What’s New in the Native Financial Sovereignty Movement

Oweesta is proud to present a weekly round-up of events, trainings, and other opportunities geared towards the advancement of Native communities. Events and trainings are hosted by Oweesta or by partners who share our goal of transforming the economic landscape of our communities, building assets, and promoting our voices and advocacy efforts on behalf of Native communities and persistent poverty areas. All event times are shown based on Mountain time zone.

Contribute your upcoming events and opportunities to the newsletter by emailing comms@oweesta.org.

Upcoming Event

Native Financial Education
Practitioners Summit

April 26-29, 2021

Oweesta is pleased to announce the first Annual Native Financial Education Practitioners Summit on April 26-29, 2021. We are joined by leaders in the Native financial education field sharing information on meeting your community in the time of COVID, virtual tips and games for online curriculum delivery, practices on investing for the future, $pending Frenzy going mobile, and much more! Sessions will be held daily at 10am-12:30pm, 1pm-2:30pm, and 3pm-4pm MT. Don’t miss out on a week of information to boost your financial education programming in Indian Country.

Register Today

Register Today

Strategies for Portfolio Delinquencies:
A Native CDFI Roundtable

April 21, 2021 at 1pm MT

While some of our portfolios remain unscathed, if your Native CDFI has experienced increased delinquency in the face of COVID-19, you are not alone. Please join us for this roundtable to connect with other Native CDFI practitioners and discuss strategies for responding to portfolio delinquency. Come ready to share what is working at your organization and brainstorm additional strategies with your Native CDFI peers. As this peer-to-peer learning and networking opportunity will rely on sharing experiences, this roundtable will be limited in size. Registration will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Register Today

Advice from the Doctor

“Dear Dr. Per Cap,

I received a 1099-G that lists over $3,000 in unemployment benefits paid by the state in 2020. I didn’t receive any unemployment last year. What should I do?

Signed,
Working through the Pandemic”

Read the Dr.’s Advice>

Dr. Per Cap answers the question above and covers important financial topics this quarter. Special thanks to First Nations Development Institute and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation for the Dr. Per Cap advice column.

Worst Investment Ever

Dr. Per Cap fesses up with a personal story about dabbling in penny stocks.

Bitcoin Mania
Investors, businesses, and governments keep piling in. Is Bitcoin the currency of the future or just another asset bubble waiting to pop?

Why Tip?

What’s up with Natives who don’t tip? A classic Dr. Per Cap article from August 2019 recently updated to address a proposed increase in the federal minimum wage.

Upcoming Events

Women and Money
Host: Native Learning Center
Time: April 6, 12pm MTThere is no doubt women face unique financial challenges throughout their lives. Statistics show that women earn less money than men do; however, women live longer than men do and women often take on a caretaker role to support aging parents. Above all else, women are more than likely to be left out of those conversations as well as when it comes to financial planning needs. Whether you are a single mother, a wife, a widow, a young or older woman, you need financial guidance that will help you weather the different phases of life as a woman. Join NLC in the webinar taught by a woman Certified Financial Educator to learn about personal finances and solutions for women.
Register Here>

Small Dollar Loan Program
Host: CDFI Fund
Time: April 13, 12pm MTCDFI Fund staff will hold an informational pre-application webinar for the Small Dollar Loan Program on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Topics covered will include setting up your critical SAM.gov and Grants.gov accounts, adjusting your organizational profile in the Awards Management Information System (AMIS), and other ways your organization can prepare in advance for the FY 2021 application round.
Register Here>

Elders: Don’t Let Pandemic-Related Financial Roadblocks Hold You Back
Host: National Indian Council on Aging
Time: April 15, 10am MTScammers are targeting seniors and the pandemic has caused financial hardships. This virtual session will inform American Indian and Alaska Natives, especially elders, about safe financial measures to take during COVID-19 and the recovery period. Topics include fraud/scams, government stimulus and forbearance programs, and the protection a good banking relationship offers.
Register Here>

Enhancing Services Through a Trauma-Informed Lens
Host: Enterprise
Time: April 21, 12pm MTJoin this series of six 90-minute conversations with each of the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge winners and other leading voices from the housing sector and beyond. This webinar will feature Breakthrough Challenge grantee Preservation of Affordable Housing and their winning idea, Designing Trauma-Resilient Communities.
Register Here>

The Federal Reserve Wants to Hear from You!

The Federal Reserve 2021 CDFI Survey is now open. Join your colleagues in completing the survey to better inform the Fed, the CDFI Fund and other policymakers, researchers and practitioners about the collective work of CDFIs.

As with past survey data, the Federal Reserve and the CDFI Fund intend to use the survey data to inform research and future policymaking. Data from last year’s survey informed the design of CDFI Fund and Federal Reserve programs, including the CDFI Rapid Response Program, as well as outreach and education efforts.

The 60-minute survey is open to all CDFIs, regardless of certification status. Please be aware that the survey may be distributed to multiple individuals at your organization, but only one response is necessary per organization. Submit a response for your CDFI now. And tell another CDFI leader you know. The more voices we hear, the more we can do together.

Your time is important, so we’ve significantly shortened the survey this year. More information about the 2021 CDFI Survey and the Fed’s CDFI survey work is available here.

The Cost of Culture: Supporting Innovative & Best Practices for Language Revitalization
Host: NAFOA
Time: April 26-29The staggering loss of life in Indian Country also means the loss of our cultural knowledge keepers. A concentrated effort will be required to sustain and accelerate cultural teachings post-pandemic. Tribal governments are poised to define the availability of new resources and allocate funding for staffing to meet the increased challenges of cultural preservation. Join Us for a Discussion about the current challenges impacting Language Revitalization and gain practical insights for effective approaches to building a sustaining a community of learners and speakers.
Register Here>

NIHB 2021 National Tribal Public Health Summit
Host: National Indian Health Board
Time: April 27-29Every year the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) brings together public health practitioners, researchers, and policy experts to allow for conversation, mobilization, and strategy. This year is no different despite COVID-19. In fact, COVID-19 has made our work even more urgent and vital. The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated, for all to see, the critical underfunding of the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the importance of improving Tribal public health infrastructure.
Register Here>

IHP Development
Host: Native Learning Center
Time: May 4, 11am MTTo receive an Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG), a recipient must submit a One-Year Indian Housing Plan (IHP), as required by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA). Recipient programs that are fully or partially funded by IHBG, IHBG program income, Title VI funds, Title VI program income, or 1937 Housing Act funds must be included in the IHP. The recipient is required to submit the IHP to the area Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) at least 75 days prior to the start of its 12-month program year. This course will focus on the planning and development of your IHP.
Register Here>

Loan Policy Development
Host: Oweesta and Native Learning Center
Time: May 13, 11am MTThis three hour webinar will cover the development loan policies and the role they plan in any lending department. This webinar is designed to teach fundamental principles of loan policy development.
Register Here>

Employment Opportunities

Ag Lender – Lakota Funds
The Ag Lender will focus on maintaining and growing Lakota Funds agricultural lending program within their service area, which includes the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations.
Apply Here>

Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator – First Peoples Worldwide
The Community and Outreach Coordinator of First Peoples Worldwide (FPW) supports the program’s mission to work from a foundation of Indigenous values to establish a sustainable future for all.
Apply Here>

Director of Finance – Oweesta Corporation
Oweesta is seeking dynamic individual to join our team as the Director of Finance. This position will oversee the finance department to ensure proper maintenance of all accounting systems and function as well as ensure maintenance of appropriate internal controls and financial procedures.
Apply Here>

Executive Director – Four Directions Development Corporation
The Executive Director will partner with the board of directors to provide strategic direction and leadership, directly oversees FDDC’s programs and operations, and will be responsible for the organization’s financial health.
Apply Here>

Impact Analyst – Clearinghouse CDFI
The Impact Analyst plays a key role in supporting the corporate mission and helping Clearinghouse CDFI remain true to its triple bottom line – people, profit, and planet.
Apply Here>

Program Director – South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition
SDHNOC seeks a Program Director to support the Coalition’s transition into an independent, stand-alone organization and will be committed to increasing homeownership opportunities for Native families in SD.
Apply Here>

Training and Development Specialist – Native Learning Center
The Training and Development Specialist provides housing related training specifically related to the following NAHASDA objectives, that addresses, through best practices, the needs of Tribal communities.
Apply Here>

What’s New in the Native Financial Sovereignty Movement