Collette Brown is an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Tribe. She is a Cankdeska Cikana Community College graduate. She furthered her education and has received a Bachelors in Business Management and Finance. She is a mother to a son and two daughters, with her fiancé Jason.  She and her family are Black Belts in the martial arts of Tae Kwon Do.   

 

Her professional journey began when she joined the workforce at the Spirit Lake Casino and Resort after her graduation from Devils Lake High School.  She later became a wildland firefighter for the Spirit Lake Range Fire Management; after that, she went back to the casino and joined the Gaming Regulations Department.  She moved up the regulations ladder over time and has worked in all areas related to Indian gaming regulations for fifteen years. She had to take an unexpected two (2) year break, but during her break she continued to advise Tribal leaders on gaming issues while working at the Warwick public school as their Business Manager and then as a project coordinator at First Nations Woman’s Alliance. She also became a Gaming Commissioner for a short period.  

 

She has returned to the gaming industry, as the Gaming Commission Executive Director and continues to advocate for Indian gaming; she has also lobbied for last three legislative sessions at the North Dakota State Capital.  

 

Collette is currently the Great Plains Representative for the Indian Gaming Association and for the National Tribal Gaming Commissioners & Regulators; she is the Spirit Lake Tribe representative on the North Dakota Native Tourism Alliance, and the Chairwoman of the Cankdeska Cikana Community College Board of Regents. Collette most recently ran for ND public office, for a Senate seat for District 15 but was not successful.