Native American "Offshore" Banking Arrives in Oklahoma
By Bruce Johansen
The type of banking secrecy usually associated with Switzerland, the
Cayman Islands, and other "offshore" locations is now available
on the windswept plains of southwestern Oklahoma at First Lenape Nation
Bank and the Apaches' First Americans Trust Company. Both are lodged in
nondescript office buildings in the town of Anadarko, within a short
drive of oil derricks and acres of grazing cattle on a reservation shared
by the Delawares and a band of Apaches.� By Bruce Johansen
The two banks operate without much of the usual apparatus of commercial banks, such as advertising signs and automated teller machines. Most of the Lenape Bank's advertising is over the Internet [www.firstlenapenationbank.com], and most of its deposits arrive in the mail or by wire. Because of the reservation's semi-sovereign status, the two banks advertise the benefits of "offshore" banking in the middle of the American Heartland: numbered accounts, privacy and safety from most legal demands for money, notably judgments of United States courts. The two banks also do not report deposits of over $10,000, as federal law requires.
A number of federal and state agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have tried to probe the two banks' businesses. None of the agencies had yet moved to shut the banks down, however, largely because federal regulations and legal precedents for "offshore" banking on Indian reservations are virtually non-existent.
The banks do not disclose their net worth, but one source estimated that First Lenape had about 200 customers in May 1998.� First Lenape's self- described purpose is "to bring American money back to the United States and, in so doing, promote the self-determination of Native Americans."
Investigating federal agencies maintain that they are concerned about the banks' alleged potential for attracting shady money seeking secrecy, a concern that leads the United States to seek banking regulation agreements with nations that host "offshore" banks. Roughly $3.5 trillion had been deposited in such banks by the late 1990s, according to Offshore Outlook magazine. These banks offer none of the deposit insurance guaranteed by institutions chartered within the United States. As of mid-1998, there were eight banks operated on Indian reservations with federal chapters.
Shortly after the Lenape and First Americans banks opened, the Oklahoma state banking commissioner and the federal office of the Comptroller of the Currency warned banks under their jurisdiction to "exercise extreme caution" in doing business with First Lenape, First Americans, and any other banks that might be set up on the same model.
The Delawares's original name is Leni Lenape. Delaware, a slightly anglicized name of a French nobleman, became associated with the Leni Lenape after European settlement along the Delaware River as the city of Philadelphia was established. At "Penn's Landing," less than a mile east of Independence Hall, William Penn was met by the Delawares Sachem Tamenund, as both men counseled peace. With the demise of William Penn, greedier members of his family expelled Native Americans from the state named after their family.
Some of the Delawares migrated to Ontario and others endured a trail of tears that took them from Pennsylvania to Missouri and Texas. After the United States absorbed Texas, the Delawares were removed to western Oklahoma, by which time only 90 members of the Leni Lenape people remained alive. Today Anadarko, sometimes called "Indian City, USA" is home to about 7,500 people and has an unemployment rate of 45 percent.
Native Americas Journal
Akwe:kon Press
Cornell University
300 Caldwell Hall
Ithaca, New York 14853
Tel. (607) 255-4308
Fax. (607) 255-0185
E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://nativeamericas.aip.cornell.edu
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