About the Wokini Bison program
Our Mission
The Wokini Bison Program reconnects our Native communities with bison to restore health, culture, and sovereignty. We aim to heal historical trauma, strengthen food systems, and support the next generation.
Through the return of the Buffalo come the return of our people. The health and wellness of the Buffalo come the health and wellness of our people.
Our Program
We care for a growing Buffalo Nation—Tatȟáŋka/Pte Oyáte—in support of Indigenous food sovereignty, cultural restoration, land stewardship, conservation, and community wellness. Our work strengthens Buffalo restoration, supports Native Buffalo stewards and their communities, and helps return traditional foods and teachings to the schools we serve—nourishing our youth, elders, families and communities and renewing the relationships with Buffalo.
This work is carried forward in partnership with Native Buffalo stewards on the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Why It Matters
Buffalo—Tatȟáŋka Oyáte—are sacred relatives. Their return helps heal generational wounds, renew cultural practices, and restore balance to the land. As Buffalo help regenerate the ecosystems around them, they also guide us toward healing, connection, and restoration within ourselves, our families, communities and Nations.
Wokini Program In The News :
Old ways, new alliance: A legacy in the making
Old ways, new alliance: A legacy in the making
Old ways, new alliance: A legacy in the making
Tanka Fund connected BYNP with Lakota Buffalo caretaker Virgil Two Eagle, Sr., forming a partnership to restore Buffalo, teach youth, and feed Native communities. Five BYNP bulls were moved to Virgil’s Pine Ridge ranch, where they are being welcomed into his herd and cared for through traditional Lakota values.
https://www.tankafund.org/our-stories/old-ways-new-alliance-a-legacy-in-the-making
Our Rancher Partners, Buffalo Youth Nation
Old ways, new alliance: A legacy in the making
Old ways, new alliance: A legacy in the making
“We have some of the lowest statistics in the country, and I’m tired of that narrative — so let’s do something about it.”
Lisa Ansell Frazier, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
https://www.tankafund.org/our-stories/our-rancher-partners-lisa-ansell-frazier
The Harvest Improving School On The Wind River Reservation; ‘Our DNA Is Still Connected To Buffalo’
A program that brings buffalo into the lives of Native American students at an elementary school on the Wind River Reservation has doubled reading comprehension and attendance. It’s just the beginning. This article is part of THE INDIGENOUS FOOD PYRAMID, a series of reporting that examines how Indigenous Food Sovereignty policies impact
A program that brings buffalo into the lives of Native American students at an elementary school on the Wind River Reservation has doubled reading comprehension and attendance. It’s just the beginning. This article is part of THE INDIGENOUS FOOD PYRAMID, a series of reporting that examines how Indigenous Food Sovereignty policies impact the overall health of Native Americans.
When The Buffalo Were Introduced to a Wind River Reservation School, Students Began to Thrive
A program that brings buffalo into the lives of Native American students at an elementary school on the Wind River Reservation has doubled attendance and increased reading comprehension. It’s just the beginning. This article is part of THE INDIGENOUS FOOD PYRAMID, a series of reporting that examines how Indigenous Food Sovereignty polici
A program that brings buffalo into the lives of Native American students at an elementary school on the Wind River Reservation has doubled attendance and increased reading comprehension. It’s just the beginning. This article is part of THE INDIGENOUS FOOD PYRAMID, a series of reporting that examines how Indigenous Food Sovereignty policies impact the overall health of Native Americans.
Wokini Guiding Principles
Our Wokíni Program is grounded in the cultural belief that Buffalo are our relatives. Caring for them carries responsibilities to the land, our communities, ancestors and future generations.
Wokini is guided by the Seven Lakota Values—Prayer, Respect, Compassion, Honesty, Generosity, Humility, and Wisdom—we commit to:
• Treating Buffalo with respect and compassion, as relatives.
• Rejecting industrial confinement and industrial ranching practices
• Protecting land, water, and ecosystems
• Conducting traditional harvests with reverence and respect
• Honoring Buffalo as relatives while restoring food sovereignty in our communities
• Protecting youth, elders, families, stewards, culture, and stories.
Wokíni restores kinship, nourishment, responsibility, culture, land and stewardship
Wokini Tribal Allies and Partners
BYNP Tribal Bison Partnerhips
Wokini
