted as chair of the scholarship golf tournament.

In fact, it was at that very golf tournament that Aarik was approached by MLCV’s VP of Strategic Growth Initiatives, Zach Atherton-Ely, about the prospect of joining the team. “Seeing the things that MLCV was doing over the years to be innovative and working to provide a better future for our Band members, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the organization,” he explains.

As the Director of Strategic Initiatives, Aarik has his hand in multiple projects. One of the initiatives that he is heavily involved with is SLOTCO, MLCV’s latest startup, which aims to elevate tribal gaming. “Having the opportunity to jump in and use my law degree to focus on the organization’s growth and other possible revenue streams is interesting to me,” says Aarik.

In his short tenure with MLCV, Aarik has also taken the lead on the company’s renewable energies projects, including the launch of the solar array in Hinckley. Since the activation in May, the solar array has already had the impact of over 35,000 trees being planted. Hinckley is just the beginning; Aarik sees a place for renewable resources in every place MLCV does business.

It is easy to see that sustainability is at the forefront of Aarik’s priorities. “The decisions our ancestors made hundreds of years ago to set us up for success today. That is the same type of impact I want to make for our future generations,” explains Aarik.

Aarik works diligently in his role at MLCV to leave a positive footprint, but his efforts do not stop there. “I never thought I could get paid to brainstorm cool business ideas and future revenue streams for our company, but that is a part of my job,” he says. He acknowledges that his career would not be possible without an education, access to scholarships, and most importantly, the support of people that believed in him.

It is the same kind of support that Aarik wants to pass onto the next generation of Band members. “My advice to young Band members that are thinking about pursuing a college degree is to study topics that you enjoy. You are more likely to excel at those topics, which will open more doors for you such as graduate programs and career opportunities. You will find jobs in the field you are passionate about and that will create a happy balance between work and life,” Aarik explains. “Also remember that you have a community that is here to support you.