Lori Pourier (Ogala Lakota) an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe—grew up on Pine Ridge Reservation. During the day she helped her grandfather, a rancher, and at the end of the day sat with and gleaned from her grandmother, an artist and the first woman to become a teacher on the reservation. Her grandmother also attended the first indigenous art school in the country, known today as the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. 

Today, Pourier boasts several fellowships and prizes. She isa recipient of  the 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship and the 2013 Women’s World Summit Foundation Prize for Creativity in Rural Life. Additionally, Pourier serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Jerome Foundation as well as of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center Board of Trustees.

Her advocacy continues her grandmother’s legacy of arts and education through her position as advocacy as President of the First Peoples Fund (FPF) where she has led the organization in creating opportunities for native artists since 1999.

 “In my community, artists are those who are standing up for the rights to protect their land, to reclaim their songs, their ceremonies, their dances,” Pourier says in an interview with the Ford Foundation. “Artists are the changemakers in our communities…artists restore history and our identity.” Pourier’s dedication to native artists and culture bearers is made palpable through her numerous initiatives to bring resources to native communities. 

Pourier’s most popular initiative is Rolling Rez Arts, a "a state-of-the-art mobile arts space, business training center, and mobile bank” that encourages and promotes business growth for Lakota artists. A bus with stylized buffalo painted on each side, Rolling Rez was founded by artists on the reservation and since its inception has been supported by FPF as well as Artspace, Lakota Funds, Lakota Federal Credit Union, The Bush Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation, and USDA Rural Development. The artists and visionaries of Rolling Rez have trained over 1,200 artists of all skill levels to be leaders, activists and creators in their respective fields. 

A recipient of  the 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship and the 2013 Women’s World Summit Foundation Prize for Creativity in Rural Life, Pourier serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Jerome Foundation as well as of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center Board of Trustees.