Oweesta Corporation

06/15/2026

Have you registered for NeighborWorks America's NeighborWorks Training Institute (NTI) yet? There is still time! Oweesta Corporation and Seven Sisters Community Development Group, LLC are excited to be offering two courses from August 10-14th in Miami Beach, FL.

Register before July 14: www.neighborworks.link/NeighborWorksMiamiBeachNTI

For questions, please email Cormac Molloy at [email protected].

06/15/2026

Please join us in welcoming Mel Willie as Oweesta's new Chief Officer of Strategic Partnerships.

Mel brings more than 26 years of experience in Tribal community development, advocacy, housing, philanthropy, and public affairs. Throughout his career, he has worked to strengthen Native communities, build partnerships, and create opportunities that support long-term prosperity.

As Oweesta continues expanding our work across Indian Country, we're excited to have Mel's leadership helping strengthen collaboration among Native CDFIs, Tribal Nations, funders, investors, and partners.

Welcome to the Oweesta family, Mel!

Read the full announcement:https://www.oweesta.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Final-Press-Release-Mel-Announcement.pdf

06/09/2026

What does it take to grow the next generation of Native CDFIs?

At Oweesta’s Capital Access Convening, NCN National Program Director Kristen Wagner facilitated a panel featuring leaders from Turtle Island Community Capital, Eastern Woodlands Financial Services, Pakini Loan Fund, and Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes CDFI. The discussion explored the opportunities and challenges of building Native-led financial institutions, strengthening infrastructure, and expanding access to capital in Native communities.

The conversation was a powerful reminder that growing the Native CDFI movement requires investment, innovation, and leaders willing to build new pathways to opportunity.

06/09/2026

Every good convening ends with a question: what comes next?

In our closing plenary , leaders from across the field gathered for a candid conversation on the future of Native CDFI capital strategy, exploring emerging trends, policy realities, and the ecosystem shifts shaping what lies ahead for our movement. We closed with song, honoring the land, the relationships formed, and the work that continues beyond the convening walls.

06/08/2026

Some of the best moments at happened in the hallways.

Between sessions, the foyer came alive with old friends catching up, new friendships forming over coffee, and the kind of laughter and candid conversation that no agenda can plan for.

Honestly, these moments are some of our favorites.

06/08/2026

Day 2 at brought the kind of sessions that stay with you.

Practitioners and leaders from across the country gathered in breakout rooms to dig into big topics from tribal climate readiness and secondary markets to small dollar loan programs and economic partnership. The conversations were deep, the expertise in the room was real, and the commitment to advancing Native community finance was felt in every session.

This is what peer learning looks like when a whole industry shows up for it.

06/08/2026

Day 2 of opened with something a little different and a lot of fun!

We were treated to a live recording of "Aunties on Air... and Some Uncles Too," featuring Lisa Sockabasin of Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, James Francis, Director of Cultural and Historic Preservation at the Penobscot Nation, and Hope Huskey of Sequoyah Fund. Through storytelling, lived experience, and candid dialogue, the conversation explored how Native communities are navigating cultural tourism while protecting culture, honoring community values, and ensuring that Native voices shape how their communities are represented and experienced by visitors.

Economic development, stewardship, and storytelling all in one conversation. Exactly the kind of morning we needed before heading into another full day.

06/08/2026

Join us in Miami Beach from Aug. 10-14! Register by June 12 to save $150.

NeighborWorks Training Institute | Miami Beach, FL | August 10-14

****EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DEADLINE - JUNE 12*********

NeighborWorks America, Oweesta Corporation, and Seven Sisters are excited to share a week of Native-focused courses, peer learning, and networking for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian practitioners. For more information, contact Cormac Molloy at [email protected]. To register, visit https://www.neighborworks.org/

06/08/2026

The Native Capital Weave Deal Room at brought an exciting opportunity to the table.

Oweesta's CFO, Florence Ludka, and Ted Piccolo of Mission Driven Finance walked Native CDFIs through a landscape of green lending and solar energy deals in the pipeline and made a compelling case for how CDFIs can participate alongside them through participation lending. It was less a presentation and more an invitation, coaching our practitioners on how to plug into mission-aligned capital opportunities that are coming and showing them a clear path to get there.

Sovereignty, sustainable returns, and community wealth-building all in the same conversation. This is exactly the kind of work was built for.

06/07/2026

Our participants were welcomed by the Niweskok team to their community in Swanville, Maine, and what they found there was nothing short of inspiring.

Niweskok is in the early stages of transforming a former 200-acre horse farm into a hub for food sovereignty, community gathering, and reconnection to traditional medicines and food systems. Participants spent the day learning to harvest and process burdock bark, sharing homemade cedar tea sweetened with maple syrup, and witnessing a vision for land restoration through the revitalization of traditional plants and the nurturing of healthy soils. They also learned about a community gardening initiative that supports Wabanaki community members in growing traditional plants at home.

It was a powerful reminder that the work of economic sovereignty does not begin and end in a conference room. It lives in the land, in the food, and in the communities who have never stopped tending both.

We are so grateful to the Niweskok team for welcoming us with such warmth and generosity.