LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wis. (WPR) The first Goodwill store to be located on an Indian reservation has its grand opening next week in northern Wisconsin.

Members of the Lac du Flambeau tribe have wanted more retail stores on the reservation for years.  Patricia O’Neil is with the Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community, one of the partners behind getting the first Goodwill store built in “Indian Country”.  O’Neil says it’s a good fit and a good time for its grand opening. She expects the store will be successful because more people are using resale services because of tight budgets and the green movement.

Two rural development grants funded the Goodwill store project.  The money will also be used to train seven tribal members to work in the modest, 1,600 square foot building.  O’Neil says additional grant money will be used to create more job training programs for the Lac du Flambeau reservation, where the unemployment rate is higher than the state’s. 

Partners will be watching how well the store does.  Cindy Linsmeier is with Goodwill Industries of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.  She says if successful, her organization and NiiJii could look into setting up more Goodwill stores on reservations.

The grand opening will be December 12th in downtown Lac du Flambeau.

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Information from Wisconsin Public Radio, www.wpr.org