Hello,
Good Spring day to all One Spirit folks, hope you're all doing fine and in good spirits.
It's spring here.
It's still cold but you can feel it in the air.
That was one tough winter, it hit us hard right after deer season ended in December. All of a sudden we had 30+ inches of snow over our wood piles. It was hectic, to say the least, we're glad that’s all behind us.
We had a special time feeding the buffalo hay thanks to you who sponsored the hay. The buffalo were here all winter and at the very end when things started looking better they walked over a drifted fence I didn’t see because I couldn’t get out to the pasture anyway. It is ok they are back and they are all ear tagged for identification. The big breeding bulls stayed home so they are still here on the hay and they look majestic as ever. Each time I look at them it’s like looking into the past of our people. Thank you to Hunter and Will Pierson for your extensive help under these extreme conditions. That was the toughest winter I ever experienced out here.
Construction Has Resumed
The Charging Buffalo Meat House expansion project is once again underway. The concrete contractor Joe Garcia with Chekpa Construction is back out here and they are pouring the floors today. Will Pierson has been above and beyond with keeping us on track and moving forward. Last fall we just ran out of fair weather to pour concrete so it was planned for the first sign of spring and here we are, as I type this I’m reminded how awesome of a day this is gonna be to finally have a concrete floor. The floor is a crucial part of our operation. In that skinning room it should have a slight slope so it could drain. If we can get this slope, it’ll correct a slight flaw in our current building. Joe and I had exclusive conversations about this and I’m very confident he’ll make our days ahead in this new expansion better.
Our hope is that we can get the floor done and allow a curing time then move in with the electrical wiring next, then it’ll be the walls, lighting, hoist, etc...
I also am looking forward to seeing our volunteer group from Ohio’s Broken Ground Church, they have been big help providing technical assistance with everything from carpentry to plumbing, Allen Youth Center and “shooting prairie dogs “. I say that with a smile because there's a over population of prairie dogs that are eating up the grass here on our buffalo grounds. The prairie dogs know when the Broken Grounds guys are here they lay lower than they’re already laying. These guys are great and they come a long way too. We appreciate all their assistance.
This is a key project to our Lakota people and local community.
Last week we gave over 100 pounds of elk and beef to the homeless shelter cooks to help them with the meals they provide for the homeless in and around the reservation. The buffalo has been well sought after meat here with ceremonies and honorings and some tribal members just want healthier meat. This one lady stopped in this week and told me a story that her mother came here wanting deer meat. We had some and as I told her, she started to reach into her purse for money to purchase. The more I listened to her story, I told her she didn't need to pay for it. She gave me a big hug and said her mother had gone to the spirit world for many years. She said she came to her in a dream. She said “So I came to you guys” After she left I was thinking “Wow! Our dream of bringing the buffalo back is helping other tribal members' dreams! What a big dream!!"
Thank you to everyone helping us!!
- Bamm Brewer, manager of Charging Buffalo Meat House