Our Ecosystem

Our place-based, holistic ecosystem is built to enact sustainable change to systemic issues facing the Sicangu Lakota Oyate. We work on what is now commonly known as the Rosebud Reservation, in southcentral South Dakota.

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We are three distinct legal entities working under a shared vision and mission, with each working in synergy to create change in its own way.

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REDCO serves as the "parent company" and focuses on business and policy development. REDCO operates over a dozen subsidiaries that do business both on and off the reservation. Profits are reinvested into community programming, and an annual dividend supports essential tribal programming.

 

Sicangu CDC is a community development 501(c)3 nonprofit that has programming in the areas of food sovereignty, health, education, and housing.

 

Tatanka Funds is an emerging Native CDFI with 501(c)3 designation that supports aspiring tribal entrepreneurs and homeowners through a series of educational and financial offerings.

Board of Directors

REDCO's Board of Directors consists of innovative and dedicated leaders, committed to fostering economic development and investing in self-sufficiency for the Sicangu Lakota Oyate.

100% of REDCO's Board of Directors are enrolled citizens of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

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Wayne Boyd

Chairman of the Board

Rodney Bordeaux

Vice Chairman

Nora Antoine

Member of the Board

Oliver J. Semans, Sr.

Member of the Board

Wayne Frederick

Member of the Board

 

Our Team

 

Across our ecosystem, we employ over 60 people. The team listed here support the core operations and vision for the ecosystem. Staff listings for each enterprise can be found on their designated webpage. Meet the Sicangu CDC staff here.

Wizipan Little Elk (Garriott)

Chief Executive Officer

Clay Colombe

Chief Finance Officer

Phoebe (Maria) Amiotte

Finance Officer

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Mindi Vavra

Chief Operations Officer

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Michael LaPointe

Economic Development Specialist

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Kyla Marshall

Executive Assistant

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Tracy Shot With Two Arrows

Administrative Assistant

Cecily Vanderwalker

 Accounts Receivable Clerk

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Jessica Larson

Training Coordinator

Dana Ellwanger

Accounts Payable Clerk

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Sarah Hart

Payroll Administrator and

Interim Human Resources Director

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Aaron Epps

Marketing and Communications Director

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Jillian Waln

Community Engagement Coordinator

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  • Rosebud Construction Inc.

  • Rosebud Facilities Management

  • Sicangu Propane

  • Rosebud Office Solutions

  • Rosebud Farm Company

 Employees listed here provide core operational support for REDCO's ecosystem. 

But did you know that REDCO's ecosystem employees roughly 50 additional people?!?

Those employees work for our subsidiary companies or sister community development organizations:

  • Tatanka Funds

  • Sicangu Community Development Corporation

  • Wolakota Buffalo Range

  • ... and more!

History and Culture

Creation of REDCO

In 1999, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Government stepped forward to begin reclaiming their right to economic self-determination by establishing REDCO.  Designed as the economic arm of the Tribe, REDCO’s purpose is to generate revenue and create economic opportunity for the Sicangu Lakota Oyate and surrounding communities.

History of Oceti Sakowin

Located in what is now known as South Central South Dakota, the Rosebud Indian Reservation is home to approximately 27,000 members of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate (“Burnt Thigh Nation”), also known as the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. As one of seven Lakota tribes, which in turn collectively form one of the seven council fires of the Great Sioux Nation (Očéti Šakówiŋ), the Sicangu Oyate have a proud history stretching back since time immemorial.

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Lakota tribes have inhabited the Black Hills and surrounding plains for more than 2,000 years. The Lakota are best known as kind relatives, expert buffalo hunters, and fierce defenders of freedom and land.  Incorporation of the horse and modern warfare technology into Lakota culture, guided by strong values of bravery, fortitude, generosity, respect, compassion, and wisdom, allowed the Lakota to become the dominant economic and military force in the Great Plains.


Treaty of Fort Laramie

The Sicangu worked with other Lakota bands to resist the westward expansion of the United States government, forcing the signing of two peace treaties that together established the boundaries the Great Sioux Reservation. The Great Sioux Reservation was established in 1868 by the Treaty of Fort Laramie and encompassed South Dakota, northern parts of Nebraska and eastern Montana.


Broken Treaties

These treaties were broken soon thereafter by the United States, resulting in the “Indian Wars” of the 1870s.


The decimation of vast buffalo herds in the Great Plains, which the Sicangu relied upon for food, shelter, clothing, spiritual items, and primary trade currency, resulted in a decimation of the Lakota buffalo-based economy, and they were unable to mount a sustained resistance. Ultimately the Sicangu, along with the other Lakota tribes, were forced onto their present-day reservations and the Rosebud Reservation was established in 1889. Further theft of prime farming and ranching lands, forced attendance at educationally subpar boarding schools designed to “kill the Indian to save the man,” and over-regulation by the federal government has stifled economic development for generations, resulting in persistent poverty and other socioeconomic challenges.