Funded: Equip the Allen Youth Center's Elk Hunt & Mentorship Camp

For Lakota youth, the outdoors is a classroom. Travis Thunder Bull, a veteran, a craftsman (see his diamondwillow and antler canes above), and the regenerative community gardens manager, is leading a multi-day elk hunting and camping trip for young men from the Allen Youth Center over Indigenous Peoples' Day weekend. This isn't about hunting for sport; it’s about passing down survival skills, animal track identification, and harvesting. These skills not only are critical as climate change and drought continue to impact local food sources, but they're also deeply rooted in Lakota culture. While the group has access to large teepees for shelter, they lack the cold-weather sleeping gear necessary to safely camp in the South Dakota autumn.

Your support will directly fund the purchase of high-quality, cold-weather sleeping bags and an advanced first-aid backpack. Because One Spirit is purchasing this gear to keep, your donation isn’t just funding this weekend's elk hunt—it is permanently stocking the Allen Youth Center's "gear library," ensuring these 25 sleeping bags will be used for deer season, future youth outings, and generations of young Lakota men learning to connect with the land.

How you can help:

$25 – The Camp Kitchen: Helps fund the meals cooked over the fire rings, combining harvested meat with squash, corn, and zucchini grown in the youth center's own garden.

$75 – Supply One Sleeping Bag: Buys one mummy sleeping bag, ensuring one teenager stays safe and warm in the backcountry.

$150 – The Medical Kit: Fully funds the advanced first-aid backpack for Travis and the veteran chaperones to keep the camp safe.

$375 – Equip Five Youth: Purchases five cold-weather sleeping bags that will remain at the youth center for years of future outdoor trips and lock-ins.