Manages Parisian Family Office. Began Wall Street, 82. Founded investment firm, Native American Advisors. Member, White Earth Chippewa Tribe. Was NYSE/FINRA arb. Conservative. Raised on Native reservations. Pureblood, clot-shot free. In a world elevated on a tech-driven dopamine binge, he trades from Ghost Ranch on the Yellowstone River in MT, his TN farm, Pamelot or CASA TULE', his winter camp in Los Cabos, Mexico. Always been, and will always be, an optimist.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Friday, September 29, 2006

19 days away from Grizzly country??

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) is investigating a report of a grizzly bear sighting. The DOW has occasionally received reports of grizzly bears in the past, but to date, no report has been confirmed. The most recent report was made by two hunters who have past experience with both grizzlies and black bears. The sighting took place on Sept. 20 in the San Isabel National Forest near Independence Pass.

The two hunters reported watching a female grizzly bear and two cubs at a distance of about 80 yards for approximately a minute through binoculars and a spotting scope. The bears were observed in a clearing. The hunters were unable to find tracks or scat after the bears moved on.

On Sept. 23, three DOW officers searched the site on foot for physical evidence. No evidence confirming the presence of a grizzly bear was found. DOW personnel will make another attempt to follow up on the report later this week.

Based on a 1979 event, the DOW cannot discount the possibility of grizzlies existing in Colorado. On Sept. 23, 1979 an outfitter on an archery elk hunt, was attacked by a female grizzly in the San Juan National Forest. He survived the attack, but the grizzly was killed. Prior to that incident, it was commonly believed that grizzlies had been extirpated from Colorado.

For more information on grizzly bears please visit:
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Bear Identification Program
http://fwp.mt.gov/bearid/
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/mammals/grizzly/
Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/

Short motorcycle ride through life....................

$10,000

06' Suzuki GSXR 1000

Farmington, UT 84025 - Aug 7, 2006

2006 Suzuki 1000. This bike is perfect! It has 1000 miles and has had its 500 mile dealer service. (Expensive) It's been adult ridden, all wheels have always been on the ground. I use it as a cruiser/commuter. I'm selling it because it was purchased without proper consent of a loving wife. Apparently "do whatever the f*** you want" doesn't mean what I thought. Call me, Steve. (801)867-8292

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Grandstanding..........

CNBC is covering the Congressional hearings of the H-P debacle this afternoon. Watching and listening to these Congress men and women grill the H-P honcho's is rather disgusting. These are the same men and women who sponsor and siphon hundreds of millions of dollars of pork barrel projects every year out of taxpayer coffers. Listening to their discussion of morality and ethics with a Board that was doing its best to rid itself of a cancer is oxymoronic. Surely our Congress has far bigger problems to contend with without TV coverage.

Maybe the investigation should be on Congress and the lobbyists who "feed" it by corporate chieftains who have to pay corporate tax with shareholder assets.

Without guns, crime runs rampant..............

A handful of Gun Rights activists gathered at City Hall in New York City on Monday to hold the first "NYC Rally for Illegal Guns", an attempt to draw attention to Mayor Bloomberg's scheme to eviscerate Americans' Second Amendment Rights under the guise of fighting 'illegal gun' crime.

On a beautiful sunny day, the activists held giant black cardboard-cut out pistols emblazoned with pro-gun rights slogans and handed out educational literature and campaign flyers to hundreds of passers-by walking in the city's financial and legal districts bordering the halls of government.

Early today, WorldNetDaily. com, covering the rally, wrote, "Protesters carried giant-size cutouts of guns as they rallied yesterday in New York City in support of the constitutional right to bear arms, which, they say, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is trying to destroy."

The WorldNetDaily article went on to quote the website of one of the rally's participants, Jeffrey Russell, the Libertarian Party candidate for United States Senator: "On his website," WorldNetDaily writes, "he says the right to self-defense is the most fundamental of all civil rights. 'Without it, we have no rights,' Russell said. 'Government should not make self-defense a crime. Merely possessing a firearm should not be a crime, and using a firearm in self-defense should not be a crime. The bad guys will always have access to weapons. The police cannot protect everyone, everywhere, all the time. We must allow and encourage the people to be responsible for themselves.' "

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

When will it end?

Stockbrokers love switching mutual funds. They don't love it for the client, they love it for the commissions. The beat still goes in fine fashion. With such large mutual fund complex's that offer such a wide variety of asset classes and diversified funds there is nearly ZERO reasons for switching out of one fund family and moving to another. Don't believe the brokers pitch when he/she calls giving you a variety of reasons why your money should be moved to a "better" fund.

Wall Steet has scant interest in fixing this mess. In theory, we should be entering a golden age of investment advice, with stockbrokers helping all of the baby boomers to manage their retirement money. Yet, rather than helping investors, Wall Street is more intent on profiting from them. The brokers aren't fiduciaries, they aren't looking out for the best interests of the clients with a fiduciary duty.

As an arbitrator for the NASD and the NYSE for over a decade you can take that to the bank.

Take note............

From March of 2000 to August of 2006 inflation in the United Staes has increased by 19%.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Rational or irrational?

The following news report brings back memories of the Richard J. Dennis debacle at my old firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert. I will never forget when Mr. Dennis, after wiping out the limited partners equity in such short order in a public commodities fund said wryly that the markets were "not rational". Obviously, Mr. Dennis creamed so many investors so fast it was rather startling. Mr. Hunter of Amaranth fame should make out alright if reports that he made over $75,000,000 last year are anywhere near true. Maybe the attorneys will get some of it or imagine, even a limited partner or two who lost it in the first place.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The founder of Amaranth Advisors LLC, Nick Maounis, told investors in a conference call Friday that the markets turned against the hedge fund in September, leaving it no choice but to sell its entire energy portfolio to other firms at a huge loss. Maounis said that "highly unusual market behavior," not just the usual price moves, virtually eliminated the firm's access to liquidity.
"We did not expect that the market would move so aggressively against our positions," he added. Amaranth, a multistrategy hedge fund that had assets of $9.2 billion at the end of August, lost $6 billion earlier this month after massive natural-gas bets went awry.

Yes.............!

When: 12:30pm, Monday, September 25th, 2006
Where: Outside Gates at City Hall on Broadway, Downtown Manhattan, New York City
Event: “The NYC Rally for Illegal Guns”

New York City Gun Rights activists, Constitutional and civil libertarians, Human Rights activists, and pro-Liberty supporters will hold a rally on Monday, September 25th at 12:30pm outside City Hall in Manhattan to support so-called “illegal guns” and the thousands of decent, responsible New York State citizens and residents who own and carry them to preserve their Freedom and protect themselves from criminals, terrorists and other violent people, contrary to what NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg claims in his current campaign against “illegal guns”.

“Mayor Bloomberg is attacking our Gun Rights across the country, teaming up with big-city mayors and other powerful elitists to erode our self-defense rights and privacy rights under the guise of fighting ‘illegal guns’ and crime,” says Nic Leobold, a local Gun Rights activist and libertarian who thought up the idea for the protest. “Fortunately, most people who own ‘illegal guns’ in New York and the rest of the United States are neither criminals nor violent. They’re just decent, respectable, honest and responsible citizens who want a dependable way to defend themselves and their loved ones and defend their Liberty, and they know Michael Bloomberg or various other government thugs will seize their guns if they register them.”

Jim Lesczynski, the organizer of the famous “Guns for Tots” toy gun drive for the Manhattan Libertarian Party, who is endorsing and participating in Monday’s rally, is just as adamant: "'Illegal gun' is an oxymoron," says Lesczynski. "Any law that purports to prohibit or regulate gun ownership in any way is un-Constitutional on its face and therefore null and void. The only people who should feel threatened by armed citizens are tyrants and criminals."

The rally will also feature several politicians seeking office in the November elections, including John Clifton and Jeffrey Russell, the Libertarian Party candidates for New York State Governor and United States Senator, respectively.

Fat, overweight children..............

I am not talking about children who have genetic abnormalities or thyroid problems here. I am talking about children who have an unhealthy diet (parents) coupled with a lack of legitimate exercise (parents). Why should American taxpayers be asked to foot the bill for school programs to combat the liberal agenda of helping these poor "victims" obtain a healthy lifestyle. We shouldn't.

We know what the cause is. We know what the cure is but ignorance and lack of intelligence can not be legislated. Maybe America could come up with laws to have all children under, say 14, keep Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as days to be "video game free" or television free or X-box free or whatever freedoms they want to preserve to stay healthier. Imagine if each child in America had to read just 20 minutes a day after school.

Opium and the Taliban.............

The former fuels the desires of the latter.

Probably the finest example of why the war on drugs needs to be continued. Afghanistan farmers, under "protection" of the Taliban are increasing their cash crop. How do we curtail demand and can we decrease supply?

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Amazing.................

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — The Census Bureau collects the most personal information about Americans, from how much money they earn and where they spend it to how they live and die. It's all confidential — as long as no one steals it.

Lost or stolen from the Census Bureau since 2003 are 217 laptop computers, 46 portable data storage devices and 15 handheld devices used by survey takers.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

To all our Jewish friends............

Remember, Rosh Hashanah begins 18 minutes before sunset on Friday, September 22 on the civil calendar. L'Shannah Tovah!!

Halt the illegal immigration, drugs, meth, dope, etc......

September 20, 2006
Indian Tribe To Block Border Fence
An Indian tribe, whose members regularly help smuggle illegal immigrants and drugs into the U.S., will not allow a fence to be erected along a vulnerable stretch of the Mexican border which happens to be on tribal land.

The Tohono O’odham Indians own the second biggest reservation in the country, about 2.8 million acres in the Arizona desert, and it happens to include a 75-mile border with Mexico that is used daily to smuggle drugs and migrants. Tribal members have vowed to fight the double-layered fence, approved by the House and set to be approved by the Senate this week, along their portion of the Mexican border.

Evidently the tribe of around 15,000 wants to keep the privilege of crossing the border regularly to visit relatives and friends and even perform native ceremonies in both countries. One tribal council member said “animals and our people need to cross freely.”

Unfortunately, that also means that illegal immigrants and drug smugglers will also cross into the U.S. freely. A few years ago, a Congressional investigative report revealed that more than 100,000 pounds of marijuana, 144 grams of cocaine and 6,600 grams of methamphetamine were seized on the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Additionally, migrants are destroying the sensitive vegetation and endangered species as they trample through the desert, leaving more than 4 million pounds of trash annually as they cross it.

Apparently, the Tohono O’odham—which means desert people--are more interested in the trafficking money than preserving their land. A Tribal Police Sergeant says members are offered $400 per person to transport illegal immigrants from the tribal territory to Tucson and much more to carry drugs. A fence would certainly diminish those profits.

Who was paid off in this stupidity??

The Associated Press
Wednesday, September 20, 2006; 6:01 PM


ST. IGNACE, Mich. -- Gambling is the only thing missing from a new Indian casino in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, mistakenly built in an area where gambling is illegal.

The $36 million Kewadin Shores Casino and Hotel opened in June and has restaurants, a lounge and an indoor pool, overlooking Lake Huron's Horseshoe Bay north of the Mackinac Bridge.

But its 29,000-square-foot casino with 800 slot machines and 26 gambling tables has been unable to operate because the U.S. government says part of the casino was built on land where Indian gambling is not allowed.

Members of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians are debating who was responsible for the mistake, with the tribe's current and former chairmen blaming each other, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.

The tribe now is quickly building a $2.5 million replacement casino at the site in Mackinac County's Forest Township, north of St. Ignace.

"It wasn't until after we had the pilings and foundation in place that we realized that something wasn't right," current Chairman Aaron Payment said. "We did another survey and found that all but 30 feet of the casino was on ineligible land."

"Payment knew about the problem before I left office and has had 2 1/2 years to work it out," former Chairman Bernard Bouschor said. "It wasn't me. It was a nice try by him to blame me, but I don't accept any responsibility for his screw-up."

There are 17 Indian casinos in northern Michigan, and two are to open in the next two years in southern Michigan. The state's Indian casinos took in $983 million in 2005.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Health on the Rez in South Dakota

A study recently released by Harvard University shows people on South Dakota's nine reservations have some of the shortest life spans in the United States. The average age is 66-years. A tribal health official say life expectancy among Natives in the state won't improve without more health care funding.

I say that the elders need to exercise. Every day. To lead the reservation youth by example in maintaining great health.

I say that the elders need to eat right. Every day. The best way to shut down diabetes is exercise and eating right. Every day.

Toss out the pills, throw out the smokes, stop indulging in alcohol. Just do it.

There is no money in great health. Doctors won't make a dime if everyone were healthy. Getting healthy and staying healthy is the greatest component of anyone's net worth. Instead of pills the pharmacy's should dispense great walking shoes.

Every day.

Gunslingers or Guru's?....or how to lose $5 billion last week

http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/s73004/kwachter091504.pdf

Potential Hedge Fund Regulation

Isn't it sad that our esteemed Congress in the attorney-laden city of Washington, DC wants to regulate the cowboys that are gunslinging massive pools of money around and making binary bets on commodities? Doesn't America have far bigger problems than very wealthy, rich investors who turn their money over to firms that are NOT registered with any regulatory body? (unlike Chippewa Partners and a zillion others)

These markets are zero-sum. I bet if the "winners" were to turn over a fraction of the billions made from the "other side" of the Amaranth trading last week and deposit afew bucks in the coffers of the Congressman or even the lobbyists the problem will continue to simmer but not boil. We have been through this within the last year. Enough money changed hands then to keep hedge funds unregulated.

What has changed?

Monday, September 18, 2006

$2,190,000,000,000

This is the amount of US dollars in money-market funds reported last week.

Imagine the interest generated on this amount in the time it took to type this sentence?

Why doesn't the moon rotate?

The Moon, rotates--at the same speed as it orbits the Earth. So, in the 27.32 days it takes the Moon to go around Earth, the Moon also spins about its axis one full revolution. That's why we always see the same "face" of the Moon.

The far side of the moon (which we never see) is sometimes called the dark side of the moon. That side gets plenty of sunlight, about as much as the near side. But, it would be slightly darker there, as it never gets light reflecting off the earth.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

This is too good not to share............

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem.
While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150." The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150?"

The man replied "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Did you know............

Last month, the federal government reported that Georgia had the fastest-growing illegal immigrant population in the country. The number more than doubled from an estimated 220,000 in 2000 to 470,000 last year. This year, state lawmakers passed some of the nation's toughest measures targeting illegal immigrants, and Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue last week vowed a statewide crackdown on document fraud.

Friday, September 15, 2006

WEBM

Motley Fool
webMethods Buys Its Way to Growth
Tuesday September 12, 11:24 am ET
By Tom Taulli

Software company webMethods (Nasdaq: WEBM - News) has been a pioneer in software-oriented architecture (SOA). It has also bulked up its offerings in SOA with a number of acquisitions. The latest purchase, a $38 million deal for privately held Infravio, may help webMethods fill a gap in its product line and boost its sagging license revenues.

Founded in 1996, webMethods develops software that leverages Web-based technologies primarily for the Forbes Global 2000, including EchoStar, Logitech, and Office Depot. The company's software essentially integrates a company's complex information technology assets -- such as enterprise applications and databases -- to improve business processes or even connect electronically with partners.

For example, Wells Fargo uses the software to handle electronic payments -- roughly $2.7 trillion worth -- with corporate customers. And Motorola uses it to track the entry-to-order booking process for its many products.

Now with Infravio, webMethods can help its customers deal with so-called governance issues -- development roadmaps, best practices, tutorials, security enforcement, compliance with existing service agreements, and so on -- that are a part of SOA projects. If governance issues aren't handled properly, an SOA project can turn into an expensive mess.

Infravio may be able to do more than that for webMethods; it might also prove to be an effective revenue driver. Dennis Callaghan, an enterprise software analyst at The 451 Group, a tech research firm, told me that Infravio has doubled its customer count during the past 12 months and that its "pipeline is strong." That's good news for webMethods, which desperately needs help in boosting revenues. In its most recently completed quarter, the company's revenues fell from $47.7 million to $46 million, and license revenues plunged from $18.5 million to $12.6 million.

The company also believes it can leverage Infravio's product through its global direct sales force, as well as its channel of system integrators, which include prominent names such as Accenture, BearingPoint, Electronic Data Systems, and Hewlett-Packard.

In all, it appears that webMethods has a credible plan to ramp up revenues over the next year. And if it's true that customers are increasingly moving toward SOA implementations, then the company may soon be entering a growth phase. That would certainly should be good news for shareholders.

Accenture is a Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Finally got him........................

Posted on Wed, Sep. 13, 2006

SEC accuses Native American firm of defrauding investors

JUDITH BURNS
Dow Jones Newswires

WASHINGTON - A San Francisco company that promoted itself as the first U.S. firm to be majority-owned by Native Americans was charged with securities fraud Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Indigenous Global Development Corp. and Chief Executive Deni Leonard raised more than $2 million by misleading investors about the firm's natural-gas business, according to the SEC. Although the company claimed it would provide a better future for Native Americans, the SEC said it was actually "teetering on the brink of extinction."

The firm, which was incorporated in Utah, never earned any money, had no significant assets, and now is essentially defunct, according to the SEC. The agency's lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, seeks to fine the company, have it return allegedly ill-gotten gains, and bar Leonard from serving as an officer or director of a public company, and from taking part in any penny-stock offering.

Earlier Wednesday, the SEC temporarily halted trading in the stock, citing a lack of current and accurate information about Indigenous Global. The trading halt runs through Sept. 26. The SEC also is considering whether to revoke the stock's registration since the company hasn't filed any quarterly or annual reports since the end of the first quarter of 2005.

Michael Dickey, assistant district administrator for enforcement with the SEC's San Francisco office, said Indigenous Global issued "blatantly false" press releases, including claims to have a deal to sell up to $15 million of natural gas in the United States after preliminary talks with two groups in Canada.

"There's a lot of difference between talking and doing," Dickey said.

The company and its chief executive couldn't be reached immediately for comment. Dickey said neither is represented by a lawyer and the company's phone number has been disconnected.

Leonard, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, has been honored by numerous organizations and was featured in Po Bronson's 2002 book "What Should I Do With My Life?"

If business is a tool to support what you believe in, wrote Bronson, "Deni Leonard takes it to another level."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2006 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.mercurynews.com

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

My goals, not yours..................

I have always put my hunting and trapping goals in the perspective of what Dean Parisian should get out of each trip afield. My goals are mine. My standard is my standard alone and it is unreasonable to apply that to anyone else. My major goal is to harvest a 30 inch buck mule deer someday regardless of its other attributes. You just don't see that many 30 inch bucks around. Growing up I was able to see some magnificent deer that would meet that standard. I remember each deer like it were yesterday and can tell you about the weather, who was with me, the place and the time of each one. I would also like to take a big gnarly non-typical muley buck but that is about as specific as my goals get. The measuring tape out of my backpack is the only tape that will be put on any buck I shoot. My goal has always been a wide 30-incher ever since that magical day in 1967 in the Big Horn Mountains of Montana when I first laid eyes on two magnificent bucks standing in deep snow, side by side. The outside spread measurement will be the only measurement I want to take on the trophy deer I kill. I don't give a hoot how much mass or how many points it is. Boone & Crockett to me may as well be a fairy tale. My respect and admiration for a magnificent buck far transcends any numbers put on it.

I still like my goals at age 52. I think the best is yet to come.

Today I think one of the main problems is that so many people feel that a hunt is unsuccessful if they don’t take a deer home. I have “eaten” tags but have yet to have an unsuccessful hunt. If I learn something new and have a good time then anything above and beyond that is a bonus. Some times we do good and other times we don't. Some times we see a lot of game and some times we head home empty handed, but we always have had a good time. Whether it's a big buck, a lonely doe or even if it's tag soup, it's all good times. I don't know of any hunter that can honestly say he would have rather been at work!

Hunting means something different to each of us and for me to hunt in the company of family and friends is really great. If someone is successful then I am as happy for them as I would be for myself. Others times I prefer the solitude that I feel in “big” country, surrounded by no one and nothing but nature. Hunting big muleys is not as glamorous as most people make it out to be. Not only do you need to by physically fit, but you need to be mentally strong as well. It takes a totally different mindset to be successful at trophy mule deer hunting.

The biggest sacrifice I have had to make has been the lack of time spent with my family in October and November because I was hunting in various places. Thankfully, they have been very understanding and will hopefully continue to be so until my sons are mature enough to join me.

The ATL is wired up................

With most of the U.S. technology industry focused on the East and West coasts, you'd think the best place to get online would be San Francisco, or perhaps New York City. But Atlanta tops Forbes.com's survey of America's most wired cities.

While Georgia may be best known for hot weather, college football and peaches, Atlanta is no slouch when it comes to technology and the Internet. Home to telecommunications and Internet service providers BellSouth and EarthLink, as well as Cox Communications, the third-largest U.S. cable company, Atlanta beat several cities more closely associated with the Web, like San Francisco, Seattle and New York.

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

www.chippewapartners.com

Friday, September 08, 2006

Above the Little Bighorn River......

George Armstrong Custer and I had one thing in common. We both attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated. I didn't.

What few people realize is that General Custer went down with a huge fight in the hills above the Little Bighorn River. I have spent a fair amount of time hunting both on the river and up at the headwaters in the Big Horn Mountains. it is a magical place. Custer had a big family riding with him. His brothers, Thomas and Boston, his brother-in-law, James Calhoun, and his nephew, Autie Reed were all with him on the day they met their Maker. It wasn't reckless abandon that got the General killed. It was poor intelligence. There were supposed to be only 1,000 Natives camped in the river bottom, not 10,000.

The battle then took hours, not just a few minutes. Custer had it going until he ran out of ammunition. It still pains me to know how much so many Native Americans have given in defense of "their" country. And the government "took" so much from them in the first place.

Immigration reform is toast........

The politicians don't care about shutting the borders. It is all about the votes.

If there is a politician out there who just might address social security reform for my children, tax reform and immigration reform I would like to know how to vote for you.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

A great reason to own them

At Chippewa Partners we "bought" into ownership of ETF's on Day 1. The reasons are many but the main reason was the cost of "ownership". Average fees are 0.43% for an equity ETF (exchange-traded fund, for those of you in Mandaree) versus an average fee of 1.45% for an equity mutual fund according to Morningstar.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Never forget...............

No one is perfect. Tiger Woods has won his 5th straight tournament this year but also missed the cut at the U.S. Open. Thinking that doing anything perfectly, especially trading stocks, is sheer lunacy.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

First Nations Develpment Institute

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Mary Phillips
Phone: 540-371-5615 ext. 31/ e-mail: mphillips@firstnations.org
First Nations Development Institute Releases a Financial Investment Guide for Native American Communities

August 24, 2006
Investing for the Future was developed to meet the needs of tribes who are considering ways to
provide their members with the tools they need to make decisions about the management of their
financial assets.



Longmont, CO - First Nations Development Institute, a Native nonprofit located in
Longmont, Colorado, has just released their most recent and comprehensive guide to financial
investing titled Building Native Communities: Investing for the Future. Funded by the NASD
Investor Education Foundation, this workbook serves as a basic investment resource and
encourages Native Americans to invest as a means of promoting financial security. First Nations
developed the workbook titled Investing for the Future to respond to the needs of tribes who are
considering ways to provide their members with the tools they need to make decisions about the
management of their financial assets.

“We hope that this investor education tool is useful to Native community members who are
interesting in learning about the financial investment field,” said Mike Roberts, President of First
Nations Development Institute. “Through the Building Native Communities curriculum series we
hope to generate a focus on prominent economic issues in the Native American community. It is our
intent to protect our most vulnerable through financial education, economic development and
empowerment.”

Investing for the Future teaches general investment principles and skills in an intuitive and
accessible style. The guide illustrates the process of identifying financial goals and outlines the
varying ways of achieving them. The text explains such concepts as asset allocation and
recommends different investment options for different investment goals in a tribal community
setting; it covers the benefits of savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and government
securities. “There is a high volume of information in the curriculum that is practical and shows how
Native people can use this information to safely invest,” stated Lorna Ray of the Salt River
Community Housing Division.

Additionally, the book explains essential concepts such as the time value of money, risk
reduction, periodic investing, diversification, and inflation. As a large portion of the guidebook is
dedicated to investing in the securities markets, the text helps to clarify more advanced concepts
such as stock assessment and portfolio management. Gaylene Pretty Bird, the Executive Director of
the Sicangu Fund, an emerging Community Financial Development Institute on the Rosebud Sioux
Recycled 2

Indian Reservation comments, “it is a wonderful compliment to other economic development types
of training for the Native American community – a much needed component which has not been
addressed to a large extent in the past.”

First Nations Development Institute has designed the guide to pair values, investment
strategy, and concerns of Native Americans with pertinent financial advice. Through a threepronged
strategy of education, advocacy, and capitalization, First Nations Development Institute is
working to restore Native control and culturally-compatible stewardship of the assets they own - be
they land, human potential, cultural heritage, or financial resources - and to establish new assets for
ensuring the long-term vitality of Native communities. This mission is especially pertinent today
when more and more tribes are taking control of their trust funds and a large number of tribes are
paying out per capita payments to their members. “You have to change the paradigm about the idea
that money is here today and gone tomorrow. Change the way a poverty culture views the money,”
said Cynthia Tam a Certified Financial Planner and financial columnist, concerning the need to take
steps to implement the curriculum.

Each year, 73 tribes distribute per capita payments to their members. Because per-capita
payments are held in trust funds for many youth until they turn 18, many find a large sum of money
available to them at that early age. The influx of per capita payments in some Native communities is
changing the outlook for Native Americans and the tribal economy but is also leading many into
financial vulnerability. The Cherokee Preservation Foundation recognizes the significance of
financial education for young people about to receive their first per-capita payments: “It is very
tempting for [youth] to withdraw their funds at this time. Many of these young men and women
have not learned financial management skills. As a result, many have spent their trust funds very
quickly on cars and other items young people crave, only to find belatedly they do not qualify for
financial aid for college.” (http://cherokeepreservationfdn.org)

Much of the text is interactive and promotes reader participation. This makes the workbook
perfect for anyone who is apprehensive about what to do with their money and how to begin
planning their financial future. The activities encourage the reader to put together an investment
plan that relates to cultural practices and expenses, and take the recommended steps to start saving.
The text is simple enough for personal use, but thorough to the extent that investment
advisors, tribal councils, tribal colleges, and other nonprofit organizations can easily adopt it and
put it to work in a course or workshop. First Nations plans to offer a free Train-the-Trainer
workshops on this investor education curriculum in 2007.

Investing for the Future is available free of charge at the First Nations Development
Institute website (www.firstnations.org); ordering information for free hard copies is also available.
For more information about the curriculum contact Sarah Dewees at
sdewees@firstnations.org.

#####
Through a three-pronged strategy of education, advocacy, and capitalization, First Nations Development
Institute is working to restore Native control and culturally-compatible stewardship of the assets they own - be
they land, human potential, cultural heritage, or natural resources - and to establish new assets for ensuring
the long-term vitality of Native communities.

LOL...............

The weekend found me covered up. Itching like never before. Not even as bad as the poison oak at age 28 or the poison ivy at age 10.

Never in my short life have I had so many "bites".

Chiggers are the culprit.

Any suggestions?

Give him credit...........

The greatest player to ever play the game of golf. Tiger Woods.

Friday, September 01, 2006

COSTCO's Christmas in August?

Walking into COSTCO last night was eye-opening. The Christmas merchandise made me shudder. Could it be the reason their quarterly revenue numbers are coming in light and the stock is getting pounded? Are shoppers boycotting the stores because of their dissatisfaction with Christmas merchandise being "shelved" in August?

We need open season on the "tis the season" mentality. Enough is enough.