FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 5, 2025
Rapid City, SD – Sacred Storm Buffalo is proud to announce the grand opening of its new location in Mniluzahan (aka Rapid City) on Haines Avenue. Sacred Storm Buffalo, a community-rooted and culturally grounded workforce development enterprise of the nonprofit Wambli Ska Okolakiciye, is dedicated to restoring strength, purpose, and connection for Native people and families through the art and discipline of Indigenous meat processing. The training and production center—opened last year with support from a $1.6 million investment through NDN Collective’s Indigenous-designed power-building loans—serves as a living blueprint for food sovereignty and self-determined economic renewal.
There will be a grand opening celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025, which will begin with a special ceremony at 10:00 a.m. and continue until 4:00 p.m. Sacred Storm Buffalo invites the community to come celebrate together in support of Native food sovereignty, local business, and cultural revitalization.
Guests attending the event will have the opportunity to:
- Learn more about Sacred Storm Buffalo’s mission to advance economic sustainability through workforce development by training Native youth through apprenticeships in buffalo butchery, processing, and entrepreneurial experiences—revitalizing Indigenous traditions and creating sustainable food sovereignty.
- Enjoy freshly prepared meals from the Iron Hoof Grill, Sacred Storm’s own food truck, featuring buffalo-based dishes.
- Explore the brand-new retail store, Sacred Storm Meats and Treats, which will offer a variety of premium buffalo meat products harvested from local sources and the newly developed buffalo tallow skin care product line Pretty Pink Buffalo.
“We are excited to open our doors to the community and celebrate a movement that began with a prayer and a buffalo,” said Chris White Eagle, Founder and Executive Director of Sacred Storm Buffalo. “Sacred Storm Meats & Treats is more than a store—it’s a dream realized. It’s about restoring economic power, cultural pride, and opportunity for our youth.”
Sacred Storm Buffalo was established in partnership with Wambli Ska Okolakiciye, Tanka Fund, and Makoce Agriculture Development, with support from NDN Collective. The harvesting of buffalo creates jobs for producers and distributors, provides sustenance and fosters food sovereignty for the people, and weaves a vital thread of resilience and empowerment into the fabric of the community.
NDN Collective’s Regenerative Agriculture/Landback grant and loan to Sacred Storm Buffalo is an example of “braided capital” through the NDN Collective ecosystem. This braided capital allowed Sacred Storm to purchase a processing plant from Wild Idea Buffalo Company in Rapid City and a new mobile field harvest trailer. Sacred Storm Buffalo then acquired 50 Wind Cave heifer bison calves, a move that marks the beginning of a self-sustaining herd. These calves represent more than just animals; they embody the renewal of traditional buffalo stewardship, ensuring that future generations will have access to culturally significant and nutrient-rich food sources. Adding to this momentum is Sacred Storm Buffalo’s purchase of 41.74 acres for a new ranch to house these buffalo in a permanent home for the herd. These acquisitions allow Sacred Storm to meet the increasing demand for buffalo meat and create space for training and workforce development.
“Within just six months of receiving their braided capital, Sacred Storm Buffalo has trained and mentored a new workforce and distributed over 50,000 pounds of buffalo meat products. In a short time, Sacred Storm Buffalo has seen tremendous growth, proving that investments in restoring and stewarding land, revitalizing a traditional food way and providing workforce empowerment can have tangible results,” said Kim Pate, Managing Director of NDN Fund, the lending and impact investing arm of NDN Collective. “Every milestone achieved is a step toward ensuring Indigenous communities in South Dakota have food sovereignty through healthy protein and economic self-sufficiency through good jobs.”
“The developing buffalo economy, one that preserves wildlife and open spaces, is critical to the region and creates well paying jobs and economic security,” said Wizipan Garriot, president of NDN Collective. “New buffalo-based economies also support healthy food, and ensure that animals are harvested in humane, culturally appropriate ways that honor the iconic status of the American Buffalo.”
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NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building, and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.