Ṫaṫaŋka ki iċiċu
The gift of buffalo
When you taste this buffalo, you are taking part in the restoration of a sacred relationship that’s transforming the health and well-being of people, buffalo, and the American prairie.
Le ṫaṫaŋka heċa
This is buffalo
The story of this gift begins with Deb Haaland, the first Native American U.S. Cabinet Secretary, and her deeply personal mission to restore wild buffalo and the prairie ecosystem for the benefit of us all. This aligns with a federal issuance for Secretary Order 3410; this is what opened the path to the vision that she set out to achieve.
This spring, Secretary Haaland, through her Office of Strategic Partnerships, reached out to Siċaŋġu Co with a vision: a heartfelt gift of indigenous-raised buffalo as a wish and a prayer for the 2024 U.S. Olympic athletes in Paris, as well as for young Native Americans watching from home.
To make this happen, a partnership emerged between the Wolakota Buffalo Range, indigenous buffalo harvesters Sacred Storm Buffalo, and legendary Olympic gold-medal athlete and member of the Oglala Lakota nation, Billy Mills.
Le woyute heċa
This is food
Billy Mills (Tamakhóčhe Theȟíla) has long credited nutritious buffalo meat for his athletic success. “Buffalo was key to my 1964 Tokyo Olympic win. Diagnosed with pre-type 2 diabetes and insulinoma, I introduced buffalo into my diet. Its lower calories, fat, and higher healthy fatty acids and protein helped regulate my blood sugar and support my athletic strength.”
From our earliest history, the Lakota people have known buffalo as a relative and sacred source for our way of life. The buffalo has given us shelter, medicine, tools, food, and spiritual sustenance. The reintroduction of buffalo as part of the traditional Lakota diet has been a key step towards nutritional health, food sovereignty, self-determination, and cultural revitalization.
Le uŋkuŋpi heċa
This is a gift
The relationship between the Lakota people and buffalo began with a profound gift. In our foundational story, the buffalo surrendered its life so we could have food, clothing, and shelter. It sacrificed itself so that we could survive. A bond was secured: Take care of us, and we will take care of you.
Gift giving is at the heart of what it means to be Lakota. Wancantognaka is not just material giving, but generosity born of understanding our relatedness and mutual dependence. The buffalo is a powerful symbol of this great giving, within the awareness of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ, we are all related.
This gift of buffalo connects and unites the dreams of elite athletes representing us on the world’s largest stage with the hopes of young Native Americans, Wakanyeja, our sacred ones.
Le wocekiye heċa
This is a prayer
This buffalo, this food, this gift – it is a prayer for the health and well-being of the buffalo and the American prairie.
It is a prayer for the success and well-being of all of our Olympics athletes, especially Janeé Kassanavoid of the Comanche nation, who continues her quest to become the first Native American woman to earn an Olympic medal.
It is a prayer for the Native youth spread across our homelands, each with unique and immeasurable worth and potential. May this gift inspire and encourage them to strengthen and revitalize their relationship with buffalo, their language, and all of the sacred traditions, for the benefit of themselves, all of us, and future generations.
T̄aƞyaƞ Omani!