For many rural areas, small businesses are the lifeblood of the community. That’s no different on Native American reservations.
But advocates say some of those are threatened right now as tariffs drive costs higher.
SDPB spoke with business owners on the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Reservation who are facing the issue head on.
Beadwork artist Ella Robertson examines a piece of fabric. It is soft and black and bursting with explosions of color in the form of bear pawprints and flowers.
“I like this one just because you... I always like to feel it, just like Denise said. Because, I don’t know you can tell, once it’s washed and worn how it’s going to feel and this one’s going to be awesome.”
The design is unique. The design is Indigenous. And Indigenous art is what the group of women who gathered at Family Affair created. That’s a shop in Sisseton co-owned by sisters Denise Hill and Sheila Winge. Although the store sells products, its reach goes farther than simple business.
“And a lot of younger girls now, since Family Affair has been open. I think there’s a huge trend in our tribe of younger female girls learning to make their own ribbon skirts,” Christy Lee Jensen with the tribe's planning department said. “And they’re becoming beautiful. Like, the designs and everything and they’re taking real pride in it. This business alone, Family Affair, is part of our cultural identity.”
Both Denise and Sheila say tariffs are threatening their business’s long-term stability. Jensen said she’s holding out hope tariffs have less of an impact on Family Affair than anticipated. She also said the tribe plans to help Family Affair out in whatever ways it can.
These business owners argue the federal government is forcing a borderless people to pay the price at the border. That’s in response to regulations regarding tariffs and the frustrations that come along with it.
While the artwork is made here, much of the materials used to make it — beads, ribbons, fabric and so on — come from countries facing tariffs. Many come from China, which faces the highest tariffs handed down by the Trump Administration.
The Indigenous art world is preparing to take the hit. Some worry less availability could stunt its future.
“There’s uncertainty here. We don’t know what’s going to happen next. And there’s been a really big ripple affect across the artists that I’ve crossed paths with. Like, I’ve seen their growth on their business,” Dunkley said. “I’ve seen models grow from it, some are in pageantries, some are on the cover of magazines, and some are producing their own shows. And not having these opportunities is going to affect everybody.”
That’s Kyrie Dunkley, the owner of Shinin Star Style, and a visual teacher through the South Dakota Arts Council. Dunkley is also known for her Indigenous fashion show at the Levitt in Sioux Falls.
Dunkley likens the “shock” of tariffs and their impacts to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how you have to take it day-by-day to support yourself and other artists.
“For me it’s…I guess just being grateful for what’s currently available and trying to maintain that hope for my own child. And let him know that this is still a priority no matter what,” Dunkley said. “Just like with gas if it’s $25 a gallon I’m still gonna pay for it to get somewhere. It’s from point A to point B. So, for me, I’m going to always support the arts.”
Dunkley uses products in her fashion show from Indigenous designers. She’s bought fabric from Family Affair. Not many stores offer products made and designed by Indigenous people.
The sisters who own Family Affair say they’re concerned about the future, as well as the community.
On Saturdays, Hill and Winge host a group of women for a weekly quilt club. Hill said talk in a recent meeting drifted toward questions about the future.
“They wanted to know any news, and I said, “Okay well Sheila got a couple emails, and the prices are going up,’ and all of a sudden, I’m like [breathes heavy], and they’re all ‘It’s okay Denise. We understand.’ And I say ‘Oh my God but they’re going up and…’ And they’re like, ‘It’s going to be okay. You know? We’re still going to support you; we need you here,” Hill said.
Her sister Winge said though it’s not the situation they want to be in, it’s the one they’re in.
“We’ve learned how to adapt and stick around and, you know, I think we’ll figure it out…we usually do,” Winge said.
On the other hand, some are hopeful President Trump's negotiations can yield better results for the United States as a whole. Denise Hill said there are some who believe that on the reservation as well, but it doesn't make the business climate any better right now.
Scott German is the Tribal Chairman's Legislative Aide for the Reservation. He's said he tries to take an analytical approach to the situation when looking at a potential "positive outcome."
"I think one of the hopes of the [Trump] Administration is that the tariffs will increase domestic production, and I can go to Target and buy a relatively cheap pair of utility pants made in China, made in Honduras, wherever. They were $10 a pair. They lasted about six months, but they were $10 a pair I can afford to buy more. But with tariffs at 145% or 125% or 65%, they're not as cheap. So, is it going to start driving more cottage industry?"
He said people might see the value of going back to buying their own material to make their own clothing, and that might be one of Trump's goals. He said, though he doesn't have a looking glass into the future, people becoming more self-sufficient "is going to open people's eyes."
"So, I'm going to make my own shirt, I took home ec, I can probably make a shirt. But then I'm going to appreciate the trade craft and the artisanship that goes into a product that [Denise has] made that I've seen at powwows or I've seen at pop-ups," German said. "And I'm thinking, 'You know what? It was cheaper for me to make my own shirt, but man, I've sure got a lot of pricked up fingers. You know, it might be worth it to get that quality and that style and that design without pricked up fingers at the same time.'"
German said that's a part in these equations that could benefit native designers and creators, who have often been criticized for the prices associated with their work. As a result, people try to lower their prices to fit the price of the materials used, rather than the designs and crafts themselves. He hoped something like that could help people to stop "brow beating" for lower prices when it comes to Native creations.
Jensen with the tribe's planning department said there is truth to that, because as prices have gone up, she's seen those younger women making their own ribbon skirts increase. At the same time, Jensen knows the negative effects tariffs are having on Family Affair.
"Working at the tribe, I'm going to try and help support your business any way I can," Jensen said. "There's other programs that do ribbon-skirt making and such and these different events."
For Kyrie Dunkley, today she’s wearing a ribbon skirt with designs from an Indigenous Canadian artist. The price of it could go up in the future. She said, for her and her people it’s hard to understand.
“I don’t know if you know the history of our people but, you know, there were no borders. We were doing trades back and forth without imposing taxes, so it’s just like," Dunkley said. "For me, I don’t see this as a Canadian artist. I see this as another artist, just you know on turtle island, somebody that I can support that took the time to create the design.”
In fact, Dunkley's first fashion show in 2023 utilized fabrics and designed bags from Family Affair, with some of those coming from 49DZine, a Canadian-designed fabric seller.
Dunkley and her fellow Indigenous creators say despite the uncertainty. They think about the resiliency their ancestors carried. They each say they plan to do the same and carry on with what they can. Even if that means closing their businesses, they won’t stop creating.
