Rural America Initiatives

Rural America Initiatives Rural America Initiatives (RAI) is an all-Native non-profit organization founded in 1986 to provide opportunities to the Native community in Rapid City.

Our aim is to work with Native American families to give them the tools necessary to be successful. Our goal is a sustainable early intervention program to give power to an Indian community with restricted access to services through increased access to cultural support and community resources. We aim to provide the tools families need to become self-sufficient and raise strong children with paths

to healthy futures. We intend to increase awareness of our work locally, regionally and nationally in order to broaden our base of support, continue, grow and evolve successful programs, and be sustainable into the future. An important target population for Rural America Initiatives is families who migrate from a reservation to Rapid City within the year. These families are often the most economically disadvantaged and vulnerable, and the poverty they face is staggering. Native Americans come to the city from the reservation for increased opportunities and a better way of life. Often, however, they find conditions here much more difficult, without the network and support systems of the reservation. We structure our programs like a Tiyospaye (family), grounded in traditional culture and replicating the family support found on reservations. We embrace the philosophy of serving the family through the child, and educating the parents to be the educators of the children. Our goal was and is to develop a new society of Indian men and women, or "Ikce wicasa na winyan" (Common Man and Woman) who work within the community to strengthen our community's families by practicing the values of respect, honesty, language, generosity and courage, and the interconnectedness we have with each other, and with mother earth.

Now hiring Teachers, Assistants, Bus Drivers, and Kitchen staff. Apply at 2112 South Valley Dr605-341-3163
06/01/2026

Now hiring Teachers, Assistants, Bus Drivers, and Kitchen staff.
Apply at 2112 South Valley Dr
605-341-3163

Anpetu waste Head Start and Early Head Start parent(s)/guardian(s)! If you're interested in participating in our summer ...
05/29/2026

Anpetu waste Head Start and Early Head Start parent(s)/guardian(s)! If you're interested in participating in our summer FITNESS CHALLENGE (weight-loss challenge), please sign up with Family Services!

🎓✨ Congratulations to our Head Start parent Casina Brewer on earning her degree in Business Administration. We are very ...
05/29/2026

🎓✨ Congratulations to our Head Start parent Casina Brewer on earning her degree in Business Administration. We are very proud of you and wish you continued success in the future. 🙌

🎓 Congratulations to our parent, Vincent Martin Jr., who will be receiving a Bachelor of Science in Information Technolo...
05/29/2026

🎓 Congratulations to our parent, Vincent Martin Jr., who will be receiving a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology in June! We are proud of you and your accomplishments! 🥳👏

🎓We would like to congratulate one of our parents, Haley Hernandez, who will be graduating with a Bachelor of Social Wor...
05/29/2026

🎓We would like to congratulate one of our parents, Haley Hernandez, who will be graduating with a Bachelor of Social Work in June. We are proud of you and all of your hard work! 👏💕

🦋 Over the past of couple weeks, Classroom Zi created caterpillars and watched them complete their life cycle! From cate...
05/29/2026

🦋 Over the past of couple weeks, Classroom Zi created caterpillars and watched them complete their life cycle! From caterpillars, chrysalis, and into butterflies. Today they unwrapped their caterpillars and watched them turn into beautiful butterflies! 🦋

Anpetu waste Prenatal to Five Head Start families! If you're thinking about attending college in the future and want the...
05/28/2026

Anpetu waste Prenatal to Five Head Start families! If you're thinking about attending college in the future and want the opportunity to tour local campuses, please take a moment to complete our survey! Pilamayaye!

📚Explore the Campus
📚Meet Students
📚Connect with Faculty

Explore the Campus Meet Students Connect with Faculty Please let us know if you are interested in taking a college campus tour? Transportation will be provided.

The Lakota Immersion classroom enjoyed their day at Storybook Island yesterday! 🛝💕
05/28/2026

The Lakota Immersion classroom enjoyed their day at Storybook Island yesterday! 🛝💕

Rural America Initiatives is now accepting applications for a Director of Operations. Please share with anyone who may b...
05/28/2026

Rural America Initiatives is now accepting applications for a Director of Operations. Please share with anyone who may be interested in joining our team and supporting our work with children, families, and the community.

We would like to congratulate our Early Head Start parent, Ashton Marzolf Fraser, who graduated high school this year! W...
05/27/2026

We would like to congratulate our Early Head Start parent, Ashton Marzolf Fraser, who graduated high school this year! We are proud of your hard work and can't wait to see you succeed in your next chapter! 👏🥳

Address

2112 S. Valley Drive
Rapid City, SD
57703

Telephone

(605) 341-3339

Website

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