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 […]
Oglala Lakota Artspace LLC to Host Groundbreaking for First-Ever Arts Center on Pine Ridge Reservation
The Oglala Lakota Artspace LLC — comprised of Artspace, First Peoples Fund, and Lakota Funds — announced today the groundbreaking ceremony for the first-ever arts center on the geographically vast Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota: The Oglala Lakota Artspace. The arts facility is designed to provide local Native artists […]
Lakota Funds Launches Client Survey
Providing tools to help our clients build assets and create wealth is at the core of Lakota Funds’ mission. We are conducting a brief survey of our clients so that we can identify areas of opportunity to best serve you. The survey will only take approximately six minutes, and all […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bair Automotive Reopens as Ownership Changes Hands
A mainstay of Martin, South Dakota’s, local business sector, Bair’s Automotive Store, is scheduled to reopen on Monday, March 19, 2018 after a temporary closure for remodel work to be complete. After 50-plus years, ownership of the business has officially transferred to Scott Bair from his father, Richard Bair. Richard […]
Lakota Funds Participates in Listening Session with Minneapolis Fed President
During his trip to Pierre, South Dakota, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President, Neel Kashkari, hosted a lunch listening session with about 15 tribal leaders from around the state. Among them were Lakota Funds Executive Director, Tawney Brunsch, and Board Chairperson, Elsie Meeks. The participants shared their accomplishments in the areas of […]