Ponca Tribe of Nebraska receives USDA grant to build a buffalo processing facility

The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska will soon have a facility for the harvesting, processing, storage, and distribution of buffalo meat nationwide to its members, made possible with help from a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Courtney Chavez, the tribe’s CEO of tribal affairs, told the Nebraska Independent that members were thrilled when they learned that they’d received $4.8 million under the department’s Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing Grant Program. The program supports tribal nations in their use of traditional methods of processing and harvesting animals indigenous to Indian Country. 

The agency awarded a total of $42.5 million to eight tribal nations. 

“It was super exciting for the tribe, and for tribal members across the country, to be able to embark on this kind of project,” Chavez said.

The Ponca Tribe’s buffalo herd was established in 1994. Chavez said it began with around 20 to 30 buffalo and has grown to around 250, which roam on about 1,000 acres of land.

Chavez said she began looking for grants out of a need for better infrastructure for the buffalo because of the strain the herd’s growth places on operations. Twenty to thirty calves are born each year, and between weaning, separating, and vaccinating them, the tribe knew it needed funding to build a better corral system.

While attending a USDA informational session, Chavez said, she began thinking about the potential for a buffalo processing facility. The tribe had already been processing the meat and distributing it at pow-wows, but the grant would also allow them to harvest the meat traditionally and provide it not just to local tribal members, but those living across the country in other states.

“We have to be able to manage the herd appropriately and make sure that we’re keeping up with our pasture and the health of our pasture, and we’re not excessively taking from the land,” Chavez said.

Chavez said the buffalo meat is a healthy protein the Ponca Tribe provides to elder members and those suffering from diabetes.

“A lot of Native American tribes have a lot of members that do suffer from diabetes, and with the buffalo meat being a lean protein with not a lot of fat in it, it’s healthy for them,” Chavez said.

According to research by the American Heart Association, diabetes is a factor in the disproportionately high rates of heart disease affecting American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Chavez said that buffalo meat holds a significant cultural meaning for the Ponca Tribe, which historically would hunt buffalo twice during the year and harvest, eat, and dry out the meat, using the rest of the buffalo for clothing, shelter, tools, medicine, and spiritual and religious purposes.

“When you begin providing that meat to members, especially ones who feel a little disconnected from the tribe because they’ve moved away and they’re not near their homelands and they’re not able to actively participate in those ceremonies if you’re able to provide them that protein, it reconnects them with their culture and their traditions,” Chavez said. “It’s not just a food source, but it’s a healing source from their beliefs and their culture and their traditions.”

Construction on the facility is slated to begin in the fall and to be completed in the spring of 2025. Chavez said the meat will be distributed to over 5,800 Ponca Tribe members across the country.