2120 More Acres Recovered for Bison on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

With your support, Village Earth and our community partners on the Pine Ridge Reservation have recovered 2120 more acres of reservation lands to be used to restore bison herds on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Photo Credit: Ralf Kracke-Berndorff

With generous support from St. Bartholomew's Church in Estes Park Colorado the Knife Chief Community Bison Project, whose mission is to help “restore the sacred bond between the Lakota people the Bison Nation,” was able to acquire 1800 acres adjacent to their existing 1200 acre pasture located near the community of Porcupine in the central part of the reservation where have raised bison for several years.

In addition, the Red Cloud Tiyospaye recently acquired 320 acres of land adjacent to their existing 320 acres located near the community of Slim Butte in the southwest corner of the Reservation. For both groups, this additional land will allow them to sustainably grow their bison herds while maintaining their commitment to grass fed bison and restoring the native ecology.

Both projects have been past recipients of bison, low interest loans, and other material and technical needed to grow their projects from Village Earth's Lakota Lands Recovery Campaign initiated in 2003 to help Lakota families recover their lands from the Federal Government's leasing program to utilize on their own for sustainable economic, cultural, environmental and spiritual development.

Along with supporting the growth of bison herds on the Reservation, Village Earth is also working with Lakota Bison Caretakers to develop markets for their organic grass fed bison meat by building direct consumer-to-producer networks throughout the region. If our interested in visiting these projects in person or supporting this important effort please contact David Bartecchi at david@villageearth.org or by phone at 970-491-8307.