A report prepared by Wells Fargo Bank and Boston Consulting Group spells out solutions for economic self-sufficiency for 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S.
“Tribal communities have been impacted by economic events over the last 20 plus years: 9-11, the great financial crisis, and Covid,” Dawson Her Many Horses told WCNC. “This report was kind of born out of that, reflecting on those experiences and our desire to support our clients and stakeholders in a way that’s kind of meaningful and reflects our expertise in the market.”
As the point person for Native American Finance for Wells Fargo Commercial Banking, Her Many Horses said a lack of data has hampered efforts. North Carolina recognizes eight tribes; its neighbor to the south, just one.
“There isn’t a lot of business or economic data that talks about Native American communities,” Her Many Horses said. “So I think that has an impact on tribes’ ability to find investments for the projects they want to build on their lands.”
He said part of the problem is not knowing how tribal economies work.
“In mainstream America, the entrepreneur drives economic opportunity, Her Many Horses said. “But in Native America, it’s tribal governments and the businesses they own, that drive most opportunity.”
When casinos, hotels, or their other businesses experience a downturn, it has an impact on profits and the ability to fund important programs for their members like health care, housing and cultural preservation.
The report is more than a compendium of what’s wrong. It provides tribal leaders a framework to think about other economic development opportunities with the profits they make from the casinos.
“It helps them think about other ways they can leverage their assets, to kind of help them withstand the next economic downturn,” Her Many Horses said. “It’s a big report, but we think there’s a lot in it that folks will find useful.”
He hopes private investors will take a look at tribal communities.
“When we look at the banking landscape available for tribal communities, what we see is that a lot of the financial institutions that are available in mainstream America, don’t necessarily go into or have exposure to Native America: venture capital, private equity, regional banks, national banks. You know, there are a lot of banks that just haven’t done much or may not know about opportunities in tribal communities,” Her Many Horses said.
Technology is another issue that needs to be addressed, he told WCNC.
“I think when folks aren’t able to access their bank accounts, it limits the number of individual tribal members who can access banking services. So I think broadband is a huge issue,” Her Many Horses said.
The feds spend about a billion dollars to aid the build-out of broadband in tribal communities, but that takes time.
“We don’t just want to identify problems, but we also want to contribute to the solutions and this report is part of that.”
To download a copy of the report click here.
