February 2025

Indigenous Peoples & Impact Investing

Above: Rematriating Economies Apprenticeship video excerpt from the first graduating cohort of Indigenous women in Vanessa Roanhorse’s Venture Capital apprenticeship program. Considered a monumental step towards representation and economic empowerment in the VC world, participants share the power of drawing on traditional Indigenous knowledge to rebuild community-driven economic systems.

Welcome to our February 2025 Indigenous Peoples & Impact Investing issue. Contributors for this special issue represent Native leadership in enterprise, financial services and investment innovation working to redefine capital systems to include Indigenous Peoples. They demonstrate how environmental sustainability, equity and economic wellbeing are mutually reinforcing and offer critical insights for ESG frameworks and values-aligned investment models. The writers include: 

Jane Breckinridge (Euchee Butterfly Farm) addresses ecological challenges while creating economic opportunities through Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge and science. Carla Fredericks and Matt Aguiar (Christensen Fund) highlight the pivotal role of program-related investments and a rights-based approach that centers on relationships, creativity and iteration to allow Indigenous entrepreneurs to succeed on their own terms.

Cultivating a robust ecosystem of support for Native entrepreneurs, Fern Orie (WIHEDC) and Becky Albert-Breed (Cedar Growth) focuses on financial sovereignty and achieving success through relational, rather than transactional, lending models. Skya Ducheneaux (Akiptan) leads transformative work by designing capital delivery systems aligned with Native values to fund Native farmers and ranchers to strengthen Indian Country food economies. Casey Lozar (CICD) discusses how Indigenous communities are reclaiming control over data and metrics to articulate their own criteria for success.

Calling for an industry-wide shift, Vanessa Roanhorse (Roanhorse Consulting) emphasizes the need for direct partnership with Indigenous entrepreneurs, and champions the next generation of Native women reshaping finance. Keoni Lee (Hawai’i Investment Ready) highlights the vital role of Native intermediaries in bridging cultural and financial contexts to facilitate equitable partnerships and seed scalable, place-based solutions rooted in Indigenous values. And Kevin O’Neal Smith (Adasina) shares how investment criteria can integrate Indigenous Peoples at the portfolio level.

Among the special podcasts and videos in this issue, find an exclusive GreenMoney Talks podcast interview with elder, scholar and advocate Richard B. Williams of TREC who discusses with Kate Finn of the Tallgrass Institute, findings from TREC’s Historic Loss Assessment report. The featured video is from The Future Is Indigenous Women and the inspiring kickoff of the Rematriating Economies Apprenticeship, where Vanessa Roanhorse explores the power of reconnecting with traditional Indigenous knowledge to rebuild community-driven economic systems.

Finally, we introduce the newly launched Tallgrass Institute, a Center for Indigenous Economic Stewardship, which co-curated this issue; and find an update to the Indigenous Peoples and Engagement Timeline for Sustainable and Responsible Investing now through 2024. 

– Kate Finn, Guest Editor, Tallgrass Institute

Small Wings, Big Impact: Revitalizing Tribal Lands and Livelihoods

Jane Breckinridge
Euchee Butterfly Farm
The Euchee Butterfly Farm, a Native woman-owned enterprise on Muscogee Nation land, is transforming Tribal economies with sustainable butterfly farming. Its ‘Natives Raising Natives’ program trains Tribal members to farm butterflies, creating opportunities for economic independence and ecological restoration. The Tribal Alliance for Pollinators is restoring native plants for pollinators and medicinal traditions.
 

Supporting Indigenous Self-Determination Through a Spectrum of Capital

Carla Fredericks and Matt Aguiar
The Christensen Fund
The Christensen Fund is reshaping its approach to capital allocation, aligning investments with Indigenous rights and self-determination. Through initiatives like Purpose Aligned Capital, the fund supports enterprises like Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace, Akiptan Community Development Financial Institution and Navajo Power Home, driving economic independence for Native communities.
 

Unleashing Potential: The Vision of WIHEDC for Native Economic Development

Fern Orie and Becky Albert-Breed
WIHEDC and Cedar Growth
WIHEDC is driving Indigenous economic sovereignty by partnering with Native CDFIs to advance financial independence and homeownership across Wisconsin’s Tribal communities. Their 2024 Native Economic Impact Study revealed that Indigenous businesses and non-gaming enterprises generate significant contributions, including up to $4.83 billion in economic output when scaled statewide.
 

Change the Lending Paradigm: A Model of Success in Native Ag Finance

Skya Ducheneaux
Akiptan
Akiptan, a Native-led CDFI is revolutionizing lending for Native agriculture by prioritizing relationships, innovation and equity. Since 2019, Akiptan has provided $31 million in loans to Native producers and $1 million in grants, removing traditional financial barriers with patient capital and flat interest rates. The CDFI support’s producers with tools, resources and culturally aligned practices through Indigenous-led solutions.
 

Historic Loss Assessment Report quantifies $1.17 trillion in land theft from Colorado’s Native Nations

GreenMoney Talks – In this exclusive interview with Richard B. Williams, scholar, Oglala Lakota elder and chair of the Truth, Restoration and Education Commission (TREC), guest host Kate Finn, executive director of the Tallgrass Institute, discusses key findings from TREC’s Historic Loss Assessment Report. The report quantifies Colorado’s $1.17 trillion land theft against the devastating economic and ecological losses experienced by Native Nations displaced by U.S. expansionism. Williams shares insights into addressing these injustices and the path forward for reconciliation, equity and restoring Indigenous self-determination.

Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial

A Community Centered Approach to Closing Credit Access Gaps: Native CDFIs

Casey Lozar
Center for Indian Country Development
CICD is uncovering the transformative role of Native CDFIs in addressing capital and credit gaps in Indian Country. Their research reveals that proximity to communities improves credit outcomes, with character-based lending and financial counseling reducing risk and fostering success. The CDFIs drive economic transformation with culturally-tailored solutions.
Elyse Dempsey Roanhorse Consulting

Breaking Barriers: Catalyzing Indigenous Entrepreneurship Toward Financial Inclusion

Vanessa Roanhorse
Roanhorse Consulting
Indigenous entrepreneurs face systemic barriers to capital, but innovative solutions are emerging. Now, the Rooted Relative Fund and Matriarch Funds, alongside record funding for Native CDFIs in 2024, are reshaping financial systems. With catalytic capital and Indigenous-led frameworks, Native founders are empowered with funding that fosters economic mobility and self-determination.
Hawaii Investment Ready access to investment planning

Indigenous Values Seed Systems Transformation in Hawai’i

Keoni Lee
Hawai’i Investment Ready (HIR)
Hawai‘i Investment Ready highlights the vital role of Native intermediaries in bridging cultural and financial contexts to facilitate equitable partnerships and seed scalable, place-based solutions rooted in Indigenous values. HIR empowers enterprises to address food insecurity, environmental degradation and systemic inequities.
Kevin O'Neal-Smith impact strategist for Adasina Social Capital at 2024 First Nations Projects Coalition conference

Entry Points for Equity: Risk Criteria and Partnership in Indigenous-aligned Portfolios

Kevin O’Neal Smith
Adasina Social Capital
Incorporating Indigenous Peoples’ rights as a framework in investments mitigates material ESG risk. As demand for sustainable and right-centered business increases, Indigenous Peoples’ rights need to be integrated and amplified throughout project design to create a more just and equitable society.
Tallgrass Institute-Connecting Investors to Indigenous Insights and Expertise by Kate Finn

Tallgrass Institute: Connecting Investors to Indigenous Insights and Expertise

Kate Finn and team
Tallgrass Institute
Tallgrass Institute launched in January 2025 as a Center for Indigenous Economic Stewardship. It connects Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives, solutions, and leadership with investors and the private sector and works with Indigenous organizations, sustainability professionals, and standard-setting bodies on IPs’ rights, lands, and economic priorities.
Washington NFL Native protest to change team name 2014 by Fibonacci Blue

Indigenous Peoples and Engagement Timeline for Sustainable and Responsible Investing–2016 to 2024

Steven Heim
Boston Common Asset Management
This timeline includes milestones in Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy and investor engagement from 1971 through 2024. From the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline to the integration of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent into global corporate accountability discussions, it charts Indigenous rights in environmental justice and SRI.
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