Program helps bring financial independence to remote reservation

Desiree Bell enters the Fort Belknap College Small Business Development Center to an immediate chorus of voices welcoming her.

She’s here to make a simple deposit into her checking account, something she’s done for years. The difference is that now she doesn’t have to squander a lunch hour driving to Chinook and back to do it.

Two years ago, the Havre-based Bear Paw Credit Union began an outreach program to the Fort Belknap Reservation.

It’s a relatively small step, but one of the growing efforts nationally to bring financial literacy and independence to economically depressed Indian reservations.

By ALEX STRICKLAND
Tribune Staff Writer

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