A U.S. Treasury Department official was in Kyle, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, on Wednesday to announce $11.3 million from the agency's Community Development Financial Institutions fund and the economic stimulus act for economically distressed Native communities nationwide.

Senator Tim Johnson and Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin joined the official, Donna Gambrell, at the event.

In a release, Johnson says $8 million of the money is from economic stimulus funding and the rest is from the CDFI budget.

CDFIs provide financial services to underserved communities with the goal of bringing them into the economic mainstream. CDFIs include loan funds, banks, credit unions and venture capital institutions.

Five entities in South Dakota are getting grants worth $2.9 million. They are in Rapid City, Kyle, Pine Ridge, Eagle Butte and Fort Thompson.

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