Barry Brandon in Indian Country Today: Tribes Are Forming a More Perfect Union
When the course of human events mandates a new forming of political bands between one people and another, that challenge has often been met. This was the foundation of our more perfect union. So it was when the United States saw its tumultuous start. So it was outlined as a core tenet of one of the United States’ most important founding documents. And so it shows its need again today, as Native American tribes and Nations find their most basic rights as sovereign peoples under attack. At the heart of Native American culture is the right of...
read moreIndian Gaming Magazine: Spotlight on Economic Development
In this month’s Tribal Leader Roundtable, we spoke with three tribal leaders about the status of gaming at their casino properties and what plans they have for the future with regard to economic development. Here is what they had to say… Spotlight on Economic Development Share this:
read moreSovereignty shapes county’s relationship with tribal casinos
Eleven years after the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians opened Sonoma County’s only casino in the Geyserville hills, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria will throw open the doors to its far larger gambling palace next to Highway 101 outside Rohnert Park. Both casinos were flatly opposed by Sonoma County government officials and many residents. But one factor above all hamstrung county officials and shaped their dealings with the tribes. That factor is tribal sovereignty. “It’s very significant,” said Bruce...
read moreNew York’s Attack on Tribal Lenders Is a Threat to All Natives
Despite a clear precedent in last year’s victory by tribal lenders against Colorado regulators, New York state authorities are mounting yet another attempt to erode tribal sovereign rights to operate businesses without state interference. New York’s banking czar, Benjamin Lawsky, issued a written order August 6 against internet lenders – including many tribal entities – demanding that they stop making loans to New York state residents, a threat to revenue streams that support tribal education, health care and other essential...
read moreIndian Tribes Said to Sue N.Y. Financial Regulator
Two American Indian Tribes said they sued New York state’s financial regulatory agency and its head over his crackdown on businesses that do lending over the Internet, some of which are tribally-owned. A lawsuit seeking a court order against Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, was filed yesterday in federal court in Manhattan, the Native American Financial Services Association said in a statement. The complaint couldn’t be immediately verified in court records. Lawsky on Aug. 6 ordered 35...
read moreNAFSA letter to the U.S. Department of Justice
August 21, 2013 Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong Deputy Assistant Attorney General Consumer Protection Branch Department of Justice Civil Division 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 RE: Follow up on meeting with tribal leadership regarding tribal government short-term lending on August 21, 2013 Dear Deputy Assistant Attorney General Frimpong: I am writing to memorialize the meeting between our tribal membership and you and your colleagues today. We appreciate your willingness to accept our invitation for a meeting to begin a...
read moreOnline Loans Help Families Meet Immediate Credit Needs
A recent piece by Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group ["Regulators Play 'Whack-a-Mole' With Predatory Lenders," August 13] vilifying the short-term, online lending industry as “predatory” grossly misrepresented companies focused on serving the very real financial needs of the consumers he claims to support. Millions of consumers used an online, short-term loan over the past year to meet the immediate credit needs of their families. Our industry has seen a significant increase in demand for these credit...
read moreTribal Online Lenders Ask Banks to Resist Regulatory Pressure
An association of online lenders operated by Native American tribes called on banks to resist pressure from New York State to cut them off from the nation’s primary payment system. The Native American Financial Services Association said the state’s regulators are violating the tribes’ sovereign immunity when they ask banks to prevent them from making and collecting on short-term, high-cost loans via the Internet. “We want you to be aware that we view these actions as a direct threat to tribal sovereignty and our efforts to develop...
read moreIndian Tribes to Banks: Ignore That Man Behind the Curtain
Indian tribes are urging banks to ignore attempts by New York’s top banking regulator to stop processing transactions for online lenders whose loans allegedly violate state interest-rate caps. The Native American Financial Services Association, a group that represents 16 tribes engaged in online lending, sent letters to Bank of America Corp.BAC +1.07%, Capital One Financial Corp.COF -0.11%, J.P. Morgan ChaseJPM +0.55% & Co., Wells FargoWFC -0.14% & Co. and numerous other financial institutions Wednesday, arguing the New York...
read moreNY finance official on the warpath against Native American payday lenders
Native American tribes are asking New York State’s top banking regulator to leave their payday loan businesses alone. Regulator Ben Lawsky sent cease-and-desist letters last week to 35 lenders and 112 banks providing or facilitating short-term, high-interest payday loans to consumers online. The letters claim that the businesses charge interest rates far exceeding New York’s cap of 25 percent annually, putting them in violation of the law. Although many of the companies are not incorporated in New York, Lawsky claims jurisdiction because...
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