International Women’s Day 2012 – Women in U.S. Indian Country face challenges
In a trust.org blog post, Billi A. RainingBird-Morsette, chief executive officer of Plain Green, LLC, Native American Lending Alliance and Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy discusses her opinions on the tragedies taking place in Indian Country. Housing shortages, failing health care services and lack of revenue have left those in the Native American community in a more desperate position than ever before. While some reservations have experienced rapid economic development by engaging in the gaming industry, rural tribes face more acute...
read moreIndian Tribes Welcome Ruling On Sovereignty
The Associated Press published a release discussing the Colorado court ruling that tribes cannot be held in contempt for not responding to administrative subpoenas from the state in civil cases. The Native American Lending Alliance says that this ruling means that tribal immunity has not territorial boundaries. Click here for the full release.
read moreNYT Letter to the Editor: Helping Indian Tribes
A tribal chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, and a board member of the Native American Lending Alliance contributed the New York Times on February 12th, discussing how the article “An Indian Reservation in Crime’s Daily Grip” correctly draws attention to the problems of Indian reservations in the United States. The article goes on to state that many reservations are facing harsh geographical challenges, limiting many tribes from being able to develop commerce and industry for their members, but e-commerce...
read moreBashing Payday Lenders
A recent Wall Street Journal article discusses how Congress’s rush to punish banks and other financial institutions may actually be hurting those same low-income earners again by limiting payday lending. Payday lend shops lend between $100 and $500 for short periods in advance of a customer’s next payback, however, Obama has added them to his list of financial villains in his State of His Re-Election address. Read the entire article...
read moreMontana Senator Sheds Light on Chippewa Cree’s Plain Green Loans
Because of growing restrictions on payday loans, banks and payday lenders are teaming up with American Indian businesses. Indian country offers a loophole, sovereign immunity, that shields companies from the U.S. government’s mandated interest rate caps and other payday-loan regulations. Indian country lenders can even issue loans in states where lawmakers have booted out the payday-loan industry. The sovereign-loan model is “exploding and will be the future lending model for payday-loan companies,” said Jer Ayler, president of Trihouse...
read moreMajority Believes U.S. Government has too many Regulations
70% of Americans Support Tribal Lending Rights; Overwhelming Majority Says Government Should Honor Native American Treaties; UTICA, NY – Only 13 percent of those surveyed think Americans need more government regulations, according to a recent IBOPE Zogby International survey. More than half of adults (55%) say that, in general, they feel the federal government already has too many regulations, while a quarter (25%) say there is just the right amount. In the survey, an overwhelming majority (88%) agree that the U.S. Government should keep its...
read moreThe Last Enclaves of Banking Freedom
Huffington Post Bruce Fein Posted: 10/31/11 10:53 AM ET To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To the army of regulators in the Obama administration, every lender looks like a potential problem that could mushroom into an A.I.G. debacle. They have spread their regulatory tentacles under the auspices of Dodd-Frank legislation to virtually every nook and cranny of the banking world. The sole enclaves of banking choice are Native American tribes endowed with sovereign powers pursuant to treaties or otherwise. They offer sovereign lending to...
read moreProsperity Is Possible
Five months ago, my tribe decided to partner with Think Finance to offer Plain Green. Plain Green makes short term installment loans and has experienced tremendous success since launching and I’m proud to say our tribe is already feeling the benefits. More jobs, more development, more opportunity. In today’s economy, we’re struggling as Native Americans to provide for our people. We need business, we need partnerships, and we need a chance. Right now, my tribe is doing everything it can to develop a better life for it’s members and can...
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