Andy Wells, a registered member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, transformed humble beginnings into profound impact.

Raised on the Red Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota, the poverty-stricken area lacked good schools and good jobs. While his mother raised chickens, Wells scoured junkyards and trash heaps to fuel his interests in inventing and the mechanical. As a child, Wells was known for building go‑carts, rockets, and radios, with him acquiring an FCC license by the time he was 13.

Wells attended Bemidji State University for two years before beginning his professional career at automotive manufacturing company Polaris. There, he designed the first front-engine fiberglass snowmobile, the “Lil’ Andy,” at the early age of 20. Polaris encouraged Wells to complete his education, and he returned to Bemidji State University, where he earned his master’s degrees in industrial technology and physics.

Though offered a promising career with Polaris, Wells switched paths, opting instead to spend the next two years teaching at his alma mater before he founded Wells Technology in 1989. Starting from a modest $1,300 investment, Wells Technology grew from a two-stall garage into a precision manufacturing firm serving clients across the country, including Boeing, NASA, and the Department of Defense. Alongside his business, Wells is the inventor of at least seven patents, including the AirSnip and AirBlade, two air-powered tools now standard in poultry processing.

Motivated by his humble beginnings, Wells endeavored to create employment and educational opportunities for the next generation of Native Americans. Thus, in 2005, Wells founded Wells Academy, a non-profit apprentice training program. The 6-to-12-month, full time, paid training program provides indigenous and disadvantaged applicants with the tools and skills they’ll need to become qualified machinists, including CNC operation, tooling, project bidding, computer programing, and quality control.

Boasting a 93% placement success rate for its students, the program has so far been a success, with an expansion to Red Lake Nation’s Oshkiimaajitahdah Center following in 2021. Honored as Minnesota’s Small Business Person of the Year (2009), and recognized by several other organizations, Andy Wells continues to define success not by profit, but by the lives made better and communities uplifted.

Authors: Katherine Colvin and Lilly Schlarman