Banks can make loans more easily on the reservation. Capital will flow to the Crow people, bringing with it a new surge of economic development. Members of the Crow Nation will find it much easier to engage in commerce, form capital for investment, or start a small business. In short, there will be more jobs.
Unemployment on the Crow Reservation has been measured as high as 47 percent. This agreement will bring that number down.
Traditionally, when a bank makes a loan, it requires collateral property, which is secured by a lien. However, because of the sovereign nature of Native American reservations, liens have not been enforceable there. Transactions could not be secured by a lien, meaning loans were much harder to get, resulting in a severe lack of capital and higher interest rates. That created a situation where economic development was almost impossible, and unemployment skyrocketed.
Liens are filed under the Uniform Commercial Code, or UCC. In Montana, those filings are made in the secretary of state’s office. Our office made this agreement with the Crow Tribe to address the difficulty of getting a loan in Crow communities. Under the UCC Filing System Compact, liens filed in the secretary of state’s office will be enforceable on the Crow Reservation. The pact also keeps the enforcement and adjudication of those liens in tribal courts.
Moreover, this agreement is not a one-time occurrence. It is based on the Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act, legislation designed for any tribal government to use, anywhere in the country. That means the accomplishment can be duplicated and other Native Americans can receive the same benefits as the Crow.
Already, other tribes around the nation are studying our UCC Filing System Compact, preparing to implement agreements of their own. Here in Montana, the Chippewa Cree Tribe, on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, is even now working with my office to create their own secured transactions compact.
Today, I want to extend a hand to all the tribal leadership of Montana, offering a real step forward to serve your communities. By working with the secretary of state’s office to draft your own UCC Filing System agreement, we can bring new economic development and new jobs to the people we live and work with.
The state of Montana has a historic trust relationship with the reservation communities within our borders. This agreement can serve as a model for healthy government to government relations, while reinforcing the concept of Indian Country self-determination. By working together, we can create new jobs and new small businesses in all our communities, on reservations and off.
Brad Johnson is Montana’s secretary of state.
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