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 proud to introduce you to the team of people who are helping make a change in agriculture across Indian country. There are so many behind-the-scenes details that take place, and we are here to celebrate the team that does the work to make those processes happen. This month, we are highlighting our Administrative Officer, Patty Picotte.  Patty moved to South Dakota from Cody, Wyoming, where she raised her daughters and raised and trained American Quarter Horses. In

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