BUFFALO RESTORATION

Rancher Chuck Jacobs on what Buffalo mean to him

Tanka Fund rancher partner Chuck Jacobs, Tatanka Badlands Enterprise ranch on Pine Ridge Reservation, SD, is converting his acreage from cattle to Buffalo. His dream is becoming reality for Chuck and his family.

WE RETURN BUFFALO AND EMPOWER NATIVE CARETAKERS

Since 2014, we have been working to provide animals, grants and technical assistance to Native American Buffalo caretakers who, in turn, serve their own communities through maintaining cultural herds, providing healthy Buffalo meat to community members, and mentoring younger ranchers.  

We are the only organization that works solely with and financially funds private Native American family- and community-owned Buffalo ranches.

  • We work to return Buffalo to their homelands, honoring the cultural, spiritual, and environmental significance of the Buffalo Nation to Indigenous communities.

  • Tanka Fund addresses the challenges its rancher partners face in growing economically and environmentally sustainable Buffalo herds using traditional caretaking methods.

  • We empower Buffalo caretakers across all U.S.-based tribes, including established ranchers, new herd caretakers, and those converting from cattle to Buffalo. 

  • Tanka Fund emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between Buffalo and the land, where caretakers take care of the Buffalo, and the Buffalo contribute to land regeneration, soil health, and prairie restoration.

  • The Buffalo, considered a sacred relative in Native culture, provided sustenance, clothing, and economic stability. Tanka Fund's mission is rooted in this ancestral relationship.

Rancher Ron Brownotter on the lack of resources for private Native ranchers

Tanka Fund rancher partner Ron Brownotter, Brownotter Buffalo ranch on Standing Rock Reservation, SD, on how Tanka Fund provides a need that’s not being met. “When you work at individual family levels, there’s nothing there.”

“Today is my last day without Buffalo.”

New Native Buffalo caretakers Alex and Wayne Frederick as they welcomed their first Buffalo from Tanka Fund

How we helped in 2023

Now in our 10th year at Tanka Fund, our mission to RETURN BUFFALO TO THE LANDS, LIVES AND ECONOMIES of Native American people took a leap forward in 2023. Tanka Fund:

RETURNED 356 BUFFALO to their Native homelands. As a keystone species for the ecology and for Native people, returning as many Buffalo as possible to our lands is paramount to our mission.

ADDED 7 NEW RANCHERS for a total of 19 NATIVE RANCHERS in the Tanka Fund family. Buffalo need caretakers, and we are focused on helping expand existing Native herds and giving new ranchers the assistance and animals they need.

PROVIDED $780,000 in grants and technical assistance to our ranchers. The generous grants and donations that we receive are why we can provide the animals, funds and technical assistance that our ranchers need.