Native American Focus..............

It was in high school that Dean Parisian realized he wasn't the typical American kid. Today he feels that life on various reservations surrounded by poverty and neglect served him well as a training ground for the challenges of Wall Street. Dean is an enrolled member of the White Earth Reservation and the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Being Indian is more than an ethnic label and has influenced his every step, from the rough, often hopeless world of the reservations, to an appointment at West Point, an officer at several major Wall Street firms, and as President of Native American Advisors, Inc., an independent investment management firm. Dean is a seasoned professional and for many years has seen the unfortunate mismanagement of Indian assets. Native American Advisors, Inc. is a money management firm that provides investment counsel and management services to individuals, corporations, retirement plans, Tribal Colleges and tribal funds derived from gaming, trust, and energy resources. The firm's mission is to help preserve the financial resources, integrity, and sovereignty for generations of Tribal members.

Growing up, Parisian had an unusual vantage point to Native American problems. He attended four high schools on three reservations, his father being an investigator with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During his collegiate years at the University of Minnesota he double-majored in Economics and Education. Postgraduate work included law school before moving to southern California to launch his career. In 1982 he trained on Wall Street with Kidder Peabody, worked several years for Drexel Burnham Lambert, and after moving to Atlanta, worked as a Vice President at both major NYSE brokerage and banking firms.

Helping other Indians has been a priority for Parisian. In the 1980s, he spent years on the Board of the San Diego American Indian Health Center, a provider of medical and dental services to urban Indians. In education, he funded a $25,000 scholarship at the University of Minnesota specifically for Native American students to study business. "We have to help America's indigenous help themselves," he says. Parisian believes that Native Americans must work to assimilate their beliefs and traditions, which are so important, into a global marketplace and unite to craft a national Indian policy. "We can't shut reservation doors and live in an autonomous world," he says.

Surrounded by computer screens and Indian artistry, in an office overlooking a scenic creek north of Atlanta and far removed from the noise on Wall Street, he maintains that "gaining economic, political, and educational power is the way for Indians to move forward. Indians should be doing business with Indians." Included on the Board of Native American Advisors, Inc. is Larry A. Pankey. Mr. Pankey is enrolled at the Ft. Berthold Reservation and member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, Dean says "Larry has made a significant contribution to our team." The firm uses stockbrokers of Native American heritage for trade execution whenever possible, because as Dean says, "the firm's mission is to help promote Indian business enterprise."

As an investment counseling firm, Native American Advisors, Inc. is committed to delivering exceptional service to individuals and institutions, and as Dean said, "a firm that has made a commitment to trust, which means we can and will do as we say." Dean notes the firm is strictly fee-based. He feels this is important to the delivery of impartial investment advice. The firm provides complete investment management services that combine a strong research effort with active money management tactics in pursuit of superior investment performance. In addition, the firm will provide investment seminars nationally, and can be reached at 770-772-1621. The first thing they'll do is listen.