Contributor

Ray Halbritter

Oneida Indian Nation Representative; CEO, Oneida Nation Enterprises

Ray Halbritter has been Nation Representative of the Oneida Indian Nation since 1975 and Chief Executive Officer of its enterprises since 1990, helping lead the Oneida people to an economic and cultural renaissance that has been hailed as a national model of success. Through diligence, hard work and collaboration, Halbritter and other tribal leaders together created sustainable enterprises that have become an engine of jobs, shared prosperity and cultural resurgence for the Oneida people. Through it all, Halbritter and the Oneida people have worked to instill in the their business enterprises a sense of cultural investment, making sure that revenues are invested back into their community, as well as in institutions that will help protect the Oneida’s heritage. Those include endowing a Harvard professorship in American Indian law and supporting the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. Halbritter has been an outspoken leader on a range of issues confronting Indian Country, including the protection of American Indian political rights. Halbritter earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Syracuse University. He serves on the boards of directors of the Environmental Media Association and the Harvard Native American Law Board.