The Tipi Raisers invites you to join us in thinking big. For over a year, we have been hard at work with a top-tier team of investment specialists and are excited to launch this pioneering approach to wealth management over the next ten years. By engaging in this strategy, you'll have the peace of mind that comes from both growing your investments while contributing to transformative solutions aimed at ending generations of poverty, addiction, violence, and marginalization on the reservations we support! In collaboration with our tribal partners we have outlined seven potential projects that each have the potential to create culturally meaningful, sustainable industries in the communities we serve. Vision 2035 is our shared hope for the ripple effect of impact that each project has the potential to create!
Training & Education Center at the Hub
Project Introduction and Background
The Tipi Raiser’s Hub, a 30 acre farm and ranch is located in Lafayette, CO and includes 20 acres of rotated pasture for the herd of horses that originated on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, five acres of farmland and several multi purpose buildings, including nine greenhouses. The land is currently held in trust by the Beatrice Eagle Trust with a long term lease currently being negotiated between the Trust and Tipi Raisers. Current programming was initiated there in 2023. Since its inception, extensive programming has been developed and implemented. The site serves as a central collection point for all material donations for the three reservations being served (Pine Ridge, Hopi, and Diné).
At the Hub, volunteers, youth, and tribal employees organize and sort all material donations, screen them for appropriateness, pack donated items and stage them for transport. Material donations include food, hygiene products, construction materials (utilized on volunteer projects on the reservations), holiday gifts, household items, heaters, and firewood. The Hub is also home to a pasture and the Tipi Raisers’ horse herd. The herd is utilized for prayer rides, cultural events, Mounted Patrol training with a local police department, and horse training for youth, tribal members, and volunteers. Greenhouse space at the Hub is shared with a partner farm that provides seedlings and training for 25 Lakota family gardens each summer. Cultural and educational events take place year-round at the Hub. These events include horse medicine demonstrations, and Nagi Circle Gatherings, which bring tribal elders and youth together with the local community for reconciliation dialogues and education centered on Indigenous wisdom. Ongoing community service work is offered at the Hub for schools, church groups, athletic teams and individuals seeking to contribute volunteer work.
The Vision:
As evidenced by its current on-site offerings, a Training and Education Center (TEC) at the Hub holds great potential in moving Vision 2035 forward. There are significant opportunities for growth and expansion within the existing footprint. The renovation and upgrading of several existing greenhouses would provide for more training and education space, fresh vegetable production, income crops, storing of supplies, building materials, etc. We envision the addition of a bunkhouse and private rooms for visiting tribal members and volunteers. These facilities may double as rental property, thereby providing an additional income stream for the organization. Upgrades to the current pasture and corral would provide for the training and selling of additional horses sourced from the Bureau of Land Management wild horse herds.
The creation of a store for the exhibition and sale of Native American arts and crafts would allow tribal members to showcase their talents, develop entrepreneurial skills, and receive supplemental income. The construction of a multipurpose conference room would allow for professional development, language and culture classes, Native cultural events, exhibitions that will generate ticket sales. The addition of a small construction space appropriate for usage as a manufacturing facility would allow for the building of tiny homes to be assembled on the reservations, and could serve as an income stream. We also envision a farrier school and veterinary training classes for community members at the Hub
Path to Sustainability:
The first steps to a sustainable and successful Hub are within reach already. With adequate funding, the greenhouses could be utilized almost immediately for cash crops, including vegetables, hemp, flowers, and traditional Native foods and products like sage and chokecherries.
Early and very attainable milestones for the project would be a successful first growing season and bringing in additional horses diverted from Bureau of Land Management slaughterhouses for training and sale. Renovation on two existing buildings and greenhouses could begin immediately with proper funds to provide housing and business opportunities for Tribal members.
Looking ahead, existing partnerships with local farriers, veterinarians, and Native entrepreneurs would be solidified to begin offering an array of classes and training opportunities for tribal members. Building on both the conference room and construction space would begin once the aforementioned programs are fully functioning and once adequate funding is available. Construction of both facilities would leverage skilled labor provided by local volunteers and partnerships with construction material providers while providing skills and wage earning opportunities to Tribal members.
The completion of both facilities and the hiring of tribal members to train and operate the facilities would mark the final phase of implementation of the Tipi Raisers’ Hub. Investment income from vacation property rentals during times when tribal members are not staying at the Hub will serve as an additional stream of revenue.
"For the sake of future generations, we must act now—working alongside our tribal families and community to provide what the U.S. government and others have not!" - Dave Ventimiglia | Executive Director
To learn more call Dave at 720-412-3335 or email us!
