In the context of the recent pandemic, we have also seen some Native communities' approach to the pandemic health response be considered as potential case studies for future best practice.13 Federal government stimulus has also led to historic levels of funding for tribal communities in the wake of COVID-19, which may help to address housing and other infrastructure needs created and exacerbated by generations of unfulfilled treaty and trust obligations.14,15
Many of the issues I have discussed today are the subject of extensive Fed research. Continued research conducted by central banks can play an important role in generating new work to better understand where gaps may exist. Central banks can also leverage their unique role in the economy and society by fostering important connections between lenders, funders, other public agencies, and academics working with Indigenous communities.
In recent years, the Board of Governors has organized gatherings like the Native American Financial Institution Conference, which promotes Indian Country economic research, and ensures that Indigenous-led institutions are served through collaborations like the Partnership for Progress with minority depository institutions.16
Our regional banks also support Indian Country in many ways. Six years ago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis formalized decades of Indian Country work and founded The Center for Indian Country Development, or CICD. Today, the CICD is a national leader in qualitative and quantitative research highlighting economic and credit conditions in Native communities. CICD's practice is guided by a tribal leadership council, and active engagement with American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian community leaders.
CICD staff lead research within tribal communities, gather information through surveys of tribal institutions, and study financial markets for Indian Country as a whole. CICD functions as a true public resource, providing accessible information and data that can serve as a foundation for the research of others. Their events serve as important meeting grounds, where partnerships can form, and ideas can be thoughtfully considered.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis with support from the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Kansas City provides multiple tribal nations and Native communities across the United States with personal finance and economic education programming. This culturally relevant programming offers the flexibility to adapt to local needs, including the use of Native language, to strengthen financial literacy in the tribal communities served. Other Federal Reserve community development staff partner with tribes on best-practice manuals and convene regional and national leaders to encourage connections between tribal leaders and lenders.17
Of course, research and outreach are not ends in and of themselves. Two recent examples highlight how the Fed's work in Indian Country translates information into practice. The first example comes from the Main Street Lending Program, a credit program created to address pandemic related financial challenges for certain businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program's initial rules made the application process and funding approval challenging for tribal-nation-owned enterprises. In response, the procedures were quickly adapted to accommodate these entities, which improved the effectiveness of the program and its reach to Indian Country applicants.
The second example comes from our work to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA. Among other things, the CRA provides a framework to assess banks' service to and investments in economically distressed areas. In our first steps to modernize the regulation, we posed a set of questions to the public. We included questions about Indian Country, and CICD reached out to Indigenous leaders and organizations to highlight the opportunity to provide feedback resulting in a significant number of public comments highlighting Indian Country considerations. As we move forward with the CRA modernization process, the consideration of these and other comments will result in a more effective outcome.
My remarks today have really only scratched the surface of the Federal Reserve System's efforts to improve our engagement with Indigenous communities. While these efforts have much room to grow, I am very pleased that they inform our System's work to support economic opportunity during this important time. Today's symposium has provided me with much to consider and reflect upon as we continue our collective efforts to work with and support Indigenous people.
I look forward to beginning our ongoing work together to understand how central banks can more effectively include Indigenous communities.