A coalition, including representatives from South Dakota’s tribes, federal and state agencies, housing developers, and nonprofit organizations, is working together to support and increase native homeownership. According to Leslie Newman, who is a facilitator with Seven Sisters Community Development, the Native Homeownership Coalition works to educate and enable practitioners so that they may help more native families with home buying.

Newman says practitioners often have difficulties working on tribal lands while working to provide affordable homes, workforce opportunities, and assistance with credit. The coalition recently held a training session in Pierre that trained 30 stakeholders on how to educate potential native home buyers about finances.

Newman says this was the first of what she calls “Training the Trainer” sessions. The next one will focus on homeowner education that will focus on the steps people must take to buy a home. She says homeownership numbers on South Dakota’s Indian reservations are very low.