Who We Are

Tanka Fund is a 501(c)(3) corporation located in Kyle, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Our Native-led Board of Directors and Executive Director provide leadership, direction, and expertise in our work to make The Return a reality in Indian Country.

Staff

Trudy Ecoffey

Executive Director

Trudy Ecoffey

Dr. Trudy Ecoffey has over 20 years of experience working on research, management, and ecology of bison. Dr. Ecoffey started working with bison and bison related issues when she wrote a curriculum for tribal colleges for her MS degree in Range Ecology and Wildlife from the University of Nebraska. She then completed her PhD from South Dakota State in Biology with a dissertation that investigated tribal bison herds which focused on culture, ecology, management and financing. She later assisted on writing a management guide to help tribal bison managers. Her focus was on disease and health issues for the InterTribal Buffalo Council.

Dr. Ecoffey worked as an instructor and later a department chair at Oglala Lakota College in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department. She then worked for over 8 years at the Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority as Senior Biologist. Her focus while senior biologist was on research on range ecology, wildlife, and bison management of the tribal herds. For the last 5 years, Dr. Ecoffey has been working with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as Tribal Liaison for the Pine Ridge Reservation where she has been working with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and tribal producers on land management projects. She resides with three children and Hunka’ granddaughter on the Pine Ridge Reservation where she spends her leisure time working with horses, hiking and attending her children and granddaughter’s sporting events.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Trudy Ecoffey!

Arnell Abold

Business Dev Director

Arnell D. Abold

Arnell D. Abold, an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe, has been appointed to the position of the Business Development Director for Tanka Resilient Agriculture Company (TRAC), a Tanka Fund Company.

Ms. Abold comes to TRAC and Tanka Fund with an extensive history and background in buffalo restoration efforts and working with 75+ Tribes, tribal communities and community members to return buffalo to tribal lands and the people. Her previous position was spent as the Executive Director for 4 years (2017 – 2021) and 16 years (2001 – 2017) as the Fiscal Director of the InterTribal Buffalo Council. Ms. Abold’s prior experience

included experience as the Finance Officer to the Treasurer for the Oglala Sioux Tribe; a Business Manager for Red Cloud Indian School, as well as a Business Manager for American Horse Indian School. Prior to graduating from the University of South Dakota Vermillion, Ms. Abold was selected to participate in the prestigious Walt Disney World College Program for an internship in Orlando, Florida. This internship was the jumping point for her career working in the hospitality industry in Orlando Florida as a Finance Director for a property management company. In 1994 Ms. Abold returned home to South Dakota where she currently continues to reside.

Ms. Abold’s educational background consists of an MBA in Business Administration as well as an MM in Human Resource Management, both of which were obtained from National American University in Rapid City, South Dakota. She also earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota.

Throughout her life and career, Ms. Abold not only gained valuable experience along with insightful knowledge, but she also learned to be open to continually being willing to learn, grow and step up to challenges. The Buffalo have been a part of her life and story for 20 years and it was through the Buffalo that her connection to her culture and spirituality became visible. She continues to devote her career to the vision of seeing Buffalo on the land, believing that the Buffalo are the connection for our people to believe in a better tomorrow and together we can help create a reality that empowers us to live not only a better today but, inspires us to keep fighting for a better future for the people, the land and the Buffalo.

email: arnell.abold@tankafund.org

Jennifer Malaterre

Senior Technical Assistant

Jennifer Malaterre

Jennifer Malaterre, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribe, has been appointed to the position of the Senior Technical Assistant for Tanka Fund Company.

Ms. Malaterre comes to Tanka Fund with many years of history and background in managing a tribal buffalo herd, working with her father on her parents’ farm at home in ND. Her previous position was spent as the Marketing person for 1 years with InterTribal Buffalo Council, 3 years as the ITBC Board Secretary, 10 years as the tribal representee with ITBC and 10 years (2010–2020) as the Agricultural Coordinator for TMBCI.

Ms. Malaterre’s education includes an Animal and Range Science, BS with emphasis in Pre-Vet medicine. She completed her education at North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND in 1998. After college Jennifer moved back to Belcourt, ND and started employment with Indian Health Service as an Environmental Health Specialist from July 2000-Feb 2009.

Upon returning to her hometown, she assisted her father on the farm raising cattle, haying, fencing and racing thoroughbred horses. She continues to work with her father on the farm with her father.

email: Jennifer.malaterre@tankafund.org

Board of Directors

Mark Tilsen

Acting President

Mark Tilsen, Vice President

Mark Tilsen is the co-founder and former President of Native American Natural Foods. Tilsen has more than 38 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and community development and 25 years in special events marketing and productions. A recipient of numerous marketing awards, including the 2016 Specialty Food Association Leadership Award for Citizenship and the 2011 Social Venture Network Innovation Award for his work with Native American Natural Foods, Tilsen is a lifelong Native ally. He began his career working as a volunteer in 1973 for the Wounded Knee Defense Offense Committee, which his parents co-founded. Since that time, he has honed his skills coordinating award-winning, database-driven direct marketing campaigns that have raised millions for Native American educational and environmental organizations. Tilsen has co-founded several successful community organizations and businesses, including KILI Radio, the largest indigenous community-owned radio station in North America and Lakota Express, a direct marketing agency on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Nick Hernandez

Secretary-Treasurer

Nick Hernandez, Secretary-Treasurer

Nick Hernandez is Director of Food Sovereignty Initiative for Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He is a tribally enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Nick is a Graduate of Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO and is currently in the Graduate Studies Program for Lakota Leadership and Management at Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, SD. As part of the Food Sovereignty Initiative, Nick directs the operations of a model poultry-centered demonstration farm in partnership with Main Street Project and coordinates the Oglala Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition. With many years dedicated to gardening and creating self-sufficiency, he is now on the pathway to researching, creating and demonstrating a sovereign food system on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at Thunder Valley.

Dawn Sherman

Member at Large

Dawn Sherman, Member at Large Oglala Lakota, Shawnee and Delaware

Dawn Sherman brings over 25 years of business expertise and entrepreneurial skills to her role as CEO of Native American Natural Foods’ Tanka bar. A member of the Lakota, Shawnee and Delaware tribes, Dawn is keenly aware of the fundamental needs facing individuals at the community level on the reservation. Her South Dakota roots inform her decision making and she is dedicated to seeking improvements in the food systems that benefit the health and wellness of her indigenous community as well as the community at large. Dawn believes teamwork and meaningful collaboration are essential to success and looks to the operational Niman Ranch partnership as key to continuing the Tanka vision.

Previously, Dawn worked in key financial leadership roles in the automotive industry, increasing dealership portfolios as well as assisting in developing policies and procedures to streamline sales and financial efficiency.

She is a founding member of Tanka Resilient Agriculture Coop a South Dakota collective dedicated to returning bison to lands, and improving the lives and economies of Native Communities. She is also a founding board member of The Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, an ecosystem of people and organizations committed to making sustainable ranching and farming a collective norm. She is also a board member of the Tanka Fund, a not-for-profit that supports tribal bison caretakers with direct grants for ranch planning, finance and operations.

As the second generation of Native Leadership and as a Native woman, Dawn’s unique vision combined with her deep experience in the food industry, allows her the opportunity to give back to her own community and further her vision of food sovereignty for all.

Erin Axelrod

Member at Large

Erin Axelrod, Member at Large

Erin Axelrod is a partner and worker-owner at LIFT Economy where she accelerates ecological and justice-centered businesses in the Next Economy. She does this through client work, a 9-month online learning journey called the Next Economy MBA, and a regenerative agriculture investor network. She co-founded the Force for Good Fund — a $1.1M pilot fund that invested in 13 women and POC-lead social enterprises. When not working, she loves to plant trees, raise backyard chickens, milk goats and harvest wild foods like mushrooms, greens, elderberries, and bay nuts to make nutrient-dense foods for her community.

Electa Hare-RedCorn

Member at Large

Electa Hare-RedCorn, Member at Large

Electa Hare-RedCorn, MSW is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and of Inhanktowan Dakota descendancy. She and her partner, photographer and filmmaker Ryan RedCorn, reside in Pawhuska, OK with their three children. Mrs. Hare-RedCorn’s strengths include policy analyses and youth-led programming and leadership development for agricultural and rural children, youth, and families. She serves the Eastern Oklahoma Region of the Intertribal Agriculture Council as a Technical Assistance Specialist. Electa is a SeedKeeper for the Pawnee Seed Preservation Project, assisting with homeland mentorships and citizen science efforts. Since 2017,she has pursued doctoral studies in Public Policy at the University of Arkansas as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar.

Ron Brown Otter

Member at Large

Ron Brown Otter, Member at Large

Ron Brown Otter owns and manages a 20,000-acre buffalo ranch. He is a Marine veteran and graduate of Cal Tech. He has grown his ranch from just a few animals to what it is today, the largest Native American-owned buffalo ranch in the U.S. He is a leader in his Rock Creek District and is on the Board of Trustees for Sitting Bull College. Ron is goal-oriented, and follows through with action with what he sets out to do. Ron is a tribal member of the Standing Rock Reservation.