WINDOW ROCK — Across the Navajo Nation, many families continue to face financial barriers. With average incomes of $33,323 and high unemployment rates, Navajo families often reach into their pocket for their last couple of dollars to pay bills or fall into predatory lending traps.
To help families make well informed financial decisions, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren proclaimed April 2026 as “Financial Literacy Month.” The proclamation comes at a time when many Navajo households continue to face barriers to financial access.
“Native communities experience the highest unbanked rate in the United States at 16.3 percent, nearly four times the national average,” President Nygren said referring to families who do not have a checking or savings account. “We empower our people through financial knowledge so they can create smart financial decisions to increase credit scores, and plan future goals like home purchases.”
The Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President will release financial literacy videos developed in partnership with Wells Fargo and Oweesta. The videos cover budgeting, saving, credit building, banking access, and entrepreneurship in Navajo and English.
Navajo Nation community representatives will use Navajo Financial Mobility classes to carry financial knowledge to their chapters to assist families interested in financial literacy education.
In our schools, students are introduced to financial concepts in hands on banking classes through interactive lessons, games, and classroom instruction.
We encourage all families to take part in Financial Literacy Month by engaging with available resources to build the knowledge for a stable financial future.
“When our people understand savings and credit scores, it allows them to achieve their goals such as buying that new home to raise their families or having a reliable vehicle to get them to and from work,” President Nygren said.
