First Native company on Stock Exchange

NativeOne Takes On NYSE, Tears Down Wall StreetNativeOne Institutional Trading, LLC stands in line to become the first Native American-owned company on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to a company press release, the broker dealer made its Wall Street debut on January 18, 2011. After their successful transfer of ownership and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) approval, NativeOne will become a publicly traded company on the Exchange.

According to Donald Lyons, founder and CEO of NativeOne and member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, NativeOne’s entry into the stock market symbolically represents American Indians breaking down the wall originally built by Dutch colonists in lower Manhattan. Erected in 1653, according to the PBS documentary film “The Center of the World,” the wall blocked the New Amsterdam settlement from British and Native American invaders. In 1699, the British knocked down the wall, paving a lane called Wall Street, states the PBS documentary.

“Wall Street was named for the wall built over three hundred years ago from Trinity Church to the East River to keep Native Americans out,” said Lyons. “Today, Native One Institutional Trading brings Native America right to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.”Wall Street trades with the Indians

Tribe in high finance

By Jennifer FerminoMore than 300 years after white settlers erected a wall in downtown Manhattan to keep Indians out--the very partition that gave Wall Street its famous name--Native Americans are finally busting through.

NativeOne Institutional Trading LLC, a financial-services firm, has applied to the New York Stock Exchange and expects to become the very first Native American-owned company to become a member.

"I got out of the teepee business," joked principal owner Don Lyons, a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in California.

Lyons said they want to help Native Americans--many of whom went from very poor to very rich thanks to an influx of casino cash--manage their wealth.Comment:  For another take on the subject, see Satire:  Sioux Attack Wall Street.