Establishing practical sovereignty through asset-based development in Native

communities

Peter L. MorrisFirst Nations Development Institute

Presentation to the North Australian Research UnitDarwin, NT, Australia

June 28, 2005

The Problem:Control

The Solution:Asset-based

developmentThe Result:

PracticalSovereignty

The ProblemObservations from Indian Country and of the

broader Indigenous experience.

Adamson, ‘Land Rich, Dirt Poor’

Salway Black, ‘Redefining Success in Community Development’

The SolutionAsset-based development

Welfare reform in the US

Asset accumulation policies to assist the middle-class

The TheoryIntroduced by Professor Michael Sherraden: Assets and the Poor: A new American welfare strategy

“Income may feed people’s stomachs but assets change their heads.”

Further theoretical development

Tom Shapiro and Melvin Oliver Black Wealth, White Wealth

Tom ShapiroThe Hidden Cost of Being African American

Relevance to Indigenous policy

“If assets represent potential for social and economic development, asset inequality may be the most fundamental racial issue in the United States”

Sherraden, ‘Inclusion in Asset Building’

Relevance to Indigenous governance

“When we think of the exercising of sovereignty, we tend to focus exclusively on the role of tribal government. But being a nation, in the fullest sense, is much more encompassing. It is about members who are engaged, productive and responsible citizens; it is about strong and vital government and other institutions; it is about a healthy and vibrant economy; it is about supportive and loving families and kinship networks; — all grounded in the values provided by a strong cultural foundation.”

Salway-Black, ‘Assets: Our once and future wealth’

The ResultAbility to make and enforce their own decisions as

individuals, families and communities.

The Australian experience – thinking outside the box when you don’t have one!

Center piece – IDAs/MSAsWhat are Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)?

Matched savings accounts

Individual contributions to the account are matched by private or public funds

An individual must be savings toward an asset building goal (like owning a home or starting a business)

What they doEstablish a banking relationship.

Provide a teachable moment for financial literacy training.

Affirm positive behavior.

Enable accomplishment of goals.

Provide an empowering pathway out of poverty.

The State of the General IDA FieldWidespread popularity across the United States and in a

number of other countries.

Investment in IDAs by more than 500 communities, 300 banks and financial institutions, 47 states, and the federal government.

At least 20,000 saving in IDA accounts.

Bush administration – funding for 600,000 – 900,000 additional accounts.

Cultural foundations of asset-buildingPre-contact

“In traditional American Indian cultures, assets are given away. Think about ceremonies, like potlatches or give-aways at Pow Wows. Sharing and reciprocity are important. The whole point of possessing assets is that one can use and share them. Status and power are derived from the ability to share and to provide others in the community with the resources that they need. The pride of acquiring something is being able to give it away.”

-Dr. Eddie Brown, former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Director of American Indian Studies at Arizona State University

Post-contactIndigenous rights movements, cultural preservation, intellectual property.

First Nations and the Native IDA FieldActive involvement in Native IDAs from 1998

18-20 Native programs now in existence

First Nations has awarded almost $1 million in grants to 9 existing IDA programs to date.

More than 200 participants have reached their savings goal.

At least 250 active participants.

Well over 1000 individuals positively impacted, along with their families and communities.

Early Native IDA Programs1999 - presentCherokee Nation IDA program Tahlequah, OKALU LIKE IDA program HI – Entire stateOklahomans for Indian Opportunity IDA program Norman, OK

2001 - presentUmatilla Saves IDA program Pendleton, ORLeech Lake IDA program Cass Lake, MNWhite Earth IDA program Mahnomen, MN

2002 - presentThe Lakota Fund IDA program Kyle, SD

Finished or holdingFort Hall IDA program Fort Hall, IDRedwood Valley Youth IDA program Redwood Valley, CAWarm Springs IDA program Warm Springs, OR

2003 (or later) - presentICE IDA program Flagstaff, AZCook Inlet Tribal Council IDA program Anchorage, AKWind River Development Fund IDA program Ft. Washakie, WYSalt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community IDA program Scottsdale, AZNavajo Partnership for Housing St Michaels, AZYurok Indian Housing Authority IDA program Northern CAHoopa Valley Tribe IDA program Hoopa Valley, CANative American Connections Phoenix, AZWhite Mountain Apache Housing Authority IDA Program Whiteriver, AZ

Many in development – from Alaska to Wisconsin!

Rapid growth

Integrating asset-building strategiesThe delivery mechanism

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

The productsIDAs

The teachable momentsEarned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

New wealth

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton, Oregon

• Home Ownership Program, Match Rate 3:1

• Savings Goal =$1,500; and Match = $4,500

• Save a minimum of $60 per month for a period of 6 months or longer

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton, Oregon

• Currently: 18 participants

• Two graduates on allotted land, one one fee simple, one fee simple HUD repossession

The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma:

• Savings goal: $720 (2 years) – save $30 per month.

• Participants must attend an orientation class, and at least 12 hours of economic literacy in the first 12 months of saving.

• Individual strategies for savings and personalized budgets are developed.

• Participants are required to attend asset maintenance workshops in the second 12 months of the savings period.

Cherokee Nation IDA program• In the first three years,

40 participants graduated from the Cherokee Nation program.

• Participants saved a total of $18,757, earned match dollars of $75,120, and leveraged approximately $298,500 of private money.

Cherokee Nation IDA program – use of savings

• Many new homes purchased and homes improved

• George (pictured at left, with Gina Martinez, IDA Coordinator) built equity in his home and then used his home as a means to start his own business – a convenience store and gas station.

• One program graduate used his funds to buy land to start a mobile home park.

• Another bought a sewing machine to start a fabric crafts business.

Professor Michael Sherraden

“Income may feed people’s stomachs…

but assets change their heads.”

And their families

for generations!

Indigenous Community Enterprises, Arizona

• Youth IDA program

• Youth build Hogan homes for elders in the community

• Receive financial literacy training

• Receive vocational training

• Save toward an asset building goal

Grandma Eula Tsinnie in front of her burned Hogan-fall 2002.

Construction of Grandma Tsinnie's Hogan-winter 2002

The first graduate – a transformed woman!

The Result:

People equipped to govern, exercising practical sovereignty.

Ongoing research opportunitiesDeveloping a Native technical assistance and

peer-mentoring network in the Southwest and Oklahoma

Developing a Native training institute

Increasing the profile of this work in the academy

Possible work in Canada and Alaska

Let’s keep the discussion goingFIRST NATIONS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

Peter L. Morris

2300 Fall Hill Ave., Suite 412

Fredericksburg, VA 22401

(540) 371-5615 Fax (540) 371-3505

pmorris@firstnations.org

www.firstnations.org