Community impact
Okla Risk Advisors is a Choctaw-owned firm. The name itself carries that commitment: okla is the Choctaw word for people. The firm directs its time and resources toward tribal disaster preparedness, Native-led emergency management, and the organizations working to close the resilience gap in Indian Country.
The gap we work on
Less than one-half of one percent of all charitable giving in the United States goes to Native American causes. Tribal communities face some of the highest disaster vulnerability in the country: substandard housing, limited infrastructure, remote geography, and emergency management departments that may consist of a single person. When a tornado, flood, or wildfire hits a reservation, the community often manages its own response before federal assistance arrives.
FEMA has identified the tribal hazard mitigation planning gap as one of the clearest unmet needs in the national preparedness system. The majority of federally recognized tribes do not have a current FEMA-approved mitigation plan, which means they cannot access the non-emergency grant programs that fund risk reduction before the next disaster.
That is the problem this firm was built around. The work is the community impact. Every mitigation plan we develop, every PA recovery we support, and every tribal emergency manager we train makes a tribe more likely to survive the next event with its people and infrastructure intact.
Buy Native, build Native
The firm is wholly owned by an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and self-certified as an Indian Economic Enterprise under the Buy Indian Act. When agencies and primes place work with this firm, that spending supports a Native-owned business, contributes to small and disadvantaged business utilization goals, and builds capacity inside Indian Country rather than outside it.
The firm prioritizes Native-owned vendors, subcontractors, and professional service providers when assembling project teams, and encourages its clients to do the same.
What does okla mean?
In the Choctaw language, okla means people. Choctaw delegate Rev. Allen Wright proposed the name Oklahumma for the Indian Territory in 1866, combining okla (people) and humma (red). The Choctaw Nation notes that homma was also a war title given to those who did not retreat. It became the name of the state in 1907.
The firm carries that first word because the work is for the people it serves.
Organizations serving Indian Country in disaster
These organizations work on tribal disaster preparedness, emergency response, and community resilience. The firm follows their work, supports their missions, and encourages clients and partners to do the same.
- Tribal Emergency Management Association (iTEMA)A national association created for Indian Country, by Indian Country. iTEMA offers workshops, training, and resources for tribal emergency managers and promotes a collaborative approach to disasters affecting tribal communities. itema.org
- Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA)Provides disaster relief when tribal citizens are displaced, along with emergency preparedness planning, training, winter fuel assistance, and seasonal emergency kits for Native elders. Serves reservations across nine priority states and coordinates with the Red Cross and Feeding America. nativepartnership.org
- Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Native CommunitiesFocuses on early-to-long-term disaster recovery in Native communities, with a commitment to directing a percentage of recovery fund grants to Native-led and Native-serving organizations. disasterphilanthropy.org
- FEMA Tribal AffairsFEMA's tribal affairs office provides contacts by tribe, tribal disaster declaration information, consultation schedules, and grants and mitigation planning resources. fema.gov/tribal-affairs
- Navajo Relief FundServes as a first responder for natural disasters and environmental emergencies on the Navajo Nation, delivering food, water, and supplies. nativepartnership.org/nrf
Priorities
The firm concentrates its community involvement in three areas tied directly to the work.
Tribal disaster preparedness. Pro bono plan status assessments for tribal emergency managers, and participation in iTEMA and regional tribal emergency management working groups.
Native professional development. Supporting the pipeline of Native professionals in emergency management, insurance, and federal contracting through mentorship and by making the firm's training resources available to tribal EM offices.
Faith and family. The firm's principal is guided by faith and by the responsibility that comes with representing a tribal nation in professional work. Service to community is not a program; it is part of how the firm operates.
Continue
Partner with us on something that matters.
Tribal emergency managers, Native-serving nonprofits, and organizations working on disaster resilience in Indian Country are welcome to reach out.