Western Shoshone Youth go on a $pending Frenzy

First Nations staff and consultants worked in partnership with Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) to provide a financial reality fair titled the “$pending Frenzy.”  In light of the historic land claims settlement with the Western Shoshone tribes, First Nations held a simulation for Western Shoshone youth who would be eligible for large trust settlement payments upon turning 18.   The reality fair utilized fake money close to the amount that would be available to youth through their trust settlement payment to give students experience handling a substantial lump of money and how to spend it wisely.  There were four total experiential learning events that took place over the course of two days – two in Elko, Nevada, on October 2, 2012, and two in Pyramid Lake, Nevada on October 4, 2012.

The $pending Frenzy served more than 130 students from six different Western Shoshone tribes. The workshops included opportunities to purchase a car, a house, groceries, and other financial activities. Students could practice visiting a bank to cash their check and put money into savings and try out investing a portion of the money. The evaluation of this event revealed that 83.5% of participating students agreed that the $pending Frenzy model and topics covered were relevant to their life, and 95% stated that they would use the information they learned during the $pending Frenzy to assist them with managing their money.