financial institutions

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Ignored by banks, Indigenous communities build their own financial system thumbnail

Bankshot Episode 46: Ignored by banks, Indigenous communities build their own financial system

EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. — The Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation is big, but it isn’t as big as it used to be. As seen from the air, the land is an expansive, grayish-brown terrain cracked open by the winding Missouri River with scattered clusters of black dots. On the ground, the dots become cows — so…

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Borrego Springs Bank of the Viejas Band

Borrego Springs Bank of the Viejas Band

The first American Indian-owned bank in California, the Borrego Springs Bank (BSB) offers a full range of services to tribal governments and Native-owned businesses in order to facilitate the entrepreneurial growth of American Indian tribes. With more than $74 million in assets and two full service…

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Honoring Nations: Kristi Coker-Bias and Allen Pemberton: The Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation and the Red Lake Walleye Recovery Program (Q&A)

Honoring Nations symposium presenters Kristi Coker-Bias and Allen Pemberton field questions from the audience about the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation and the Red Lake Walleye Recovery Program.

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Strengthening the role of Native CDFIs: A conversation with Gerald Sherman of the Native CDFI Network

Strengthening the role of Native CDFIs: A conversation with Gerald Sherman of the Native CDFI Network

Roughly 8 percent of the 917 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in the U.S. are categorized as Native CDFIs (NCDFIs), which means they serve primarily American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian communities. Due to a mixture of historical, political, and geographical…

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Credit union has grand opening at Fortune Bay

Credit union has grand opening at Fortune Bay

Banking will be much more accessible for Bois Forte Band members with the opening of the Northern Eagle Federal Credit Union. The non-profit institution celebrated its grand opening Monday at its Vermilion branch, located at Fortune Bay Resort Casino near Tower. Northern Eagle’s main branch is at…

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Indian Country Today Article

How Tribal Leaders Are Creating Jobs

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) has provided a vital spark to infrastructure and economic development projects across Indian country. Momentum has been building over the past several years but because of recent federal agency actions, and now tax-related Congressional bickering, it is in danger…

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Credit union opens new doors at Pine Ridge

Credit union opens new doors at Pine Ridge

In only nine weeks since it opened, the Lakota Federal Credit Union has attracted 317 members, and $1.2 million in deposits. “We have already approved $100,000 in loans, and that has been by word of mouth. It’s been huge,” Tawney Brunsch, executive director for the Lakota Funds, announced. Brunsch…

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Four Bands Community Fund logo

Four Bands Community Fund

As a nonprofit organization and a Native community development financial institution (CDFI) certified by the U.S. Treasury, Four Bands Community Fund continuously strives to achieve its mission of creating economic opportunity by helping people build strong and sustainable small businesses and…