Native American Representation in Finance Key to Sovereignty

This post was originally published on this site.

Native American representation in the financial industry is critical to the sovereignty of tribes and their continued economic growth. Building this diverse representation within banking will take deliberate and intentional efforts across multiple sectors, including higher education.

The goal can be achieved by mirroring the systems of support that increased the proportion of Native American lawyers in the U.S., which moved the needle significantly from the 1970s to today, increasing the number of Native attorneys from a few dozen to 2,500.

That’s according to a new case study released by The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, a branch of the nonprofit organization focused on building a more inclusive economy, and financial organization Wells Fargo and Company, which assessed the supports needed to propel three Native American lawyers and one banker into their careers and beyond.

Joanna Smith-Ramani, co-executive director of the Financial Security Program at Aspen, said that life today is inextricably linked to finances, and in order to create thriving communities and individuals, they must have solid financial supports beneath them.

“In a country where demographics are changing and so much of our life is financialized, we won’t have a thriving country if a large percentage of Americans aren’t benefitting,” said Smith-Ramani. “What does that mean for the strength of our communities and economy? It has a bunch of implications for those for whom the system doesn’t work.”

Ultimately, by reaching out and connecting with tribes, by providing allyship, mentorship, and internship opportunities, and by connecting with professional initiatives or programs, postsecondary institutions can engage in the multi-sector work of lifting Native American students, and their communities, to financial security.

The study urged industry leaders to start acquainting young Native Americans to financial career opportunities early on, well before they enter higher education. After they enter a postsecondary atmosphere, students still might not fully understand what careers are available through certain pathways. The study urges the intentional creation of pipelines and a broadening of horizons for young Natives to help them understand how their futures, and the future of their tribes, can benefit from connections to the financial world.

Understanding how their careers can benefit their tribe as a whole is important to Native students. As tribal governments do not collect tax revenue, they often rely on financial industry and entrepreneurs to bring in funds. While many tribal nations have embraced casinos and the gaming market for financial support, Dawson Her Many Horses, managing director and head of Native American Banking at Wells Fargo, said that industry is cooling after many years of growth.

“As revenue slows, and tribal membership grows, tribes are realizing they need to identify new businesses to support their governments. We’re approaching a point in time where tribes are at an inflection point,” said Her Many Horses. “Most [banks] don’t have Native Americans on the team working to serve Tribal communities, and that’s a concern because every bank should look like the clients they serve.”

It’s one of the reasons Her Many Horses said careers in finance can lead to many opportunities to support tribes, whether that’s direct management of revenue, or the creation of policy.

“Part of the way I was raised was about building and maintaining relationships, and the transactional natures of [some] finance can have an impact,” said Her Many Horses. “It had me contend with, what does it mean to be a Native American in finance? [How do I] stay true to who I am but operate in this world?”

The work can be lonely, especially considering how few Native Americans currently work in finance, which is why support groups, mentors, and allies are key to keeping indigenous finance workers employed in their field.

“When you feel like you’re the only one, maintaining cultural identity is even more important,” said Her Many Horses. “Part of the solution is talking to students about how finance can help tribal communities, how different types of finance is much more relationship based. It’s helping Native Americans understand the different types of opportunity in finance, but also giving them a forum to talk about the concerns and issues they’re having as they navigate who they are in a space without a lot of Natives.”

One branch of peer and mentor support for Native Americans in the legal field came from the Pre-Law Summer Institute (PLSI), created over 50 years ago. Although PLSI is housed at the University of New Mexico (UNM), the program, which offers financial and mentoring support for indigenous students interested in law, was open to students from outside UNM. One participant told Aspen that PLSI “dramatically reduced the intimidation factor and made you feel comfortable, like, ‘I can do this and can compete on this level.’”

Achieving the goal of an inclusive and diverse financial system, said Smith-Ramani, “doesn’t magically happen. We have to intentionally and methodically plan and resource it to happen.”

That’s why Her Many Horses and Smith-Ramani said it must take an intentional lift from multiple industries to make a true impact.

“There’s a Venn diagram of everyone benefitting from the outcomes we want here — we can’t do it separately. There’s not enough resources, knowledge, and wisdom to do it on its own,” said Smith-Ramani. “The call, to me, is a really thoughtful and committed collaboration with conviction around the outcomes for this young person and the Native American community, thinking back to their prosperity and the community’s ongoing opportunity.”