The Pine Ridge Reservation consists of 30,000 Oglala Lakota tribal members, many of whom live off the reservation and are spread across 70,000 square miles of South Dakota and Nebraska. Half of the members are under the age of 30 and unemployment is at 80%. Native artist entrepreneurs will lead Rolling Rez Arts, mobile units that travel across the reservation delivering art, business, and retail services that would otherwise be inaccessible. Representatives from the local community development financial institution will also accompany each mobile unit, providing educational opportunities to tribal members.
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See below for recent updates, press, and events from this project
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Jun 5, 2020
For over 30 years, Marvin and Frances Martinez have risen with the sun to drive from their home at the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New... Read More
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Jan 11, 2020
With success shared from the Rolling Rez Arts bus program – by First Peoples Fund – a permanent location for artists on Pine Ridge is... Read More
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Oct 16, 2018
On South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, a substantial number of Native households earn income by creating and selling art. But many of these residents lack... Read More
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Apr 25, 2017
With his horses foaling, Tony Richards, 63, said that he would not have had time to make the hourlong drive from his corner of the... Read More
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Jan 19, 2016
The "starving artists" maxim is often true, but three local Native American artists will now have a little extra money to help them pursue their... Read More
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Dec 3, 2015
The colorful herd of buffalo roaming down the roads of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota this fall brought both tears and cheers... Read More
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Oct 27, 2015
Pine Ridge has a new bank, financial literacy hub, and art space and it’s all on wheels. Rolling Rez Arts is a mobile creative space,... Read More
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Sep 24, 2015
The dream of turning art into profit on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation got a $750,000 boost Wednesday from the federal government. The grant, from... Read More
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Sep 16, 2019
Tosa Two Heart (Oglala Lakota) and Bryan Parker (White Mountain Apache, Muscogee Creek, Mississippi Choctaw) discuss First Peoples Fund’s Rolling Rez Arts bus which was...Read more
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Sep 21, 2018
We asked a few of our favorite organizations who work with Native American and Indigenous communities to share the creative placemaking opportunities, funding sources, and...Read more
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Jun 30, 2017
We’ve been thinking about how strategies in rural areas are being (re)framed with culture bearers, growers and makers in mind. The approaches of First People’s...Read more
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Jun 30, 2017
In Part 2 of my interview with Lori Pourier of First People’s Fund/Rolling Rez and Cheryal Hills of Regional Five Development Commission/Sprout Growers and Makers...Read more
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Apr 21, 2016
This week we are lucky to have Pilar McKay, one half of Rural Arts Weekly, joining us for a guest blog post about her thoughts,...Read more
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Jan 27, 2016
Whether through philanthropic donations, government funding, tax credits, or earned income, fundraising requires creativity, patience, and persuasion. Even within their own communities, non-profits seeking funding...Read more