What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 4:30pm 8am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm 8am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm 8am - 4:30pm Thursday 8am - 4:30pm 8am - 4:30pm Friday 8am - 4:30pm 8am - 4:30pm Saturday 8am - 4:30pm 8am - 4:30pm Sunday 8am - 4:30pm 8am - 4:30pm

First Peoples Fund

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Rapid City, SD
First Peoples Fund

We support the Collective Spirit® of Native artists and culture bearers rooted in the traditional values of generosity, respect, humility and fortitude.
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06/03/2026

🎉 NOW ACCEPTING applications for First Peoples Fund’s Artists In Business Leadership & Native Performing Arts Fellowships!

➕ ABOUT ARTISTS IN BUSINESS LEADERSHIP (ABL) FELLOWSHIP
This yearlong program supports independent Native artists who leverage artmaking to build or grow a business to support themselves and their families. This fellowship includes network-building opportunities, professional development guidance, and grant funding for business needs. ABL Fellowships are open to artists at all stages of their career, and all art mediums with the exception of performing arts.
📌 Learn more & apply at: bit.ly/FPF-Fellowships

➕ ABOUT NATIVE PERFORMING ARTS (NPA) FELLOWSHIP
This yearlong program supports emerging and established Native performing artists to develop and strengthen their skills and knowledge of their craft. This fellowship provides funding for Native individuals who practice or work within the performing arts landscape such as theater, dance, music, etc.
📌 Learn more & apply at: bit.ly/FPF-NPA

📆 Deadline for both Fellowships: Wednesday, June 17 at 5:59 PM MT

• Image One features 2026 ABL Fellow, Jaiden Mitchell (Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe). Photography by Darklisted Photography (Nate Lemuel).
• Image Two features 2026 NPA Fellow, Blaine Bailey (United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians). Photography by Darklisted Photography (Nate Lemuel).

# CollectiveSpirit

06/02/2026

🌟 First Peoples Fund is NOW ACCEPTING nominations for the Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award!

➕ ABOUT JENNIFER EASTON COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD
Named after First Peoples Fund’s founder, this annual award recognizes Native artists + culture bearers who embody cultural generosity, use their ancestral knowledge and artistic talents to uplift their Native communities. Recipients receive an award grant of up to $50,000.
Open to practicing Native artists of all mediums, including music, dance, clothing design, basketry, beading, storytelling, and more. This award recognizes both traditional and contemporary cultural practice.

✅ ELIGIBILITY
• An enrolled member of, or descendancy from, a U.S. federally or U.S. state recognized tribe, or be able to provide proof of ancestry as an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian.
• Work with art mediums that are rooted in the traditions of their Native culture(s).
• Active within a Native community and/or lives within a tribal community.
• Actively involved in sharing their artistic and/or cultural knowledge with community members.
• Nominees must be practicing and engaged in their medium for at least 10 years.
• Self-nominations are not accepted.

Anyone can nominate Native artists who embody Community Spirit. Students, mentors, colleagues, and tribal members are encouraged to uplift these artists who are also cultural leaders.

📆 Deadline: Wednesday, June 17 at 5:59 PM MT
📌 Learn more & nominate: bit.ly/fpf-csa

Are you interested in funding a First Peoples Fund program, like the Community Spirit Award? Visit: bit.ly/FPF-Give

Photo features 2024 Community Spirit Honoree, Sheila Ransom (Akwesasne Mohawk Nation).

06/01/2026

🎉 3 First Peoples Fund Fellowships are OPENING SOON to support Native artists, performers, and entrepreneurs at different stages of their creative and professional journeys while uplifting traditional and contemporary arts and performances that carry culture + art into the future.

That is why we offer three unique fellowship opportunities designed to support arts and culture for Native Artists, Performers, and Entrepreneurs at different stages of their creative and professional journeys. We understand that everyone is on their own unique path, timeline, and journey, and we encourage our relatives to apply for one of our three fellowships.

+ Artists in Business Leadership (ABL) – Opens June 3, 2026
+ Native Performing Arts (NPA) – Opens June 3, 2026
+ Cultural Capital (CC) – Opens June 17, 2026

Learn more about these Fellowships at: bit.ly/FPF-Fellowships

# CollectiveSpirit

05/30/2026

☀️ SAVE THE DATE + Summer Solstice Event
Join us for a day of music, culture, creativity, and community featuring artist presentations, hands-on workshops, performances, and an open mic. Participants can learn to make rattles or drumsticks, hear stories and experiences from musicians and artists, and enjoy poetry and live performances throughout the day.
Lunch will be provided. Multi-generational event – All ages welcome! ✨

📍 Oglala Lakota Artspace – 7904 Lakota Prairie Dr, Kyle, SD 57752
🗓 Saturday, June 27, 2026
⏰ 10:00am-4:00pm

Mark your calendars and we can’t wait to celebrate the Summer Solstice together! 🌱

05/27/2026

🎭💫 NOW ACCEPTING applications for First Peoples Fund’s Native Performing Arts Live Production Grant.

➕ ABOUT NATIVE PERFORMING ARTS LIVE PRODUCTION GRANT
The Live Production Grant (LPG) offers a one-year $30,000 grant supporting Native performing artists and Native-led performing arts organizations, businesses, and collectives bringing live productions to life.

This opportunity is for productions already in active stages of production and presentation. From theater, music, dance, pow-wow, drumming, spoken word, concerts, festivals, and other forms of live performance, this grant uplifts Native storytelling, movement, creativity, and cultural expression on stage and in community.

✅ WHO CAN APPLY?
• Native individual artists or Native-led organizations/businesses/collectives
• U.S.-based and 18+ years old
Applicants must provide tribal enrollment, descent, or ancestry documentation
• Mid-career artists or organizations with a demonstrated body of work in performing arts

✅WHAT IS ELIGIBLE?
• Live productions (in-person or virtual) that are actively in production between February and November 2027
• Can include original or re-adapted plays, touring performances, music festivals, etc.

PLEASE NOTE:
• Film productions (short or feature length) are not eligible at this time
• Only one application may be submitted to the Performing Arts Program.
• Recurring productions presented for 5+ years must demonstrate new and distinct creative approaches
• Fashion events must include performing elements (e.g., dance, music, lighting, set design)

📆 Deadline: July 8th, 2026 at 5:59pm MST
📌 Learn more & apply: bit.ly/fpf-npa

Photo features 2025 Native Performing Arts Program Fellow, Elisa Harkins (Cherokee, Muscogee [Creek]). Photograph by Alice Feldt courtesy of MCA Chicago.

05/26/2026

🌟 First Peoples Fund is NOW ACCEPTING nominations for the Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award!

➕ ABOUT JENNIFER EASTON COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD
Named after First Peoples Fund’s founder, this annual award recognizes Native artists + culture bearers who embody cultural generosity, use their ancestral knowledge and artistic talents to uplift their Native communities. Recipients receive an award grant of up to $50,000.

Open to practicing Native artists of all mediums, including music, dance, clothing design, basketry, beading, storytelling, and more. This award recognizes both traditional and contemporary cultural practice.

✅ ELIGIBILITY
• An enrolled member of, or descendancy from, a U.S. federally or U.S. state recognized tribe, or be able to provide proof of ancestry as an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian.
• Work with art mediums that are rooted in the traditions of their Native culture(s).
• Active within a Native community and/or lives within a tribal community.
• Actively involved in sharing their artistic and/or cultural knowledge with community members.
• Nominees must be practicing and engaged in their medium for at least 10 years.
• Self-nominations are not accepted.

Anyone can nominate Native artists who embody Community Spirit. Students, mentors, colleagues, and tribal members are encouraged to uplift these artists who are also cultural leaders.

📆 Deadline: Wednesday, June 17 at 5:59 PM MT
📌 Learn more & nominate: bit.ly/fpf-csa | LINK IN BIO

Are you interested in funding a First Peoples Fund program, like the Community Spirit Award? Visit: bit.ly/FPF-Give

Photo features 2025 CSA Honorees, Silver Galleto (Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians), Lisa Morehead-Hillman (Karuk and Yurok), Sonya Moody-Jurado (Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians) & Janie Verret Luster (United Houma Nation).

05/25/2026

💫 Join First Peoples Fund Senior Vice President of Programs, Lara Evans, Ph.D. (Cherokee Nation), and artist Erica Lord to learn about the legacy of performing James Luna’s Artifact Piece, Revisited.

Together, they'll discuss Lord’s reenactment The Artifact Piece, initially performed at the San Diego Museum of Man in 1987, in which Luna placed himself in a display case with some personal items. The work prompts critical reflection on the objectification and fetishization of Indigenous bodies and cultures in museums and the art world at large, while foregrounding contemporary and gendered perspectives. The speakers will explore how Lord and Luna came into agreement about Lord’s performance and then inspired one another’s subsequent work.

📆 June 20, 2026 + 2PM
📍 Marlene Nathan Meyerson Auditorium, SITE Santa Fe

This event is free and RSVP is required. RSVP at: bit.ly/4vu6ZUf

05/22/2026

🚨 DEADLINE EXTENDED for First Peoples Fund Native Arts Ecology Building: Rooted Pathways Program!

Native Arts Ecology Building supports Native organizations, collectives, and Native Community Development Financial Institutions through cohort programs like Rooted Pathways, providing resources and relationships that uplift artists and strengthen Indigenous arts ecosystems.

Five Native-led arts and cultural organizations will each receive $55,000, totaling $275,000 in funding to build capacity and expand opportunities for Native artists.

➕ ABOUT ROOTED PATHWAYS
Rooted Pathways provides unrestricted general operating support, offering organizations the flexibility to define & advance their own well-being. The program includes participation in a learning cohort & requires interim & final reporting. Designed to support long-term sustainability, Rooted Pathways helps organizations deepen alignment with their mission & vision, strengthening their foundation, fostering growth, & building resilience over time. This program is a part of the Wallace Foundation’s two-year $36 Million Dollar Advancing Well-Being in the Arts Program.

✅ ELIGIBILITY
• Native-led arts organizations, businesses, or collectives with budgets under $500,000
• Serving U.S.-based artists and culture bearers from federally or state-recognized Tribes, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian communities
• Must not have received prior Wallace Foundation funding through other partners
• Must have been operating for at least two years

This is an opportunity with limited awards, but for those deeply rooted in this work. It offers meaningful support to honor Indigenous knowledge, strengthen community well-being, and sustain Native arts for generations to come.

🗓️ Deadline: May 29, 2026 at 5:59 PM MT
📌 Learn more & apply: bit.ly/FPF-Rooted-Pathways

05/21/2026

☀️🌱 This Native Nonprofit Day, we honor more than 30 years of collective impact, creativity, and care.
Since 1995, First Peoples Fund has proudly invested in Native artists, culture bearers, and Tribal communities, distributing nearly $14 million through grants, fellowships, training programs, and community-centered initiatives that uplift Indigenous arts and cultural lifeways across the Nation.

Together, we’ve strengthened Indigenous Arts Ecology through:
+ 481 fellowships
+ 466 grants and awards
+ 286 trainings, partnerships spanning 152 Tribal Nations
+ A growing community of 4,000+ artists, mentors, culture bearers, and partners.

As we honor this incredible milestone, we invite you to join the Collective Spirit and help carry this movement forward. Your support ensures Native artists continue to thrive, traditions continue to be carried forward, and future generations remain connected to the values, teachings, and life ways of our ancestors. Together, we can invest in the next 30 years of Native creativity, cultural resilience, and community healing.

💖 Join us in honoring this movement and make your Native Nonprofit Day gift today.
Support Our Work at: bit.ly/FPF-Give

05/20/2026

🌟 Attention Native artists and culture bearers! The Yéego Action Grant offers quick financial assistance for artistic opportunities, emergencies, or unexpected expenses impacting your creative practice. Grants range from $100 to $2,500.

Whether you need support for market entry fees, attending a residency, emergency disaster relief, or repairing essential equipment, the Yéego Action Grant is here to help you keep going.

🌱 Apply by the 10th of each month to access this support and continue your artistic journey. Learn more and apply today: https://bit.ly/Yéego-Action

Address

706 West Boulevard
Rapid City, SD
57701

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4:30pm
	8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 4:30pm
	8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 4:30pm
	8am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8am - 4:30pm
	8am - 4:30pm
Friday	8am - 4:30pm
	8am - 4:30pm
Saturday	8am - 4:30pm
	8am - 4:30pm
Sunday	8am - 4:30pm
	8am - 4:30pm

Website

https://linktr.ee/1stpeoplesfund, https://www.firstpeoplesfund.org/

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