Learning by Doing: Financial Education for Native American Youth Receiving Large Lump-Sum Payouts (2012) (1.85 MB)
In October 2012, First Nations held a reality fair specifically tailored to Native individuals receiving a large per capita or minor’s trust payment for Western Shoshone tribal members.  The $pending Frenzy provided youth with fake money in the amount of their trust fund payment to give them experience managing a large amount of money and learn about a range of spending and investing options.  This report assesses the strengths of the experiential learning technique and how it can be utilized in Native communities to prepare tribal members for large lump sum payments.

Financial Education in South Dakota’s High Native-Enrollment Schools: Barriers and Possibilities (2010) (885 KB)
Learning to use resources wisely and to plan financially for the future are important steps on the road to asset building, wealth creation, and self-sufficiency. They are particularly important skills for Native American youth, who—on average—come from lower income backgrounds than non-Native youth and have more ground to cover to reach financial security.  This report looks at high Native-enrollment schools in South Dakota, reaching out to 17 teachers, administrators, community activists, and state education officials to better understand the barriers and possibilities of school-based financial education.

Integrated Assest Building Strategies for Reservation-Based Communities: A 27 Year Retrospective of First Nations Development Institute - Chapter 2: Financial Management Skills in Native Communities (2007) (3.25 MB)
The Financial Education chapter of Integrated Assest Building Strategies for Reservation-Based Communities: A 27 Year Retrospective of First Nations Development Institute begins with two introductory sections that demonstrate the importance of both developing financial management skills and increasing research related to the potential effects of increasing financial education opportunities in Native communities. The chapter is then broken into three sections focused on topics seen as essential for developing greater financial management and investment skills in Native communities.

Family Economic Success in Native Communities: Adapting the Annie E. Casey Family Economic Success Framework to Rural and Reservation-based Native Communities (2004) (480 KB)
This paper identifies challenges related to family economic success in Native communities, discusses unique issues related to Native communities, and outlines a framework for economic success that will reflect the unique opportunities and challenges in these communities.

Financial Education in Native Communities: A Briefing Paper (2003) (902 KB)
This briefing paper serves as a resource for tribes, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and community practitioners. It was also designed as a working document for discussion at the Native American Financial Literacy Coalition national policy development forum on Financial Literacy in Indian Country held on May 28-29, 2003 in Denver, Colorado.

A Partnership for Financial Education: Financial Education with the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (2008) (2 MB)
On August 13, 2008 the MHA Tribal Chairman Marcus Wells, Jr. sent a letter to First Nations Development Institute to request that they deliver financial education trainings in the small regional communities of Twin Buttes, Mandaree, and White Shield. This report provides an overview of those trainings.