PINE POINT, Minn. – On a corner of the White Earth Reservation where jobs are hard to find and resources are limited, a business located within walking distance has helped 20 residents find jobs and a source of income.
Working with community members, the business is also tackling some of the issues that are barriers to employment.
Located in the village of Pine Point, about 20 miles from Park Rapids, the 50-by-80-foot building is named Bam’idizowigamig Creator’s Place. In the Ojibwe language, Bam’idizowigamig means “a place where people can support themselves.”
Retired special education teacher Jean Kruft purchased the land on PowWow Highway.
“The people who work here know this place is here for them. It has definitely been respected. I feel like I’ve really gotten to know people. It feels like they’re family.”
– Jean Kruft, Creator’s Place founder
While the business now provides part-time employment, Kruft hopes there will eventually be full-time positions for those who want to work more hours.
“We can only afford to have 10 people work every other week right now,” she said. “We also have seven people on the waiting list who want to work.”
Employees work a maximum of three hours a day for a total of 15 hours per week. Work starts at 10:30 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m.
“They get the tribal minimum wage, which is $16 an hour,” she said. “Right now, we’re still working with our initial startup funds. The money we make selling products goes towards helping with payroll, too.”
Diamond willow end tables and walking sticks, traditional native crafts, buckskin leather bags and wild rice are among the items sold most Saturdays at the Farmer’s Market and the Red Barn in Park Rapids.
“At area powwows, ribbon skirts and dance sticks employees made have been sold as well,” she said.
Background checks are not required for employment.
Creating a place to create
Kruft started the business from the ground up.
She got to know people in the Pine Point community when she helped with a Bible school, supported by Park Rapids’ Calvary Lutheran Church, a few years ago, and wanted to do more to help.
She started volunteering at the Pine Point School and teaching woodworking workshops for adults at the nearby community center. She also helped residents sell their traditional crafts on Etsy.
After receiving an inheritance from a cousin, Kruft decided to use the money to build a place on Pine Point that could provide employment on the reservation.
Kruft said she hopes those employed at the facility will be able to use this job experience as a springboard to help them start their own business or find other employment.
“I have heard people saying they really like having something to do,” she said. “They are very thankful for the income. One lady put on her Facebook page that it was the first time she was caught up on her electric bill in two years. The people who work here know this place is here for them. It has definitely been respected. I feel like I’ve really gotten to know people. It feels like they’re family.”
Kruft said the PEO, Rotary and other groups in Park Rapids have helped. “We received donations of tools and sewing machines,” she said. “We are still in need of a shop vac.”
“One thing we are on the way towards doing is making grave markers,” Kruft said. “There’s a real need because people who don’t have enough money to buy a stone just end up with a metal marker from the funeral home. Those disintegrate and then there’s not a marker for the grave.
“There is a company in St. Joseph, Minn. that is donating granite. My brother figured out a way we can etch on the stone. So people will be able to come and make their own template with the name to go on the stone. We’ll sandblast those and set them in cement so they can have markers for their family members. There will be no cost because we’re doing it as a community service.”
Spending time with Pine Point residents who work at Creator’s Place has also helped Kruft understand the barriers they face.
“All the time I’m learning cultural things,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot more about the meaning and sacredness of wild rice and tobacco. I’ve been there long enough now that most people trust me because I follow through with what I’ve said I will do. They know I’m sincerely interested and can see from their perspective the difficulties they face.”
Creator’s Place is collaborating with the Pine Point Community Center to help address other issues.
“Transportation is at the top of the list,” she said. “It’s not just getting a car. We have several people who could easily work longer and really are ready for jobs and would like the income from jobs that have more hours. But for people who don’t have a license, it’s a lot of steps and a lot of dollars to get their license back. If they have a license, they may have an old car that often breaks down and isn’t reliable. Those are huge barriers to working outside Pine Point. There is a huge need for public transportation to go between places that are a reasonable distance to go to work like Detroit Lakes or Park Rapids.”
Kruft is also hoping to host a class for mothers and their children to make ribbon skirts and other regalia at the Creator’s Place after working hours.
“We are running out of our initial funding,” she said. “We’ve heard positive things from the tribe, from behavioral services with the tribe and the department of corrections because over half of our employees have been incarcerated. And we are looking at getting some help from the Catholic Church in Pine Point.”
Volunteers are needed, along with churches or organizations willing to provide a noon meal or snacks for coffee time.
Checks to help support the non-profit organization are tax deductible and may be mailed to Creator’s Place, 48513 PowWow Hwy., Ponsford, MN 56575.
For more information, email creatorsplacepinepoint@gmail.com or call 218-699-3811.
