Celebrating another year of great results!

We are so happy to share that the focus on our mission to RETURN BUFFALO TO THE LANDS, LIVES AND ECONOMIES of Native American people yielded another year of great results.

With the help of our donors, funders, and partners in 2024, Tanka Fund: 

RETURNED 246 BUFFALO to their Native homelands. Tanka Fund’s work to restore Buffalo to tribal lands and caretakers fosters a revival of cultural, economic and ecological balance, supporting Native health and spiritual renewal. In addition to our partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Tanka Fund also worked with the Minnesota Zoo and private ranchers to acquire Buffalo for our caretaker partners. Tanka Fund is the only organization that works solely with and financially funds private Native American family- and community-owned Buffalo ranches.

ADDED MORE RANCHER PARTNERS for a total of 24 NATIVE RANCHERS in the Tanka Fund family. We now partner with Native Buffalo ranchers in 8 states. There are currently 9 more Native ranchers in the process of becoming Tanka partners. Buffalo need caretakers, and we are focused on helping expand existing Native herds and giving new ranchers the assistance and animals they need.

PROVIDED $937,813 in grants, Buffalo, equipment, fencing, and technical services to our rancher partners.

Watch video from one of the releases in October below:

See more 2024 results below:


2024 direct donations set new Tanka Fund record

We want to say THANK YOU to all of our direct donors who helped us raise $256,794 in 2024! Our 2024 direct donor campaign results set a new record for Tanka Fund. Because of your partnership in our cause, we were also able to raise funds this year to complete a special fencing project that enabled one of our partners to begin the conversion of his ranch from cattle to Buffalo. Tanka Fund’s Native rancher partners now represent more than 2,500 head of Buffalo over 100,000 acres of land.

Pilamaye. We could not do this work without you.


Partnership in Buffalo plant fulfillment of 10-year goal

In spring 2024, Tanka Fund, in partnership with two other Native nonprofits, acquired a Buffalo processing plant in Rapid City, SD, marking a significant milestone in its mission to return Buffalo to the lands, lives and economies of Native people and to promote food sovereignty. Sacred Storm Buffalo is designed to provide economic opportunities, workforce development, and cultural preservation for Native communities.

Dawn Sherman, executive director and founding board member of Tanka Fund, said owning a plant had always been part of the organization’s plan to provide economic opportunities to Native Buffalo ranchers.

“Through this collaboration, we will continue to create opportunities within the Buffalo economy and market,” said Ms. Sherman. “Historically, the Buffalo economy was integral to our people's way of life and was unjustly taken away to subjugate and relocate our people. By supporting the stewards of the land and the Buffalo, we aim to restore and revitalize these opportunities, ensuring a regenerative and sustainable future for our communities.”

See full story: SACRED STORM BUFFALO


Climate Smart program enrolls 12 ranchers in 2024

Tanka Fund’s Climate Smart program, which provides incentives to Buffalo and cattle ranchers for sustainable land management practices, just completed its first full year. Range ecologist Zintkala Eiring and range technician Janét Moore recently provided an overview of the 2024 progress:

Tanka Fund has enrolled 12 Climate Smart ranchers as of Jan. 13, 2025:

  • 11 ranchers are Buffalo caretakers

  • 1 is a cattle rancher

  • 9 ranchers represent historically underserved populations, including 4 veterans

  • The 12 ranchers represent 3,628 Buffalo in CO, TX, WY, MN, ND and SD, and 80 cattle in KS.

See full story: CLIMATE SMART


Tanka Fund creates Young Native Leaders Network

Tanka Fund’s Young Native Leaders Network is focused on creating connections and opportunities across the Native Buffalo community to help young leaders develop skills, build relationships and establish career paths centered on our Buffalo relatives.

In summer 2024, Tanka Fund hired three Range Technician interns who worked closely for 12 weeks with our range ecologist and technician in the Climate Smart program. In addition to fieldwork, hey researched rangeland ecology management of Buffalo, differences between Buffalo and cattle, land stewardship, and traditional ecological knowledge.

The network, a result of our Young Adult Buffalo Lifeways Society working group, is comprised of a variety of programs and collaborative partnerships to enable training and mentorship to young Native leaders, including:

  • Internships for careers in Buffalo care, land management and business

  • Skills development for food sovereignty- and Buffalo industry-related jobs

  • Mentorships and training for young Buffalo ranchers

  • Teaching of traditional cultural techniques for managing Buffalo and the land

See full story: YOUNG NATIVE LEADERS NETWORK


Tanka Fund adds rangeland and agricultural monitoring

Soil and land health are a big focus for Tanka Fund’s Buffalo rancher partners, who are constantly working to restore and sustainably manage their land for the benefit of their herds. The ability to access regular data on short- and long-term ecological conditions and trends helps ranchers with soil health and climate strategies, land monitoring plans and reports, and land and grazing planning.

In August, two Tanka staff members were trained in certified rangeland and agricultural monitoring through SnapLands, a company that specializes in natural resource management, ranching business and land restoration.

“We are working to offer these capabilities as a permanent tool to all of our rancher partners,” said Dawn Sherman, executive director. “We are investing resources in learning how to provide these much-needed services.”

See full story: RANGELAND/AGRICULTURAL MONITORING

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Dawn Sherman, Tanka Fund executive director, inducted into ITBC