• Strengthening communities with data services

    Gathering stories and insights that help you make an impact

  • Grounded in truth, dignity, and respect

    Where decision-making power stays with you and your community

  • Built in collaboration

    Creating lasting change toward economic vitality and sustainability

About us

Sweet Grass is a collective of dedicated researchers and community development advocates who promote cultural preservation, social equity, and data sovereignty. We partner with tribal, nonprofit, and mission-driven organizations to deliver and measure impact.

Our approach

Current projects

We take a holistic, systems approach to our work, where individuals, families, households, beliefs, ways of knowing, economies, environments, and governments all play a role.

Making homeownership possible for Native families in South Dakota

South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition is helping Native families overcome systemic barriers to homeownership through data-driven solutions, policy change, workforce development, and community investment.

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A community-informed look at the housing ecosystem of Laguna Pueblo

We conducted a comprehensive, community-informed housing needs assessment with Laguna Housing Development & Management Enterprise to support culturally grounded, data-driven housing solutions for Laguna Pueblo.

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Food systems study: Exploring the local food economy of the Oglála Lakhóta Oyáte

Makoce Agriculture Development is working to transform Pine Ridge's food landscape by building a community-led, culturally rooted food system that reclaims sovereignty and promotes regenerative, local agriculture.

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Charitie Herbst, Sourcewell

“Working with Sweet Grass was a huge win for our team. For years, we struggled to measure the impact of our work across the five-county region we serve. Choosing Sweet Grass was easy due to their impressive previous work and their engaging, understanding, and confident approach.”

Our clients & partners

Latest news

Featured
Culture shapes relationships between people, other living beings, and the environments they share
Max Van Oostenburg
Culture shapes relationships between people, other living beings, and the environments they share
Max Van Oostenburg

Through his research on recreational fishing in southwest Florida and a new fishing-focused market study for Pacific Northwest Tribal Lending, Max Van Oostenburg shares how culture influences human-environment interactions.

Max Van Oostenburg
Good Relatives Collaborative strengthens communities with culturally responsive grantmaking
Megan Andrews-Sharer
Good Relatives Collaborative strengthens communities with culturally responsive grantmaking
Megan Andrews-Sharer

Learn how trust-based funding from the Good Relatives Collaborative helps Native-led organizations meet their communities’ needs in culturally grounded ways.

Megan Andrews-Sharer
Where art meets data: A designer’s approach to bringing facts and figures to life
Jodi Wolfe
Where art meets data: A designer’s approach to bringing facts and figures to life
Jodi Wolfe

With decades of experience, Jodi Wolfe brings data and narratives to life through thoughtful, creative design.

Jodi Wolfe
See all blog posts

  • "Sweet Grass is respectful and listens to the needs of the partner. I appreciate their awareness of Tribal Nations, the importance of tribal sovereignty, and community-driven work."

    Emily White Hat, American Indian College Fund

  • "Sweet Grass is a phenomenal partner who really took the time to understand very complex subject matter and facilitated seamlessly among a diverse set of stakeholders."

    Intertribal Agriculture Council

  • "Sweet Grass’ contextual and cultural understanding of the Native CDFI market is unsurpassed in the field. We appreciate the work they do to stay informed about our markets and to continually amplify our voices on the ground."

    Lakota Vogel, Four Bands Community Fund

  • "Flawless performance and were key to operating the project in a team environment. Always available and on task. Sweet Grass became more co-workers than contractors."

    Randy Finn, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

  • "Sweet Grass allowed for us to have a sense of direction with our products and programming, and it helped us to tell the story of our impact."

    Skya Ducheneaux, Akiptan

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