CDCU Impact Profile: Lakota Federal Credit Union
Creating Thriving Communities and Local Economies
Designations: Native American · CDFI · Low-Income Designated Total Assets: $15.9 Million
Total Loans: $6.4 Million
Total Members: 4,248
Location: Kyle, South Dakota
With the mission of “empowering dreams, enriching community,” Lakota Federal Credit Union is the first federally insured financial institution on the 2.2-million-acre Pine Ridge Reservation. Lakota FCU strives to support the Lakota people and the communities they live in to achieve financial security and well-being.
Shayna Ferguson, Manager/ CEO of Lakota Federal Credit Union and a co-founding member of the Native American Credit Union Coalition, is committed to deepening outreach to the Oglala and Rosebud Sioux Tribes and the Lakota Nation to utilize the products and services tailored to their communities. She works to bring awareness of homeownership and reimagine possibilities for ownership and wealth building on the Reservation.
In 2021, Lakota FCU and Lakota Funds launched its homeownership initiative and collaborations to Native American homeownership. Through these innovative partnerships and the credit union’s deep expertise, Lakota FCU became the first Native CDFI to gain lending approval from USDA Rural Development’s Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. Further, Lakota FCU is a founding member of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition, “a collaborative group of key agencies dedicated to increasing homeownership opportunities for Native Americans in the state of South Dakota.”
Lakota FCU is one of seven CDFI certified Native American credit unions and sixty-four certified Native American owned CDFIs. Since 2021, the credit union has partnered to bring homeownership opportunities to more than 20 Native American households.
Learn more about the Native American Credit Union Coalition and join them for their first open house:
Virtual Open House: Introducing the Native American Credit Union Coalition
Jan 30, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST
The Native American Credit Union Coalition (NACUC) unites credit union professionals and institutions serving Indigenous populations to strengthen our communities and honor our heritage and values.