Today, the Pride of the Great Plains, which includes the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and Rolette County, is celebrating their presidential designation as a Promise Zone. The North Dakota region is one of nine zones recently selected from a field of 82 applications. Through the Promise Zone initiative, the federal government will work strategically with local leaders to boost economic activity and job growth, improve educational opportunities, reduce crime and leverage private investment to improve the quality of life in these vulnerable areas.
“This designation is a significant achievement for a part of North Dakota that has struggled, but whose people want to make life better for their children and their community,” said Ryan Taylor, USDA Rural Development state director. “Combining the local commitment with federal collaboration and on-the-ground help, I believe that we can improve the quality of life and increase economic opportunities. These improvements don't happen overnight, so it is important to note that the Promise Zone designation is for ten years allowing the time needed to get on a positive course."
The Pride of the Great Plains Promise Zone (PGPPZ) seeks to improve the persistently impoverished region of the two reservations and some of Rolette County. The PGPPZ outlined six goals to address unemployment, economic opportunities, deplorable housing, insufficient education, poor health, and escalating crime. With this designation, the PGPPZ will receive priority access to federal investments that further their strategic plans, federal staff on the ground to help them implement their goals, and five full-time AmeriCorps VISTA members to recruit and manage volunteers and strengthen the capacity of the Promise Zone initiatives.
In the third and final round, the nine newly designated Promise Zones join 13 others that President Obama named in 2014 and 2015. Each urban, rural, and tribal Promise Zone applicant was asked to put together a clear description of how the Promise Zone designation would accelerate and strengthen the community's own efforts at comprehensive community revitalization. USDA will serve as the lead federal partner to the tribal and rural Promise Zones, while HUD will be the federal lead for the five urban designees.
To learn more about Promise Zones and to view the other designated communities, please visit www.usda.gov/promisezones.