Seven new Native Buffalo rancher partners join Tanka Fund
We are happy to announce that 7 new Native Buffalo caretaker partners have joined Tanka Fund. The addition of these ranchers increases our partner network to 24 ranchers and expands our national footprint to 8 states. We would like to welcome:
Carrie Lehi, Hotoa LLC, El Reno, OK
Chad Steven Marchand, Marchand Bison Company LLC, Tucson, AZ
Gina Roxas, TCC Bison, Schaumburg, IL
Lee Emery Voigt, Voigt Ranch, Garrison, ND
Timothy Harjo, Sovereign Ranch LLC, Apache, OK
Jeff Caskey, Milburn, OK
Mike Puckett, Redwater Ranch, Kyle, SD
As part of their onboarding, each of our new partners will receive a small initial grant to support existing ranch or start-up operations, and they are immediately eligible to access Tanka Fund’s full range of services and opportunities.
“We are always looking for more Native ranchers to work with,” said Dawn Sherman, executive director of Tanka Fund. “Our long-term goal is to partner with at least 100 Native Buffalo ranchers or more, so we are thrilled to have all of these caretakers come aboard. The more we work together, the more Buffalo we can return to the lands, lives, and economies of Native people.”
How to Become a Rancher Partner
Bringing the Buffalo Home: What Returning Bison Mean to Native Americans
The second episode of Tanka Fund's video series, "Bringing the Buffalo Home," explores the deep spiritual and cultural connection between Native Americans and the Buffalo. It features several of our rancher partners as they explain what the Buffalo specifically means to them.
Please take a moment to watch the video at the link below.
The Tanka Impact Podcast Launches
It’s finally here! Tanka Impact, our new official podcast hosted by Phillip Gaudon, Assistant Director of Marketing, has launched!
Our debut episode of Tanka Impact features Dawn Sherman, Executive Director of Tanka Fund, where she discusses her journey, the vital work of the organization, and the powerful role Buffalo restoration plays in shaping a sustainable future for Native communities.
You can find Tanka Impact at these streaming locations: Apple Podcast, Spotify, and on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to be alerted when new episodes are released!
New Donor Gifts to Help Support the Return
We are getting closer to our goal of $300,000 in direct donations for 2024! We are so grateful to all of you for your support and encouragement.
We have created a few gifts as a “thank you” for all new donations of $50 or more through the end of the year.
Please join us in our work to return Buffalo to Native lands, lives, and economies this year.
Meat Processed by Sacred Storm Buffalo Part of Community Food Distributions
Oglala Sioux Tribe Buffalo meat distributions to the Native community started last month, and Sacred Storm Buffalo is participating in the tribe’s program. Tanka Fund, in partnership with two other Native nonprofits, Wambli Ska Okolakiciye and Makoce Agriculture Development, acquired the Buffalo processing plant in Rapid City, SD, which launched in July.
Sacred Storm is designed to provide economic opportunities, workforce development, and cultural preservation for Native communities. This distribution took place earlier this month in Rapid City for the city’s Native community.
Our Rancher Partners: Ron Brownotter
Ron Brownotter, Marine Corps veteran and graduate of Caltech, runs the largest Native-owned Buffalo herd in the United States, located on the Standing Rock Reservation, SD. The Tanka Fund rancher partner is also vice president of our board of directors.
Brownotter Buffalo Ranch sits on 20,000 acres of land, which Ron has managed for more than 20 years while also maintaining 80 miles of Buffalo fencing. His work with Buffalo is one way he believes he is helping assist in the decolonization of Native lands, keeping ceremonies thriving, and impacting the cultural traditions of Indigenous communities.
Tanka Fund to Present on Climate Smart Initiative at Texas Buffalo Association Conference
Executive Director Dawn Sherman will be presented on Oct. 26 at the Texas Bison Association’s 30th Annual Fall Conference 2024 in Talco, TX. Her topic was, “The Grass is Greener: Using Climate Smart Solutions to Increase Market Opportunities.”
Tanka Fund had a booth at the conference with information and staff available for attendees to learn more about the Tanka Fund Climate Smart program.
Learn more about Climate Smart
Tanka Fund Executive Director Dawn Sherman Opens Up About Her Life and Our Mission on KFRM 550 FM Podcast
Our executive director Dawn Sherman was interviewed recently by Steve Noffsinger of KRFM Radio 550 FM in Kansas for the podcast "On the Front Porch."
Dawn, who is a member of the Lakota, Shawnee, and Delaware tribes, shares about growing up in South Dakota in the Lakota Homes (just outside of the Pine Ridge Reservation), eating commodity foods, and the connection to the Buffalo.
She also shares about her educational background, family life, and her history with Tanka Bar.
Funder Spotlight: Peace Development Fund
Tanka Fund funding partner Peace Development Fund works to build the capacity of community-based organizations through grants, training, and other resources as partners in human rights and social justice movements.
The Fund’s principles include:
Support community-based organizations and grassroots groups and their locally-grown leaders, including young people, to articulate their realities, develop their analyses, critical thinking, and strategic action in order to challenge and transform the world around them.
Strengthen community-based and other intermediary capacity-building organizations.
Create, support, and enhance opportunities for movement building through networking and alliance building.
Support international movements and create opportunities to share movement-building strategies across international boundaries.
Acknowledge and address power and class relationships in our grantmaking, capacity building, and within Peace Development Fund.
For more information: Peace Development Fund
