NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A Jemez Pueblo business owner is in the running to win $25,000. Tina Archuleta is the owner of Itality Plant Based Foods, the first-ever indigenous and women-owned vegan restaurant in the country.
For the past year she’s been working with youth who live in surrounding tribes. She said working with them holds a special place in her heart. “I remember being in Kindergarten and making egg rolls and later into my adulthood feeling I can make an egg roll because I did it in Kindergarten and so I hope to have the same kind of impact with the elementary students,” said Archuleta.
Archuleta is a finalist to win $25,000 from the nonprofit Pow Wow Pitch. The organization helps indigenous entrepreneurs from Canada and the US expand their business. She plans to buy a delivery vehicle if she wins the grand prize. Her ultimate goal is to reach all 22 tribes in New Mexico. Archuleta will find out if she won on October 19.
