Mission
The Financial Sovereignty Initiative is a financial education consulting practice dedicated to building long-term economic sovereignty within Indigenous communities across the United States. Through culturally grounded curriculum development, youth-focused workshop delivery, and sustained community support, the Initiative partners with tribal governments, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and nonprofit organizations to equip Native youth and families with the financial knowledge and tools they need to grow and protect generational wealth.
Single Financial Workshop
1 pre-workshop discovery call with the partnering org (30 min) to understand the community's specific context (per capita structure, age group, existing financial literacy gaps)
Custom curriculum for ONE topic, tailored to that community (e.g., budgeting basics, understanding per capita distributions, intro to saving/investing)
Workshop materials: slide deck, printed/digital handouts, any activities or worksheets
1 live facilitated session (2–3 hours)
Post-workshop summary for the organization (what was covered, attendance, key takeaways)
Financial Education Workshop
Workshop Series
Deeper discovery process — likely 2 calls plus a short community needs assessment
Full curriculum built across 4–6 connected sessions (e.g., Session 1: Money Mindset → Session 2: Budgeting → Session 3: Credit & Debt → Session 4: Saving & Investing → Session 5: Protecting Generational Wealth)
All materials for each session, plus a participant workbook, are kept
4–6 live facilitated sessions (90 min each)
Mid-series check-in with program staff to adjust based on participant engagement
Final summary report with recommendations for continuing the work internally
Financial Education Individual Consulting Services
3-Session Package
A short arc: Session 1 (financial assessment + goal-setting)
→ Session 2 (building a personalized plan — budget, savings, debt payoff) →
Session 3 (review + adjustments, troubleshooting).
6-Month Mentorship
Ongoing 1:1 support, such as monthly sessions plus async check-ins and for someone building toward a specific goal (saving for education, starting a small business, building credit, buying a first home).
Single Session (60–90 min)
A focused session on one specific need — understanding a per capita distribution, building a first budget, starting a savings plan, or evaluating a major purchase decision.
The need for this work is both urgent and underserved. Across many tribal nations, per capita income distributions place significant sums of money, often between $5,000 and $50,000 or more annually, directly into the hands of community members, including young adults receiving these funds for the first time. Yet the financial education infrastructure to support informed decision-making around these distributions rarely exists at the community level. The result is a recurring pattern of missed opportunity: money that could seed savings, investment, or small business development instead cycles out of the community within months. The Financial Sovereignty Initiative exists to teach Native youth how to become future wealth builders.
Why We Do What We Do
Who you’re Working with:
Summer Wildbill
FounderSummer Wildbill is an enrolled citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the founder of the Financial Sovereignty Initiative, a financial education consulting practice dedicated to building long-term economic sovereignty within Indigenous communities.
Summer's commitment to this work began long before it became her career. Growing up on a rural Oregon reservation, she witnessed firsthand how the absence of financial knowledge and stability can shape a family and a community. That early experience instilled a deep belief that financial education is not just a practical skill, but a form of protection and empowerment, particularly for Native families navigating per capita distributions, generational wealth-building, and economic systems not designed with their communities in mind.
Now an undergraduate at NYU studying International Relations, Summer has built her work at the intersection of Indigenous economic sovereignty and financial literacy, developing curriculum and programming through Nixyaawii Community Financial Services and the Native Cents financial literacy app. Her approach centers on cultural authenticity and community co-creation, ensuring that the knowledge and infrastructure she helps build stay rooted in the communities she serves long after each engagement ends.
Summer's work is driven by a simple belief which is that every Native youth deserves the financial tools to build a future that breaks cycles of scarcity and builds generational wealth on their own terms.
Interested in bringing financial education programming to your community or organization?
Send a quick note and set up a free discovery call