Help Bring Independence to the Lakota People

For 20 years, One Spirit has worked diligently with the Lakota people to improve food and economic security on Pine Ridge Reservation. We started with at-home meal delivery services but expanded over time to include employment programs, job skills trainings, community gardens, and, more. Over two decades, One Spirit has helped the Lakota people provide many meals, deliver many bundles of firewood, build homes, and learn many skills necessary to become self-sufficient.

The Charging Buffalo Meat House is one of our largest and most visible achievements. For 10 years, One Spirit has supported its construction, operation, and expansion. It employs local Lakota people in the sustainable and culturally appropriate harvest of buffalo, an animal sacred to the Lakota people.

But the Charging Buffalo Meat House is more than a meat processing facility. It’s a symbol for the Lakota. It represents their strength, their culture, their uniqueness, the gifts they can offer, and—now—their independence.

When we finish the final expansion phase of the Charging Buffalo Meat House, the facility will be ready for USDA meat inspection certification. This will permit it to market and sell meat products across state lines, opening the pathway to financial independence. The full potential of the Charging Buffalo Meat House will be unlocked, and it will be a source of employment, industry, and food to the Lakota people.

And now for the big announcement: We recently received a generous, $100,000 donation to help us finish the Charging Buffalo Meat House! This money gets us halfway to our goal of $200,000, which will help us complete the expansion and bring financial independence to the meat house! The money comes in the form of a bequest, and the family encourages everyone to match it so that we can bring independence and food security to the Lakota people.

For 20 years, you, our donors and supporters, have stood with us and with the Lakota people. Now we stand on the edge of finishing a project that has been 10 years and more than a million dollars in the making. Please donate today and help us reach our goal of $200,000—a goal that we’re already halfway toward!

As always, we thank you for your support. Wopila tanka!

P.S., you can also help us by sharing this message to your friends, family, and coworkers!