For the last 48 years, descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud and other Native Americans of the Lakota Nation have gathered in Rapid City, S.D., to attend the Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI). Held in December, LNI offers thousands of Lakota a chance to participate in sporting competitions, traditional dances and ceremonies, business plan competitions, informational presentations and a plethora of other activities.
Casandra Kelting and Craig Filbeck, coordinators with the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) program at VA, staffed a booth at the event and provided a comprehensive presentation on how the NADL program helps Native American Veterans and service members buy, build and renovate homes. They also answered questions, distributed information and helped event attendees start the NADL application process.
“We are honored that we can connect with Native American Veterans at events like this, where we share vital information on housing opportunities, collaborate with tribes and also join in tribal celebrations,” said Filbeck. “We were deeply moved watching a traditional blanket ceremony, when the Lakota tribes honored a high-ranking member of the military who helped Native American Veterans over his years of service, and the Grand Entrance, when Native American Veterans led members of the tribes into the event.”
Kelting and Filbeck also met with tribal leaders of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where they inspected new homes being built for Native American Veterans with assistance from the NADL program. Located on the windswept plains of South Dakota, the homes are part of a new development that provides housing opportunities for Native Americans who want to live on their tribal lands.
The NADL coordinators closed out their trip with a visit to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where they met with senior officials and shared information about the NADL program.
Congress established the NADL program in 1992 to help address the challenges Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders have historically faced in accessing mortgages to buy homes on federal trust lands. Since the program’s inception, VA has signed 118 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with tribal governments, opening up NADLs for usage with those tribes. NADL benefits include low interest rates, no down payments and no private mortgage insurance.
In addition to the NADL program, Native American Veterans can also apply for a VA-guaranteed home loan for use on fee-simple properties (complete ownership of land outside federal trust lands).
VA is committed to working with tribal communities throughout the country to expand the NADL program.
Learn more about the NADL program or attend an informational session.
VA also created a video guide to the MOU process that can be accessed online at the Loan Guaranty Training Website under ‘Available Training – Native American Direct Loans.’
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Lakeishia, a Native American Veteran, achieved homeownership stability with the help of the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) program.
Šúnka wanžíla hená wasiču winhíŋ k’un hé na héčhetu waúnžinža. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe ( Sicangu Lakota, “Burnt Thigh People”) carries the blood and legacy of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud. This is not ancient history. This is a living Nation of over 33,000 enrolled members spread across 3.2 million acres of south-central South Dakota, with a trust land base of nearly 889,000 acres.
The Rosebud Agency, headquartered in Mission, SD, delivers trust services, real estate support, probate, natural resources management, and social services to the Tribe. The work is urgent. Unemployment on the reservation ranks among the highest in the country. Housing is scarce. Resources are stretched thin, yet the Tribe and Agency push forward together on economic development, cultural preservation, and a better future for their people. This is exactly where the VA’s Native American Direct Loan program matters most, putting homeownership within reach for Native American Veterans on tribal trust lands, honoring both service and sovereignty.
https://www.rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov
If you haven’t heard of the Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI), you’re missing one of the most powerful and inspiring events in Indian Country. Every December, Rapid City’s The Monument comes alive for five unforgettable days as over 3,000 talented students from more than 60 schools gather for this celebrated gathering.
Born as a small tournament in 1976, LNI has grown into a premier celebration of Lakota excellence — on the court and far beyond it. Yes, the basketball is electric. But LNI is so much more: the Lakota Language Bowl, Knowledge Bowl, traditional Handgames, youth Pow Wow, archery, skateboarding, esports, chess, art show, career fair, cheerleading, and a host of cultural and academic competitions that honor the brilliance, resilience, and spirit of today’s outstanding young Native leaders.
If you’re anywhere near the Black Hills in mid-December, make plans to witness this incredible community tradition in person. It’s more than an event — it’s a powerful expression of Lakota pride, unity, and excellence.
Plan your visit at:
https://lakotanationinvitational.org
Hey Lakota team! All jokes aside about this April Fools Day blog, from the LNI event way back in December. Why no post yet on VA Sec. Doug Collins’ meeting this eek with Tribal Nations this week pushing VA reforms for faster Vet care? That’s real current evens and huge news for Native warriors! ???
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1XYvxV6qm6
Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud descendants should not be reading ‘Old’ NewsVAgov from December 2025, but ‘New’ stories — like this week in April 2026, when Secretary Collins visited a tribal leaders roundtable with Congressman Tom Cole, focused on Native Veterans and the need for less red tape. youtu.be/yzURPxH0Hv8?t=56
December was a historic month for Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Red Cloud.
December 6 (1866)— Red Cloud led Lakota warriors in an ambush on a U.S. wood train from Fort Phil Kearny during Red Cloud’s War. He was one of the most capable Native American opponents whom the U.S. Army faced in the western territories.
December 21 (1866)— Crazy Horse acted as a decoy to lure 81 U.S. soldiers from Fort Phil Kearny into an ambush, where they all died in the Fetterman Massacre. Respected as a master tactician, he led warriors to victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn and was a feared adversary on the Northern Great Plains.
December 15 (1890)— Sitting Bull was killed by Lakota amid fears over his influence on the Ghost Dance movement. A powerful spiritual and political leader who united tribes against US forces, symbolizing fierce resistance to reservation life.
December 10 (1909)— Red Cloud died on Pine Ridge Reservation at age 87, he outlived nearly all other major Lakota leaders of Indian Wars. He established the Lakota as the only nation to defeat the U.S. on American soil.
December 17 (2025)— descendants of Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Red Cloud gathered at the Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) for a plethora of activities, on the windswept plains of South Dakota.
What tribute to the legendary 19th-century Lakota Sioux warriors, and posted on April 1 (2026).
Tȟašúŋke Witkó, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake, na Maȟpíya Lúta waŋná šičá yawápi kštó héčhiŋ wičhóuŋ kiŋ lená wówičakȟe kiŋ waštešte šni, na hé wiŋyaŋ wašíču witkotkoke waŋ wičhóuŋ na wičhóh’aŋ na wičhóskuye kiŋ lená owóuŋspe šni čha, héčhiŋ wičhóuŋ kiŋ lená owášteya owápi šni kštó.