— including early childhood learning, youth programs, housing, reservation schools, higher education, workforce development, children and family services, and elder programs. 38 center for indian country development a pervasive lack of data makes it difficult to evaluate how economic developments are impacting indian country. the limitations of the data available on indian country are due to data collection and reporting issues, such as small sample size or large margins of error. 39 at the federal reserve bank of minneapolis, the center for indian country development collects data and conducts economic research and analysis to help resolve the critical need for accurate and timely data. one of the steps they have taken includes publishing a labor market data tool, which presents estimates of the labor force participation rate, employment - to - population ratio, and unemployment rate for the ai / an population in the u. s. 40 the center for indian country development also focuses on applied research and engagement in indian country to support long term economic prosperity and inclusion. recent research has centered on the role tribal enterprises play in economic opportunity and how tax revenues in indian country can help improve the economic infrastructure and financial inclusion for tribal communities. through policy webinars and its upcoming inaugural research summit, see “ an economic education partnership with indian country, ” federal reserve bank of st. louis, november 19, 2020, https : / / www. stlouisfed. org / open - vault / 2020 / november / economic - education - partnership - indian - country. see “ data disaggregation : the asterisk nation, ” national congress of american indians ( ncai ) policy research center, https : / / www. ncai. org / policy - research - center / research - data / data. see center for indian country development, “ native american labor market dashboard, ” federal reserve bank of minneapolis, https : / / www. minneapolisfed. org / indiancountry / resources / native - american - labor - market - dashboard. the center is working alongside tribal leaders to leverage data and research to improve the economic well - being of indian country. the reserve banks play a unique and important role in increasing our understanding of local needs and regional issues, and in the federal reserve districts with large native american populations and stakeholders, our banks are very engaged with indian country activities. we welcome the diverse perspectives of native americans, from serving on our boards and advisory councils to joining us as full - time employees, to better inform our decisionmaking. tawney brunsch

the average. following the onset of the pandemic, conditions for native small businesses worsened. the center for indian country development and national center for american indian enterprise development surveyed small businesses in indian country in 2020 and found that about 68 percent of businesses saw at least a 20 percent revenue reduction, while 1 in 6 businesses reported having lost all revenue ( as of mid - july 2020 ) because of covid - 19. see feir, james, lozar, and nunn, “ indian country small businesses. ” both less likely to receive paycheck protection program assistance and received less, on average, than businesses in non - tribal areas. 28 financial literacy and personal financial management skills are critically important, especially for households with low liquid savings and wealth. while there are limited data about financial behaviors in indian country, available information suggests that native americans face higher levels of financial fragility than many other groups. given these challenges, native american youth may stand to benefit from opportunities to develop personal finance skills and financial management experience. 29 addressing barriers to inclusion as native communities tackle these impediments to financial inclusion, collaborative efforts across a range of public - sector, private - sector, and nonprofit organizations can be helpful. as part of our mission to build a strong, inclusive economy, the federal reserve has a role to play in supporting economic growth and financial inclusion in native communities. community reinvestment act ( cra ) reform the cra is one powerful tool in building a more inclusive economy for individuals and communities. as one of several landmark civil rights laws to address systemic inequities in credit access, the cra confers an affirmative obligation on banks to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they do business, including low - and moderate - income neighborhoods. the cra prompts banks to be not only more active lenders in lmi areas, but it see tyler boesch, casey lozar, and ryann nunn, “ paycheck protection program leaves some businesses in tribal areas behind, ” november 19, 2020, federal reserve bank of minneapolis, https : / / www. minneapolisfed. org / article / 2020 / paycheck - protection - program - leaves - some - businesses - in - tribal - areasbehind. see dewees and mottola, “ race and financial capability in america. ” also encourages activities with minority depository institutions ( mdis ) that are especially important to serving the credit and investment needs of minority