Tanka Fund
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Tanka Fund
@tankafund.bsky.social
Tanka Fund is a 501(c)(3) that is Native American-led and staffed. Since 2014, we have been working to provide animals, grants and technical assistance to Native American owned/operated or managed Buffalo ranches that are family or community based.
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For Native producers & Buffalo ranchers, the #GovernmentShutdown comes at a moment when consistency & reliability are most needed to sustain herds & livelihoods. Read: www.tankafund.org/read-our-new... #TankaFund #NativeRanchers
What the Shutdown Means for Native Buffalo Ranchers — TANKA FUND
Relatives and Supporters, The federal government shutdown is already disrupting critical services. For Native producers and Buffalo ranchers, this pause in support comes at a moment when consistency...
www.tankafund.org
#TradishTuesday: Buffalo's low grazing style fits perfectly with short grasses. They take only what’s needed & move on, letting the land renew itself. A reminder of how balance & respect keep everything thriving. tankafund.org/donate

#TankaFund #Buffalo #Bison #NativeAmerican #Biodiversity
October 29, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Tanka Fund launched at the Black Hills Powwow 11 years ago — and we were proud to return this year. “Powwow” comes from pau wau, meaning a sacred gathering. Once misused, now reclaimed — a celebration of resilience, song, and community. 🪶💃🏽 #TradishTuesday #TankaFund
October 22, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Our range ecologist intern, Nicole Cournoyer, shares insights with a student. Tanka Fund’s mission has always been about creating opportunities for the next generation to reconnect w/traditional food systems & continue the work of restoration. For the land, people, & the Buffalo. #TankaFund #Native
October 21, 2025 at 2:10 AM
If you’re in Rapid City this week, come see us at the Black Hills Powwow!

📍 Stop by our booth, grab our brand new calendar, and don’t forget to snap a photo with our giant Buffalo!

Can't wait to see you tomorrow!

#TankaFund #CulturalRevitalization #Native #Powwow
October 9, 2025 at 9:56 PM
We recently had the opportunity to visit Tanka Fund rancher partners David Wise (Ojibwe) and his wife, Patra, of Native Wise LLC and Dancing Crane Ranch on the Fond du Lac Reservation in Sawyer, MN.

You can support our ranchers at tankafund.org/donate.

#TankaFund #Biodiversity #Bison #Buffalo
October 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
It’s Monday and a full moon… but at least we’re here for your afternoon funny.

This Buffalo’s just out here chewing through it all — grounded, calm, and unbothered.

What’s on your lunch plate today? 👀

#TankaFund #BuffaloConservation #Bison #BuffaloRanching#Biodiversity #FoodSovereignty #Buffalo
October 6, 2025 at 5:29 PM
For Native producers & Buffalo ranchers, the #GovernmentShutdown comes at a moment when consistency & reliability are most needed to sustain herds & livelihoods. Read: www.tankafund.org/read-our-new... #TankaFund #NativeRanchers
What the Shutdown Means for Native Buffalo Ranchers — TANKA FUND
Relatives and Supporters, The federal government shutdown is already disrupting critical services. For Native producers and Buffalo ranchers, this pause in support comes at a moment when consistency...
www.tankafund.org
October 3, 2025 at 10:40 PM
#TankaFund is a Native–led nonprofit supporting #Buffalo ranchers. Since 2014, we’ve provided animals, grants & guidance to Native-run herds across the U.S.
Our partners — often veterans & tribal members — care for Buffalo, feed their communities & keep traditions alive.
tankafund.org/donate
October 2, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Most recently, our range ecologist team visited Chuck Jacobs of Tatanka Badlands Enterprise, based on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

tankafund.org/technical-assistance-and-training

#TankaFund #SupportNativeRanchers #SustainableRanching #Biodiversity
October 1, 2025 at 3:00 AM
#TradishTuesday: Prairie dogs aren’t pests — they’ve always lived alongside the Buffalo. From keeping grass fresh to creating homes for burrowing owls, they’re still vital partners on the prairie today. #Buffalo #Bison #TankaFund #Biodiversity

September 30, 2025 at 7:17 PM
We send a newsletter on the last Wednesday of every month. We highlighted our visit to the Fort Belknap Indian Community. Read: tankafund.org/read-our-newsletters/our-first-tribal-buffalo-partnership
Sign up for our newsletter: tankafund.org/subscribenewsletter2024

#TankaFund #SupportNativeRanchers
September 30, 2025 at 1:07 AM
It's the last Friday of the month! Are you more 4:59 or 5:00? Either way, your continued support helps Buffalo rise up where they belong...
And keeps them snarky. 😉
Visit: tankafund.org/donate

🦬
#TankaFund #BuffaloConservation #SupportNativeRanchers #Donate #Buffalo #Bison
September 26, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Tanka Fund
This little fox tends to hang out with the Bison herd. He lets them stir up the mice for him, easier hunting.
September 26, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Jayme Murray, Buffalo herd manager for Cheyenne River Buffalo Company, shared the reality of managing a conservation herd as a private rancher. Every challenge falls on them. Partnerships like Tanka Fund become essential.
tankafund.org/donate
#TankaFund #BuffaloConservation #SupportNativeRanchers
September 5, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Video: David & Patra Wise’s Dancing Crane Ranch on the Fond du Lac Reservation. With new fencing complete, their Buffalo now roam the full land made possible through collective effort with NRCS, Duluth Whole Foods Co-op, & community support. #TankaFund #BuffaloConservation #SupportNativeRanchers
August 29, 2025 at 1:19 AM
David Wise (Ojibwe) with Dancing Crane Ranch, one of our rancher partners, talks about how his land on the Fond du Lac Reservation in Sawyer, MN, has changed since receiving Buffalo.

www.tankafund.org/donate.

#TankaFund #BuffaloConservation #SupportNativeRanchers #Buffalo #Bison
August 20, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Since 2014, Tanka Fund has been returning Buffalo to Native lands, lives, and economies. Fencing alone has an estimated cost of $39 a foot. Every donation matters, and recurring gifts go even further. Support at tankafund.org/donate
Oh, and in case you didn’t know — it’s #NationalNonprofitDay.
August 18, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Maybe taking in every bit of the day is better than rushing through it. And as always, you can support returning Buffalo to Native lands, lives, & economies by visiting tankafund.org/donate.

#TankaFund #SupportNativeRanchers #BuffaloRanching #Biodiversity #Bison #Buffalo
August 14, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Indigenous communities have long used fire to shape healthy grasslands. At Tanka Fund, we work w/Buffalo ranchers through prescribed fire education & land health assessments to restore balance & resilience to the prairie.

Read more: www.tankafund.org/our-stories/...
#BuffaloRestoration #TankaFund
Burning with purpose: Restoring grasslands the traditional way — TANKA FUND
Prescribed fire has long been used by Indigenous communities to renew grasslands and support the animals and people who depend on them. At Tanka Fund, Range Ecologist Janét Moore works with ranchers...
www.tankafund.org
August 5, 2025 at 4:07 PM
It's #TradishTuesday! The #Lakota word wówačhaŋtognake. Generosity w/o expectation. Buffalo gave everything so the people could live. We honor that teaching by restoring Buffalo to Native lands, lives, & economies. tankafund.org/donate

#TankaFund #Tatanka #SupportNativeRanchers #LandsLivesEconomies
July 30, 2025 at 1:06 AM
#TradishTuesday: Sweetgrass
Sweetgrass — peji wacanga in Lakota — is used in ceremony, prayer, & smudging to invite blessings & good energy. At the Buffalo to School Conference recently, a sweetgrass braid was passed like a talking stick.

#TankaFund #CommunityEmpowerment #CulturalRevitalization
July 1, 2025 at 9:52 PM
What started as a work assignment turned into something much deeper for David Wise (Ojibwe). He discovered a powerful connection to Chief Buffalo — an iconic 19th-century Ojibwe leader. Read more: www.tankafund.org/our-stories/...

#TankaFund #SupportNativeRanchers #WildlifePreservation
Our Rancher Partners: Patra and David Wise — TANKA FUND
David Wise (Ojibwe), co-owner of Native Wise LLC, discovered his ancestral connection to Chief Buffalo during a work project that became a personal calling. Guided by a dream, he and his wife Patra be...
www.tankafund.org
June 26, 2025 at 8:25 PM
On Juneteenth, we remember: freedom came late and not for all. Black Freedmen in Indian Territory waited even longer.
This Buffalo, standing strong in TX heat, reminds us: Survival is strength.

📸 GP Ranch in Sulphur Springs, TX.

#Juneteenth #TankaFund #Buffalo #Bison
June 19, 2025 at 11:17 PM
We’re honored to be named a 2025 Wildseeds Fund grantee.
Wildseeds uplifts frontline stories and backs those reclaiming food, land, and culture through justice-centered organizing.

#TankaFund #BuffaloConservation #SupportNativeRanchers #WildlifePreservation #Biodiversity #FoodSovereignty
June 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
The movement of Buffalo gives Native grasses time to regrow. Their hooves press seeds into the soil. Their dung feeds it. Grasses like big bluestem, switchgrass, and Indian grass evolved with them. This is land with memory — and Buffalo are the ones who remember.

#BuffaloRestoration #TankaFund
June 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM