As the 10th annual Small Business Saturday approaches, Stacey Livermont (Oglala Sioux) is celebrating her entry into restaurant ownership at Piesano’s Pacchia after 20 years as the pizzeria’s chef. She began working at Piesano’s in 1999, just three years after the restaurant opened, and has become an integral part of […]
Frank Hunter Banks Local, Expands Cattle Operation
Frank Hunter, a life-long resident of Kyle, South Dakota, grew up in a ranching family on the Pine Ridge Reservation. And, that’s still what he’s doing today. Frank’s cattle operation consists of about 40 cow-calf pairs and some hay ground. After banking in Gordon, Nebraska for 40 years, he recently […]
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 […]
Lakota Funds Receives $1 Million to Support Lending Program
The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, a part of the U.S. Treasury Department, announced that Lakota Funds was awarded $1,005,000 as part of their Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program. The award will fuel Lakota Funds’ lending program, which in turn channels funds in the form of agricultural, business, […]
Expanded Program to Invest $2.6 Million into Reservation Farms and Ranches
We are pleased to announce that we will be expanding our agricultural business program with a funding award from the Native American Agricultural Fund, an organization that was born out of the Keepseagle vs. Vilsack settlement. Through the expansion, we will add a full-time staff member who, along with other […]
Prefabricated Home Sales Office Now Open in Kyle
While thousands of homes are needed to fully meet the housing needs of Pine Ridge Reservation residents, Tess Puckett’s new business, Lakota Cabins, will be in high demand. Lakota Cabins sells custom-built, prefabricated, energy-efficient homes at a reasonable price point. Puckett hopes her new business will help the community by […]
Oglala Lakota Artspace to Break Ground in September
The kind of place everyone dreams of. That is how artist and First Peoples Fund staff member Bryan Parker (White Mountain Apache, Muscogee Creek, Mississippi Choctaw) describes the Oglala Lakota Artspace, a first of its kind space slated to break ground this fall on the Pine Ridge Reservation. A collaboration […]
Lakota Funds Recognized as Leader in Food Sovereignty
The Nonprofit Quarterly’s article, “In Indian Country, Native CDFIs Work to Restore Food Sovereignty,” features our agricultural lending program and explains how it not only helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses, but it also addresses immediate needs for food access within our community. It also explains the importance of increasing the […]
Nonprofit Supports Increase in Native-Owned Agri-Businesses
Although the latest USDA Census of Agriculture shows there are 3,218 agricultural operations on Indian reservations in South Dakota, only 924 – less than a third – are actually Native American-owned. Lakota Funds, a nonprofit organization, is working to increase that number by supporting Native American farmers and ranchers through […]
US Treasury’s CDFI Fund Visits Pine Ridge Reservation
We were honored to host two important guests from the US Treasury’s CDFI Fund, Director Annie Donovan and Senior Portfolio Manager Clint Hastings. It was a great opportunity to showcase our work and highlight our local entrepreneurs. Read Clint’s reflections in his blog post.