And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "Frank LaFountaine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Here's a news article published in the Tacoma News Tribune on July 22, 1999 about a proposed bank which the Puyallup Tribe wants to set up to manage trust funds. Frank *************************************** Puyallups envision national tribal bank It could serve as center of investment for all Indians Rob Carson; The News Tribune Local/State Pierce County If a lawsuit filed by American Indian tribes against the Bureau of Indian Affairs is successful, it could mean that as much as $10 billion in compensation would be distributed throughout Indian Country. If that happens, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians wants to be ready with a financial institution - a "Native American National Bank" - to serve as a repository for the accounts and as a national tribal investment center. "It's a perfect tool to share benefits with others," said Elizabeth Tail, acting CEO for Puyallup International Inc., the tribe's economic development arm. At a presentation to the City Club of Tacoma on Wednesday, Tail showed a slide of the proposed bank - a high-rise glass office tower with the letters NANB across the top - superimposed on the Tacoma skyline. The bank would allow tribes across the country to clear the hurdle of conventional financing for development projects, Tail said, and it would benefit the Tacoma area by doing business here. The court case, which began last month, charges that the BIA mismanaged billions of dollars in lease and royalty receipts collected on reservation land over the past century, resulting in losses for some 300,000 tribal members around the country. The Puyallup tribe is not a party to the suit, but the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Quinault Indian Nation and the Yakama Indian Nation have stakes in the outcome. Tail described the bank plan as "a vision" rather than a definite plan. She used it as an example of the sorts of creative, far-reaching economic-development ideas the Puyallup tribe is pursuing. But she said the bank plan is real enough for the Frank Russell Co. to have offered its assistance. Tail mentioned a number of other development plans the tribe is pursuing, including: * A regional economic development project modeled on one in Dublin, Ireland, using the tribe's sovereign status to encourage foreign countries to locate on tribal trust land. * A variety of retail outlets on tribal land along Interstate 5. * Container storage and trucking operations on tribal land in the Tideflats. * A joint venture with the Port of Tacoma to build a shipping terminal on the East Blair Waterway. Visible progress in the tribe's economic development may seem slow to those in the mainstream, Tail said, but progress has been significant considering the obstacles the tribe faces. For example, she said much of the $50 million worth of real estate the tribe received in its land-claims settlement 10 years ago was unsuitable for development because of environmental issues. Also, she said, the tribe has a shortage of skilled, educated workers and is giving priority to projects that develop its employee base. And Indian tribes have a built-in handicap, she said, because their land is in trust status and cannot be used as collateral for conventional loans. The $25 million financing package that built the tribe's Emerald Queen Casino was financed by Tacoma's Columbia Bank and U.S. Bank. That loan, the first conventional loan for tribal gaming in history, was possible because the casino is a free-floating riverboat, Tail said, which could be repossessed if necessary. A Native American National Bank could assist all tribes with economic development, she said, by working around such obstacles. - - - * Staff writer Rob Carson covers diversity and tribes. Reach him at 253-597-8693 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] )) The News Tribune July 22, 1999 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
