Top Native American Investment Professionals

Historically, Native Americans haven’t been represented in finance. There’s been some movement, especially as tribes have looked to shore up their economic development. For example, the passing of the Indian Gaming Act, in 1988, set up the path for Native American-owned gaming which turned more tribal attention towards investing as a means of fiscal independence.

Still, indigenous communities aren’t necessarily plugged into the investing world. Reviews of investors have found that they’re more likely to commit to including “Indigenous People’s Issues” in their social investing than to implement those promises, though the negative risks of ignoring indigenous issues are rising. “This disconnect between philosophy and practice is emblematic of broader power and relational asymmetries between Indigenous Peoples and the private investment world,” write Nikki Pieratos and Chrystel Cornelius, two investing professionals covered below, who have recommended the use of indigenous intermediaries to bridge the divide. Several of the people covered here have worked to serve as that bridge.

Nikki Pieratos

Executive Director, Tiwahe Foundation

Nikki Pieratos is a prominent figure in community-development finance, one who’s widely published on the issue.

Pieratos serves as the executive director of the Tiwahe Foundation, which offers grants with a focus on cultural revitalization, educational advancement, and entrepreneurship. The foundation—whose name is based on the Dakota word for family—describes itself as a community resource based on the idea of “a continuous cycle of success grounded in indigenous culture that recognizes that giving benefits both giver and receiver.”

Previously, Pieratos served as managing director of the NDN Collective, an advocacy group that aims to build indigenous power by decolonizing and developing Native American communities, as well as fighting resource extraction.

Pieratos is a member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago.

Chrystel Cornelius

President and CEO, Oweesta Corporation

Chrystel Cornelius leads the Oweesta Corporation, which serves as an intermediary between Native American communities and the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

Cornelius is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota.

Leonard Smith

CEO, Native American Development Corporation

Leonard Smith was involved in securing funding for the Tribal Leadership Council in Montana and Wyoming.

He founded the Native American Development Corporation, an intermediary for economic development organizations and Native American businesses. Smith serves as its CEO.

An enrolled member of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribe of the Ft. Peck in Montana, Smith has also assisted organizations such as Native American Capital in vetting projects for investment.

Joseph L. Falkson

Senior Managing Director, Native American Capital

Joseph L. Falkson co-founded Native American Capital, a financial consultancy in Washington, DC. The consultancy connects investors with Native American enterprises.

In his position as senior managing director, Falkson runs their tribal financial services consulting: connecting tribes to federal financing.

Lynn Dee Rapp

Member, Board of Trustees, The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development

An enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Lynn Dee Rapp is on the board of trustees for the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, a nonprofit focused on facilitating tribal economic development.

Rapp is also on the board of the American Indian College Fund, which supports Native American students.

The Bottom Line

Native Americans continue to face barriers to economic opportunity, including smaller networks in the investment community. Both tribes and individual Native Americans are building out development through increased use of investing. The investment professionals above are working to expand the financial security of indigenous peoples.