Akiptan is excited to share our 2026 Okhíčhaŋye Scholarship awardees. With half a decade of experience behind the scholarship initiative, supporting Native American high school students continues to be a priority. This scholarship is dedicated to high school seniors graduating in the spring of each year and who are seeking higher education that will support the agriculture industry. Students pursuing a degree that supports an agriculture education at either a college/univers

Photo Submitted by Christine Womack It's Women's History Month and we're celebrating the women of our communities! Akiptan is proud to say that 19% of our loans are home to women-led operations. Christine Womack is the owner of Horny A Manure Spreading, a manure spreading and cattle operation based in Dupree, South Dakota, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Our Loan Officer, Phannette Gray, was able to work with Christine to get her business plan to the next step. Akiptan is

Photo submitted by The Crafted Orchard Akiptan is extremely thankful for the clients we get to serve, and we are excited to feature their success in our December Success Story. Angela Litchy is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe. She owns the Crafted Orchard & More LLC, which was established in 2022. This orchard sits on 35.16 acres of deeded land that she and her husband, Trevor, own. The Crafted Orchard & More LLC is a seasonal rural agritourism business lo

Akiptan is excited to bring you Part Two of our blog series of our 2025 Summer interns. This year Akiptan, partnered with three agricultural organizations from across the country where interns were able to gain hands-on skills with businesses working within food systems in their communities while also learning the key components of finance with our Senior Program Officer. The outcomes of this work have always been to work intentionally with the participants to deepen their un