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Amber Buker, J.D.
Founder & CEO of Totem, digital banking by and for Indigenous people
Amber Buker, J.D. is a Native American entrepreneur and banking executive with a background in fintech and innovation. Here are some key points about her career and background:
Professional Experience
Amber Buker currently serves on the Technology Advisory Board at Chesapeake Bank, where she leads innovation efforts.3 Prior to this role, she was the Founder and CEO of Totem Technologies, Inc., a Native-owned fintech startup she founded in 2022.12
Totem Technologies
Totem was created to revolutionize banking for Native Americans by developing a digital banking app tailored to serve Native communities.1 The company aimed to:
- Partner with tribal governments to distribute benefits to members
- Provide personal banking services to Native Americans
- Offer access to tribal financial services like down payment assistance and scholarships
Buker successfully raised $2.2 million in pre-seed funding for Totem in 2022, with backing from impact investors and Indigenous-focused venture capital firms.2
Background and Expertise
- Enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma2
- Law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School3
- Experience in the fintech sector prior to founding Totem1
- Board member of Natives in Tech, a nonprofit organization1
Recent Developments
As of August 2024, Buker announced that she was stepping down from her role as Founder and CEO of Totem Technologies.4 In September 2024, she shared that she had taken on a new position, likely referring to her current role at Chesapeake Bank.5
Amber Buker continues to be involved in tribal finance and banking innovation, as evidenced by her attendance at events like the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium.6
Highlights
It's a strange and sad day. I just returned home from my last speaking event as the Founder & CEO of Totem Technologies, Inc. We've already shared the news with our customers and tribal partners, but this will be the first time many of our stakeholders may be hearing that Totem has come to the end of its road.
I am incredibly proud of the work we've done in just two short years to improve financial wellness and banking access for Native Americans nationwide. We built a thoughtful, culturally relevant banking product for our People through customer research led by our founding Chief Design Officer, Carolann Merchant. We provided an incredible experience to over 500 customers representing more than 70 different tribal nations through our all-Native customer service team led by Spencer Snedden. We developed a unique payment disbursements system designed to save tribes significant time and money under the fearless leadership of our Head of Product (who does way more than product) Andrew Hebert. And we reached tens of thousands of people through articles, podcasts, and national stages like Money20/20 and TedX to help folks understand our People's struggles with accessing financial services, as well as our beautiful cultural values surrounding money and wealth.
We built an ethical business model that showed it is possible to serve "risky" or "niche" populations when you build holistically and tap into the broader needs of their communities through value-add services like payments. But businesses looking to serve Indian Country can only do so at the speed of trust. And that comes much, much more slowly than the pace at which a venture-backed company is expected to move.
Over the last weeks, we've received heartbreaking messages from our customers and tribal partners about how badly our solution is needed. In a world with such incredible technology at our fingertips, there is no excuse for letting systemic barriers like the reservation system continue to relegate our noble People to being unbanked and reliant on subprime options like predatory check cashers and prepaid providers.
I take some solace in knowing that Totem made an impact for the people we did have the opportunity to serve. We earned a seat at some important tables to advocate on behalf of our community. And I hope we lit a spark that could still, someday, fan into a flame and create a new tradition of Native wealth building. Yakoke (thanks in Choctaw). -Amber
I meet a lot of folks who want to connect with me or our work at Totem Technologies, Inc., but it's super rare for them to actually follow up. So I was delighted when I got an email from Annella T. recently.
I met Annella almost a year ago when I gave a talk on Storytelling for Entrepreneurs at the Natives Rising STEM Camp for Indigenous youth. Annella was also a speaker at the event, even though she was just in her 3rd year as Stanford University undergrad. Annella spoke about the app she built in response to issues she had experienced firsthand as the captain of the Western Team for Stanford Equestrian. It was a cool app, but even cooler to hear about how thoughtfully and systemically Annella approached the problem.
As I sat and listened, Annella impressed me with her drive, passion, and comfort in sharing her learnings with others. We chatted after Annella's talk, and I offered to help her make connections when she began looking for work after graduation.
10 months later, I had a message from Annella in my inbox. She shared some of the exciting projects she had worked on recently, and updated me on her career aspirations. I was pretty stunned. For anyone, but particularly someone of Annella's age, to be so thorough, thoughtful, and prompt is RARE. And so I want to do everything I can to lift her up.
Annella is about to graduate with her BS in Science, Technology, and Society with a focus on policy and data. She is comfortable with multiple programming languages, has held many leadership roles, and will be an incredible employee for the next team lucky enough to have her.
Follow through is everything. It's the only way to achieve your goals. Be like Annella! (Pic for attention. This is from the STEM camp where we met!)
