Indigenous Empowerment Center creates a bridge from the Native community to Rhode Island’s outlying communities, leveraging relationships with local businesses and organizations to affect change in Indigenous communities through educational opportunities, job creation and training, small business development and advocacy. IEC participants are empowered to pass on cultural knowledge while building important skills that will allow them to become competitors in the job market. With support from the Papitto Opportunity Connection, IEC will be able to create more opportunities for the Native community and continue to strive towards its goal – remove the Indigenous community from poverty.