After attending Oweesta, Mickel and Hudson were inspired to form a new group that would benefit Native American Credit Unions, Native American Credit Union professionals and the indigenous people and communities they serve every day.

Although it wasn’t easy and it took some time to develop the organization, the Native American Credit Union Coalition, NACUC, finally became a reality earlier this year. The new group had its first in-person planning meeting on the seventh day of November - Native American Heritage Month - at the headquarters of GoWest Credit Union Association in SeaTac, Wash. NACUC also recently launched an online site on LinkedIn and Facebook, featuring posts of the group’s founding members, interesting American Indian financial facts and informative narratives on how credit unions are serving the financial needs of their Native American members.

“I personally am extremely passionate about credit unions in Indian country because what I observe with credit unions and people helping people fits the culture of Indian country,” Mickel said. “It fits the culture of the native tribes that I'm familiar with and the things that I see happening where they help each other. And the credit union is all about that. We should be providing the services that are needed for these communities.”

Diane Sandovai-Griego, EVP and chief empowerment officer for the $300 million Guadalupe Credit Union in Santa Fe, which serves seven counties in Northern New Mexico, including the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos, is one of the 12 founding members of NACUC. She said she hopes the new coalition can help break the painful perception that Native American communities are referred to as invisible groups in society. Sandovai-Griego said there is a lack of information and awareness about Native Indian country, and the challenges as consumers that Native Americans face and how credit unions are trying to help them prosper.

“I felt an innate passion to change that term [invisible] and make sure people did see us [Native Americans] and didn’t assume that we just accept things as they are,” she said. “And when this [NACUC] came together, I am getting calls from other groups on how can they join and support us. So we’re excited because it’s something that will bring us [Native American] groups that are labeled as invisible to light.”

Leilani Harpole is president/CEO of the $3.4 million Otoe-Missouria Federal Credit Union in Red Rock, Okla., which was chartered in 2019 to serve the Otoe-Missouria Tribe as well as tribal-owned businesses.

“I've worked at two other credit unions, but I can say that being at Oto Missouri is very, very different from any other credit union I've been involved with,” Harpole, a founding member of NACUC, said. “And it kind of felt like a little bit of an island. I would talk to other credit union leaders that I networked with and they didn't quite understand what some of my challenges were. But it feels very, very wonderful to know that there's now this organization [NACUC] that I can go to and I can speak very openly about the issues that I have and they completely understand what I'm talking about.”

The sizeable Native American market does offer credit unions growth opportunities.

As of 2024, there are 574 federally recognized tribes and a number of tribes recognized at the individual state level. There are also many tribes that are not state or federally recognized, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. While there are approximately 326 federally recognized American Indian reservations in the U.S., 87% of the American Indian and Alaska native population live in urban areas while only 13% live on reservations or Tribal lands, according to U.S. Census data.

In 2023, about 3.3 million people identified as American Indian/Alaska Native alone while more than 8.8 million people identified as AI/AN alone or in combination with one or more races, the U.S. Census reported.

The 10 states with the largest percent of an AI/AN population last year were: Alaska (15.6%), New Mexico (11.4%), Oklahoma (9.5%), South Dakota (8.5%), Montana (6.4%), North Dakota (5.3%), Arizona (5.2%), Wyoming (2.8%), Washington (2.0%) and Oregon (1.9%).

The median 12-month household income for non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native households is $51,238, compared to $83,121 for non-Hispanic white households, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau.

Nearly 20% non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native families were living in poverty in 2023, compared to 5.9% of non-Hispanic white families. The 2022 U.S. Department of Labor showed the overall unemployment rate for American Indians and Alaska Natives was 6.2% compared to 3.2% for whites.

Additionally, more than 16% of American Indians are unbanked, compared to 13.8% of African-Americans, 12.2% of Hispanics and 2.5% among whites. Online banking is a challenge as well since 35% of Native Americans don’t have access to broadband technology compared to 8% of Americans, according to NACUC.

“Many of our members are financially challenged, even for those who make decent money because they have a hard time managing it,” Harpole noted. “When we opened our doors [in 2019] there were several members who opened accounts and we would send them a bank statement later. We were getting telephone calls asking what that was.”

Coming from very cash-heavy communities, Native American members also have to adapt to managing their own debit card. For more complicated transactions, Otoe-Missouria helps its members with buying a new or used car so that they don’t get taken advantage of.

Other ways credit unions are helping their Native American members include offering credit builder loans or short-term installment loans. When borrowers pay back the $500 or $1,000 over six or 12 months, they establish or improve their credit score.

“A lot of our members in our communities are commercial fishermen who earn all their money in the summer and they earn a huge chunk of cash,” Denise Hudson of Tongass said. “They never started building credit because they always buy things with cash. So when they have goals such as purchasing a car or a home they have to start somewhere, and our credit builder loan is a really good option for that.”

Since Tongass has been serving the Native Indiana Reserve, Metlakatla, the median credit score has increased by 74 points compared to a 34-point increase among consumers in Alaska, according to an America's Credit Unions analysis.

“I believe that credit score increase is proof that credit unions in tribal communities can really make a significant difference,” Tongass CEO Helen Mickel said.

The $15.8 million Lakota Federal Credit Union in Kyle, S.D., is also making a significant difference for its 4,284 members. The credit union, which serves the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations, operates a mobile branch bus that travels four days a week throughout different areas of the reservations. The mobile branch offers every single product and service that is offered at Lakota’s main branch.

“It’s just a way to take us there to them because most of the time they don't have a vehicle or sometimes they don’t have enough money for gas,” Lakota CEO Shayna Ferguson said. “It’s also a way to be convenient.”

READ MORE: The Native American Credit Union Coalition Inaugural Newsletter.