The Federal Reserve Board in late October 2019 announced four new members of its Community Advisory Council (CAC), one of them being our very own Tawney Brunsch, Executive Director of Lakota Funds. Tawney and the other new members will serve three-year terms beginning in 2020. The CAC is composed […]
Community Partners Combine Forces to Open Doors to Homeownership
In the tail winds of Veteran’s Day, we and two of our community partners – Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial and the Lakota Federal Credit Union – are celebrating with Garfield Iron Crow (Oglala Sioux), a Native American veteran, as construction of his new home nears completion. After serving in the […]
Eighth Renter Transitions to Homeowner in Eagle Nest Housing Development
In the midst of an extreme housing shortage, it is estimated that the Pine Ridge Reservation needs an additional 4,000 homes to provide adequate housing for residents. With a virtually nonexistent residential real estate market, families are commonly on the waiting list for low-income tribal housing for two-plus years. In […]
Free Tax Service Aims to Maximize Refunds for Reservation Residents
Lakota Funds and the Lakota Federal Credit Union are partnering again this year to facilitate a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site that will offer free tax preparation services to those who live on the Pine Ridge Reservation and neighboring areas.
“This is a critical service that helps fuel
Native Nations Rebuilders – Cohort 10 Announced
Congratulations to Angela Koenen for being chosen as one of the members of the 10th cohort of the Native Nations Rebuilders program! Rebuilders are emerging and existing Native leaders looking to build leadership skills and nation building knowledge. Angela was one of 21 tribal citizens from 14 tribes that was […]
Lakota Funds and First National Bank of Rapid City Partner for $15,000 Strong Communities Award
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (FHLB Des Moines) announced that First National Bank of Rapid City has been selected as one of seven competing for $15,000 to use to further promote economic development opportunities in their community. First National Bank, a FHLB Des Moines member financial institution, […]
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 […]
Free Tax Service Brings Over $1 Million to Reservation, Receives Award from IRS
With tax season wrapping up, Lakota Funds and the Lakota Federal Credit Union are celebrating the success of their Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site where they offer free tax preparation services to residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation and neighboring areas. By the end of tax season, they filed […]
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 […]
Family Celebrates Homeownership this Holiday Season
This holiday season, Cynthia Plenty Bull and her daughter will be celebrating in the same house they have lived in for the past six years. But this year, they will call the home their own. Cynthia is the first tenant in the 30-unit Eagle Nest Housing Development, originally built in […]