Lori Pourier recognized as Bush Fellow – Rapid City South Dakota news, weather, sports [Video]

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Lori Pourier, founder of the First Peoples Fund and now senior fellow, has been awarded a coveted Bush Fellow grant.

About 30 of the grants up to $150,000 are awarded to people each year whose vision and leadership shape communities in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and 23 Native nations.

As the former president and CEO of the First Peoples Fund, Pourier’s mission was to uplift and support artists and tradition keepers in tribal communities.

“That’s the work I’ve had the privilege of doing for the last 25 years. And the Bush Foundation gives me the opportunity to pause and focus on my own leadership growth, and then in that own leadership growth. You know, at this point in my career, I don’t have to keep track of everything right within the organization as it grows,” Pourier said.

At the First Peoples Fund, Pourier developed a …