SPONSORED CONTENT -- (StatePoint) Ensuring that financial service providers reflect the diversity of the people they serve is key to creating an inclusive financial system that offers everyone a chance to thrive. That’s according to the authors of a new report.
The case study, created by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and supported by Wells Fargo, highlights the intentional strategies and support systems that have successfully expanded Native American representation in the legal field and explores how similar approaches can enhance diversity in finance and banking.
Recognizing the need for this story to be told, Dawson Her Many Horses, one of the first enrolled tribal members named managing director of a major financial institution and head of Native American Banking at Wells Fargo, proposed the idea for the study and was involved, along with Wells Fargo, in the process of designing the study’s methodology and identifying the leaders who were asked to participate. Native legal professionals were asked to share how they arrived in their current positions, what inspired them to study law, what challenges they faced along the way and what support systems aided them in their journey.
Offering an optimistic outlook, the in-depth interviews showed that having a diverse, coordinated set of institutions, champions and community support, starting as early as in high school, can create pathways that nurture and grow the ranks of Native bankers and finance professionals.
“Economic sovereignty is an important aspect of tribal sovereignty. Like the legal system, the financial system is another sector where Native representation is crucial for the economic development of tribal nations,” says Her Many Horses.
According to Her Many Horses, recent events could be a steppingstone to more positive change. President Biden recently issued a formal apology for the federal Indian boarding school era, which involved the forced removal of Native children from their families and communities.
“Economic reconciliation measures, such as calling on corporations to adopt policies that engage Indigenous communities, are already part of Canada’s reckoning with this painful piece of history. On the heels of Biden’s apology, the United States can look at this model as a guide,” says Her Many Horses.
To view the report and learn more, visit aspeninstitute.org.
Diverse representation across the financial services industry, including at the highest levels of decision-making, can increase the likelihood that Indigenous communities are well-served. Thankfully, the collective effort to increase Native representation in the legal field offers a clear path forward for institutions and individuals looking to do the same in financing and banking.
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