[CircleUp] ICT Article: Tribal Exchange and Financial Education

Mon Sep 8 15:31:47 EDT 2008

The 'Tribal Exchange'

Posted: September 03, 2008

by: Vincent Schilling <http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/author.cfm?id2>

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Photo courtesy NCAI Jacqueline Johnson Pata, executive director, NCAI;
Sarah Hicks, policy research director, NCAI; and Dante Desiderio,
economic development policy specialist, NCAI, test the ''Tribal
Exchange,'' a version of the ''Stock Market Game,'' geared toward
American Indian students attending reservation schools.

Taking a shot at the 'Stock Market Game' 

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - According to the National Congress of American
Indians, children in 20,000 schools have taken part in a financial
literacy program known as the ''Stock Market Game.'' Teams of students
are given hypothetical amounts of money to invest in the stock market.
The winners of the game are those who ''raise'' the most money. 

Many teachers support the SMG, stating students are excited to learn
about financial matters because students are connected to real-life
decisions. 

But American Indian schools have not been part of this literacy program.
Staff members at the NCAI have come up with a program that would offer
the same benefits as the SMG. 

The NCAI has created the Tribal Exchange to give American Indian schools
another version of the SMG. But in this case, more than American Indian
schools are taking part in the competition. Other Native agencies are
jumping aboard for a bit of friendly competition. 

The NCAI has worked in conjunction with government agencies such as the
Bureau of Indian Education, the Office of Indian Education and Economic
Development, Oweesta, First Nations, Native American Finance Officers
Association and the Department of Treasury in the creation of this
Tribal Exchange. 

School and agency teams will each receive a hypothetical $100,000 to
invest over the course of the game. The pilot game runs for 38 days from
Sept. 2 to Oct. 10. School teams will consist of 9th graders and each
school can have up to six teams of 3 - 5 members each. Agency teams will
follow a similar format. 

The American Indian BIE schools now participating in the pilot run of
this game are Choctaw High School, Sherman High School, Many Farms High
School, Standing Rock High School and Santa Fe Indian School. 

The winning school team will be honored at the NCAI Annual Convention in
Phoenix, Ariz., in October. Winning team members and a sponsoring
teacher will receive a prize to be determined. 

''We've been part of a Financial Literacy Coalition since 2001,'' said
Jacqueline Johnson Pata, executive director of the NCAI. ''It was
created in the Clinton Administration in an attempt to create financial
literacy among ethnic groups. The treasury actually announced many
initiatives, but since that time, this is the only coalition that still
exists. 

''When Dante Desiderio came aboard to the NCAI, and we did the economic
summit in May of last year, one of the things that came out of it was
the support for building financial literacy in Indian country. Dante
launched the idea of the Stock Market Game.'' 

Across the board, support for the program has been overwhelming. The BIA
and the Department of Education were among those that showed interest. 

According to a Financial Literacy Paper submitted by Desiderio, Economic
Development Policy Specialist, the Tribal Exchange program targets three
identified areas of need in tribal communities: The need for Native
youth to build leadership skills, financial management skills and
building self-confidence and financial awareness. 

Desiderio's paper explains that tribal leaders are challenged to make
sound business, economic and financial management decisions that often
have little training before being elected to serve their member's best
interests. 

The program targets tribes with economically successful operations that
place significant dividends into individual trusts that are paid out to
tribal members when they become adults. 

His paper further asserts that the program will help to build confidence
and financial awareness. It lastly mentions that the Tribal Exchange is
one component of a larger financial literacy campaign with targeted
learning initiatives for youth and adults. The program also expands the
horizons beyond the reservation boundaries and builds camaraderie when
teams compete with other tribal peers from around the country. 

Pata stressed the importance of financial education of Native people. 

''Within Indian country, the daily chat is not about the stock market.
But today, many tribal leaders are concerned about investing into their
youth. We are trying to excite people about building assets and becoming
exposed to financial terminology. We want to build the skills of tribal
leaders. 

''The pilot groups consist of the BIA schools, the NCAI staff and other
teams. I hope we win; I spoke to my team captain about the strategy of
our team. It will be fun! It's also very exciting to engage with our
youth. I hope that this will help the youth to be real excited too.'' 

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