Our second Superhero Awards feature is Native American Bank. NAB was awarded the Economic Development Organization of the Year for its contribution in building strong communities. (Read Sharie Benson’s feature here.)
Native American Bank has used its skills and experience to bring more capital to economic development in Native communities. Fifteen years ago, tribes came together to found a financial institution that would be owned by and dedicated to serving Indian Country. Native American Bank has remained true to that mission and remained under tribal ownership and control throughout the most tumultuous chapter in the history of American banking. As the economy has recovered, Native American Bank has continued to grow, adding new staff and services and reaching out to the parts of Indian Country that need capital to grow.
Joel Smith, chief credit officer, accepted the award at the conference and later had this to say about the award: “Just like Travois, NAB has been expanding our impact across Indian Country,” he said. “We feel honored to have the recognition from Travois of NAB’s success in bringing much needed capital to reservation communities in order to make possible economic development and housing projects.”
Congratulations to NAB! We are proud to count you as a conference sponsor and look forward to future investment possibilities across Native America.