Despite a financially viable product with casino resorts, Indian tribes are all but invisible when it comes to their finances. As a result, attracting potential investors proves problematic. Wells Fargo & Company hopes to change that, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Companies in rural Wisconsin counties where tribal reservations are located often employ close to if not more Native and non-Native workers than any other business. Since almost all the businesses are mostly owned and operated by sovereign tribal governments, tribal officials are often reluctant to share data with outsiders, even if it is beneficial.
“Any financial information provided would need to protect tribes at an individual level while still showing economic opportunities (for potential investors),” said Dawson Her Many Horses, head of Native American banking for Wells Fargo & Company.
Expanding national reports, such as those released by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), would help overcome such drawbacks.
The NIGC’s latest report shows Indian gaming revenue totaled $39 billion nationally in 2021, which is 40 percent over 2020 when casinos had to close because of the pandemic and 13 percent ahead of pre-pandemic 2019.
Wells Fargo released a report of its own in October which backed up much the same results. The report also touted tribal banks, such as Oneida’s Bay Bank with $140 million in assets, as a success story for development of Indian Country.
“Native-owned regional/local banks hold much less capital than national banks but represent a significant source of capital for non-gaming mid-market businesses,” the report states. “These institutions occupy a unique position of community trust and respect, often boasting closer relationships within Indian Country than national banks.”
The report also stresses some of the investments far afield from Indian Country. Oneida invested in the development of a joint $43 million venture to develop the Marriott Residence Inn in Washington, D.C., with three other tribes.
“This represented a significant tribal investment in non-gaming enterprises,” the report stated. “By combining resources, the tribes minimized risk and built upon each other’s diverse business experiences. The success of the venture created a positive precedent for similar future investments.”
Oneida’s Bay Bank for the first time opened a tribal bank on the reservation of another tribe in 2020, on the Menominee Reservation.
