Eight young people across the Pine Ridge Reservation are currently participating in a construction internship program that is facilitated in partnership with Lakota Funds and the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition. In mid-June, the interns were placed among three local building contractors – Lakota Cabins, Mendoza Construction, and Sod’s Mechanical […]
Sod’s Mechanical Grows Business, Builds Workforce
Ken Soderlin began Sod’s Mechanical, a plumbing and heating business on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in 1989 with one employee and one truck. Today, his business employs 14 full-time staff members and operates a fleet of six trucks. Early in his company’s history, he took on some big jobs that […]
Art Market & Exhibit Awards Nearly $2,500 in Competition Prizes
Approximately 75 people gathered at the Lakota Prairie Ranch in Kyle for the Lakota Art Market & Exhibit, an event that featured local art vendors, an archery competition, and a youth art contest. Lakota Funds hosted the event in partnership with First Peoples Fund, and distributed a total of $2,425 […]
Oglala Sioux Tribe President Drops in on Youth Business Plan Competition
The 11th Annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) Business Plan Competition had an unexpected, yet very welcomed, visitor. Oglala Sioux Tribe President, Julian Running Bear, watched several youth as they presented their business plans on the second day of the competition at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. “It was great to […]
Statewide Youth Business Plan Competition Celebrates 10th Year with Most Entries Ever
This year the statewide business plan competition, a part of the annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) that takes place every December, celebrated its 10th year with 33 competitors – nearly double last year and more than any other previous year. The participating students represented White River, Red Cloud, Little Wound, […]
Participants in Statewide Youth Business Plan Competition Visited by Celebrity
Jim Warne, a former NFL player, actor, award-winning filmmaker, and Oglala Sioux tribal member, delivered a motivational speech to the participants in the statewide business plan competition during the Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) that took place mid-December at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The newly-elected Oglala Sioux Tribe President, Scott […]
Twenty High School Students Compete for Top Prize of $1,000 in Statewide Business Plan Competition
Darien Young Man, a senior at Red Cloud High School, was the top winner among a group of twenty high school students that participated in the statewide business plan competition during the Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) that took place in mid-December at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Young Man received […]