January 25, 2016
The Native CDFI Network launched an intensive public awareness and advocacy campaign in conjunction with the Corporation for Enterprise Development’s (CFED’s) Assets & Opportunity National Week of Action. The goal of the campaign is to call attention to the issues of financial insecurity and inequality that Native American families across this country are facing, while highlighting successful solutions that create economic opportunity for all.
“Historically, there has been very little investment in Native communities, and that has left us behind in the ways of infrastructure, economic development, and asset creation. The good news is that there are many organizations out there working overtime to level the playing field,” says Tanya Fiddler, Executive Director of the Native CDFI Network.
The campaign, taking place from January 25-29, 2016, is anchored in the release of CFED’s annually-published Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, a powerful research and advocacy tool that helps paint a picture of household financial insecurity in the United States. The Scorecard revealed that in Montana and South Dakota – states with some of the highest number of Indian reservations – state policies are doing little to improve financial security for residents.
Read the article in Indian Country Today.
Listen to the interview with Tanya Fiddler on South Dakota Public Broadcasting.