On any wealth-building journey, the first step is often the hardest—especially when you’re looking to care for an entire community, not just for today but for the generations to come.
And that’s exactly the large order on many Native American tribal leaders’ plates.
“It can be overwhelming when you talk about trying to establish enough wealth for generations,” said Sarah Alexander, relationship manager for Native American Financial Services at BOK Financial®. “However, it doesn't have to be everything all at once. It’s never going to be the perfect time; we suggest getting something started and then growing from there.”
Moreover, as daunting as the journey can seem, it’s an essential one for current and future generations alike, experts agreed.
As tribes work to build infrastructure and cash-generating businesses, current generations benefit from the ability to fund capital projects, provide healthcare and educational services, enable tribal members to remain in the community, and support minors and elders.
Later, as a tribe’s wealth grows, its investment earnings may be sufficient to fund capital projects without reducing principal or relying on debt. The tribe may potentially be able to create a minors’ trust to support youth in their transition to adulthood, establish an education endowment to fund college and post-secondary education, and establish a trust to deliver social support services for the elders—all provided by the tribe.
But all that doesn’t happen overnight. Here are some tips for getting started.
How tribes can build generational wealth
- Create ways to generate cash flow: For a tribe to move away from being primarily reliant on federal funds, it must find alternative ways to generate revenue, such as through a gaming enterprise or other hospitality businesses, or by the extraction of natural resources from their land. “That’s the first piece: you have to have an enterprise through which you can accumulate cash and cash flow over time,” Alexander said.
- Identify any views or mindsets that may have to change: Sometimes a financial turning point has less to do with simple dollars and cents and more to do with changing tribal leaders’ views about money management. Such was the case with the Tamayame—the members of the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico. Today, they plan to have established trusts for minors and the elderly while also building more homes for community members—all part of the tribe’s path to creating generational wealth—but that was an abstract dream only five years ago.
“The first and foremost thing was building trust within our Tribal Council to do it,” said Jay Garcia of the Tribal Council for Santa Ana Pueblo. He formerly was lieutenant governor on the council. “Sometimes within tribal structure, things can move slowly, and I guess that's the case with government at any level.” - Establish the right goals, structure and processes: “Right from the beginning, a tribe may want to consider setting goals and implementing an oversight process, with an oversight structure,” said Laura Bartlett, Institutional Wealth senior business development officer at BOK Financial. The oversight structure may include roles such as a chief financial officer (CFO), a treasurer, and/or a chief investment officer. These roles strive to operate seamlessly and function as a “single source of truth” to consolidate revenue sources, accounting and investment functions, she noted.
For instance, the Santa Ana Pueblo took a major step forward by hiring its first chief investment officer, an Ivy League-educated Wall Street veteran. That hire has since served as a catalyst, and the Tribal Council has been seeing positive results with their investments and wealth building ever since, Garcia noted. - Authorize policies from the get-go: It’s also important to document all your tribe’s processes around finances and investments early on, Bartlett said. “If policies and procedures are established upfront with authorization and approval from the tribal council, then it’s typically easier to make progress on an ongoing basis, as opposed to constantly having to get approvals at each step in the journey,” she explained.
- Designate multiple “buckets” for money, including a “rainy-day” fund: As your tribe’s enterprises grow, you might have multiple accounts designated for accumulated cash. In addition to operational accounts, a tribal enterprise could maintain separate accounts with excess liquid balances as a rainy-day fund, Alexander said. Later, as liquidity accumulates, a portion of tribal distributions could be earmarked for creating a permanent or sovereign fund that grows over time which can help establish generational wealth, she added.
- Use debt strategically: There may be times throughout a tribe’s financial progression that the strategic use of debt can help retain and grow wealth while expanding the revenue base. “Ultimately, the goal for many tribes is to be debt-free, but that doesn’t mean you have to be debt-free forever,” Alexander said. At times, it makes economic sense to utilize debt for an expansion or acquisition rather than foregoing investment earnings by dipping into liquidity reserves.
- Choose a financial services provider that’s familiar with Native American tribal governments and operations: “Financial firms with this experience will understand that a tribe is a sovereign nation and that it needs to be treated that way,” Bartlett said. “Tribes also need a firm that’s willing to provide ongoing consultation on financial matters without having an agenda.”
Through all this, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s often a non-linear path for many tribes, experts cautioned. As was the case with the Santa Ana Pueblo, financial development takes creating—and routinely adjusting and reaffirming—goals and plans for both the short-term and long-term.
It’s a maxim that Garcia can speak to. “We’re always in it for the long haul. We are always looking out to future generations.”
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