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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1998)
2 Native News Smoke Signals ringing banks into Indian Country By Oscar Johnson "This is a unique moment in time to reverse 300 years of deterioration in our economic well being. How ever, this opportunity won't last for ever," insists Indian business advo cate, Patrick Borunda. This was the message the Execu tive Director of the Oregon Native American Business and Entrepre neurial Network (ONABEN) gave a dozen tribal representatives at the Sovereign Lending workshop in Eu gene, Oregon. Borunda also had a message for the scores of banking officials who sponsored and attended the event about their role in revers ing that deterioration. "(U.S. banks) have been happy to take the deposits coming from the revenue of (Native) resources being harvested; they've been happy to lend in order to further exploit those re sources; and they've been willing to make a profit for the way those lands have been exploited," said Borunda. He added, however, "they have been unwilling to lend to tribes that own those lands. . . . You've already reaped the benefits and now it's time to enable the tribes to reap some of those benefits as well." Borunda was the keynote speaker for the June 2 workshop which was part of a series of forums spear headed by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (FRBSF) in con junction with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Devel opment Corporation. His opening remarks underscored crucial Native interests in the financier-dominated workshop aimed at bringing tribal and bank officials together to brain storm on more effective ways to in crease access to loans and credit in 1 ill l1 (hedged czwro v& nirTO gup nsiHD (MBt n Indian Country. "We recognized there was a lot of economic opportunity in Indian Country that wasn't being ad dressed," said Craig Nolte, Commu nity Affairs Advisor for FRBSF' s Seattle branch. He said the forums began in Washington state last Jan. and will continue in Oregon, Utah and Idaho throughout June. Nolte and fellow financiers hope the workshops will be springboards for sub-regional, Nativebanking task forces that will hash-out and imple ment new ways to capitalize on such opportunities. After each all-day workshop representatives from tribes and financial institutions are expected to volunteer for a task force that will meet regularly at different reserva tions in their locale. At the Eugene workshop attendees discussed obstacles most often inter fering in tribalbank relations. While Native representatives cited cultural differences and a well-founded mis trust of non-Indian banks, bankers ac knowledged their own cultural igno rance but cited high risks associated with extending loans to Indian bor rowers. "The banks are saying 'this is how we do our Indian deals,"' one Native participant stressed to the conference room full of bankers. "But the tribes are saying 'this is not where we place our Indian dollars.'" ;. Near the close of the workshop ea ger financiers volunteered for the lo cal task force that would put the day's ideas into play. Chief among those ideas was a Uni form Commercial Code with standard rules for transactions between tribes and their members with banks. Bankers argued that in some cases tribal sovereignty can be too great a financial risk. Sovereign rights, such as those pro hibiting banks from freely repossess ing vehicles within reservation boundaries or limiting the resale of foreclosed mortgaged homes to Na tive buyers can discourage lending to Natives who live on reservations. But formal agreements between banks and tribes waving such rights could improve the lending potential in In dian Country, financiers said. However, Grand Ronde Small Busi ness Development Manager, Elaine Moore, suggests that although closer tribalbank relations are essential to the well being of Indian Country, it is not necessary to rush into such bank lead solutions. Moore has worked in accounting and business in Indian Country for more than two decades and is also on the board of directors for ONABEN. She said that although bank loans will always be . needed, the days when most tribes especially the Grand Ronde alliance were at the mercy of financial in stitutions are over. "Now that they see the potential that tribes like Grand Ronde have, they want to have more of a partnership with us. It wasn't like that in the 50's, " Moore said. "I'm not sure the tribes realize how well they sit right now." As Native lobbyists continue to de cry attacks on the source of the new found advantages of gaming rev enues, business experts such as Borunda and Moore are calling for more reliable, long term approaches to economic development than the fleeting favoritism of fickle financiers. Stressing the urgent need to invest in Indian business development in his opening address, Borunda noted "we're already seeing the closure of gaming in British Columbia." The SBA (Small Business Administration) Small Business Advocate of the Year estimates that "gaming won't last for ever perhaps only two to three more years." Moore expressed a wish that could pose an answer to many of the burn ing questions and concerns about fi nancing in Indian Country. The idea could make everybody happy. Ev erybody, that is, except non-Indian bankers. "Currently, we don't have a loan program at a tribal level like the Warm Springs Reservation does," Moore said. "My wish is that Grand Ronde would have its own credit union or bank. It is one of our long time goals that I really think we ought to look into." 1 I Patrick Borunda, ONABEN Executive Director articulates the urgent need for economic development in Indian Coun try at the Sovereign Lending Confer ence in Eugene. Photos by Oscar Johnson - i - m J ' ; ;' r, ''S if , ?--A,0 x"w. , I I! Elaine Moore, Small Business Development Manager explains the concerns that Native Entrepre neurs have when approaching banks to would-be lenders.
