Opinion

Barry Brandon: Media gets it wrong yet again on tribal lenders

Thursday, July 10, 2014

The office of American Web Loans in Red Rock, Oklahoma, owned by the Otoe-Missouria Tribe. Photo by Jane Daugherty.

Barry Brandon, the executive director of the Native American Financial Services Association, says Al Jazeera feature on tribal lenders was biased and one-sided:

Al Jazeera America’s recent series “Payday Nation” had so much promise to get the facts right and tell a side of the story which has been woefully underrepresented in the world of partisan media and painfully biased reporting. That promise unfortunately fell flat.
It wasn’t for lack of education, however.
The Native American Financial Services Association (NAFSA) has long sought to straighten out the debate regarding online tribal lending—a part of the non-bank financial services industry which millions of Americans depend on for access to credit. These Americans seek out our products and rely on them to meet their basic needs when financial disaster strikes. They have been turned away from banks and shut out of the traditional financial system.
We were happy to oblige the “Al Jazeera reporters” who inquired about our members’ tribally owned, operated, and regulated businesses with education and information about how they operate, how they are regulated, and how they take special action to ensure their products are offered in a consumer-friendly and transparent way. Through numerous conversations, we provided statistics and details in hopes that we would get a fair and transparent piece. Unfortunately, they instead chose the unprofessional course, basing their story on faulty and unverified premises and false tropes about our industry.

Get the Story:
Barry Brandon: Al Jazeera Blew It on 'Payday Nation' (Indian Country Today 7/10)