Indigenous-Led Funds: Succeeding through Trust, Values, and Relationship

This article was originally published December 16, 2024.

Indigenous-led funds offer values-aligned investment opportunities that strengthen self-determination and foster benefits for communities, enterprises, and investors.

On November 21, the Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group (IIPWG) partnered with Collective Action for Just Finance to host Identifying Indigenous-Led Funds for Catalytic Investing with leaders from Akiptan, Hawai’i Investment Ready, and Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust (watch the full above).

Each speaker offered insights into Indigenous-led financial services that address systemic barriers, while highlighting the power of culture and community in investment.

Indigenous Leadership Driving Economic Transformations

Dawn LeBeau, a senior program officer at Akiptan, a Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) based in South Dakota, is focused on reshaping Native agriculture through creative, flexible lending. Since 2019 Akiptan has committed $30 million in loans, benefiting 28 tribal nations and growing 440 projects.

“Access to patient capital is critical,” said LeBeau. “Extractive capital leads to extractive practices, but our approach allows producers to reinvest profits into themselves and their operations.”

Akiptan’s tailored loan products include land mortgages, down payment assistance, and youth loans – all complimented by a suite of financial literacy tools including business and succession planning. Akiptan’s collaborative philosophy emphasizes partnership over transaction and enables producers to thrive while preserving traditional agricultural knowledge and practices.

Hawai’i Investment Ready (HIR) is the first Native-led 501(c)(3) intermediary and accelerator in Hawai’i. HIR works to bridge the gap between enterprises and accessible capital, centering Indigenous leadership and cultural considerations when building social and economic change.

Catalyzing that change requires Native leadership to address challenges such as food security and biocultural restoration. Co-CEO Keoni Lee commented on the unique, transformative potential of their education and alternative capital philosophies: “These are critical pieces of our resilient economy and infrastructure… prioritizing Native leadership and place-based approaches that are culturally rooted specific to Hawai’i.”

A key initiative of HIR is the Āina Aloha Economy Fund, providing patient, risk-tolerant financing for Native Hawai’ian enterprises. The fund utilizes a community-first governance model, and its investment committee comprises program alumni and Native Hawaiian members.

Wiyot tribal administrator Michelle Vassel is the director at Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust, a community land trust that pairs land renewal with affordable housing development in Northern California. Developed under and guided by tribal law, the land trust reclaims ancestral Wiyot lands for cultural and ecological restoration while addressing increased housing prices affecting both Wiyot citizens and the larger low-income community.

Rather than taking green space to make new developments, Dishgamu restores neglected sites in the community. Recent projects include converting vacant commercial properties into youth housing and converting abandoned parking lots into multi-family apartment buildings. This apartment complex also integrates services for the community at large, including childcare and a meals program.

Values-Aligned, Relationship-Based Investment

The speakers underscored the importance of relationship-based investing rooted in both trust and shared values. “Change happens at the speed of trust,” said Lee, a principle that echoed throughout the discussion. Investments in any Indigenous-led funds must align with community priorities and understand the context that culture plays in the relationship.

Speakers shared instances of navigating challenges tied to inequity and reputational risks. Vassel referenced the value of Honor Taxes, voluntary contributions from corporations operating on Wiyot lands that have become a pillar of support for the self-determination of the Tribe without restrictive grant conditions or reporting.

Investors were urged to adopt patient capital models that respect Indigenous decision-making processes. Examples abounded of how mission alignment and long-term partnerships take priority over transactions in the speakers’ respective programs.

Discussing the institutional investment pledge for HRI’s Āina Aloha Economy Fund, Lee noted partners’ familiarity with HRI after a few years of working together. “They know what we’re trying to do,” he said, “and the relationship building really is important.”

Lee also highlighted an instance where an investment offer was rejected by the fund due to lack of trust between the company proposing the investment and the community.

Looking Ahead with Optimism and Action

When looking towards 2025 and the years ahead, speakers shared optimism about opportunities for growth and positive impacts in creative funding.

• Hawai’i Investment Ready plans to expand the Āina Aloha Economy Fund, developing blended capital stacks for Indigenous-led infrastructure and food systems.

• Dishgamu Humbolt recently received a land return of 357 acres that includes a traditional village site. The area’s unique environment and history set the stage for an ecological and cultural restoration project that has been in the works for over two decades.

• Akiptan continues to build long-term stability through financial literacy, mentorship, and generating access to financial tools to support Native agricultural producers.

Whether participating through grants, investment, or other partnership opportunities, investors can have an integral role in strengthening and forwarding Indigenous economic priorities through these and other Indigenous-led funds. Such funds provide lasting benefits for communities and create systemic change that honors Indigenous expertise and solutions by embracing values-aligned, trust-based approaches. Reimagining finance through relationship-based models and cultural understanding sets a powerful precedent for more equitable and successful returns on investment.

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Identifying Indigenous-Led Funds for Catalytic Investing was moderated by Eileen Egan, a committee member of the Transformative 25, and organized by IIPWG in partnership with Collective Action for Just Finance.

Collective Action for Just Finance publishes the Transformative 25 (T25) – a list of funds, banks, and initiatives that demonstrate the power of innovative integrated capital strategies to reimagine and recreate a financial system that works for people and the planet. For more information, you may download the T25 2024 Report or sign up for the T25 newsletter.

Learn more about IIPWG here and join the mailing list.

Updated 2/9/25