Ponca Tribe of Nebraska awarded $4.8 million grant to build buffalo processing facility

NIOBRARA, Neb. (Press Release) – The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska announced on Friday it received a $4.8 million federal grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to build a facility to harvest, process, manufacture, and store buffalo meat.

The Tribe will use the facility to sustainably harvest and distribute meat from its bison herd to tribal members across the country, in accordance with sacred tribal tradition.

According to Courtney Chavez, the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s CEO of Tribal Affairs, the grant funds will be used to support the building of a facility in Niobrara, Nebraska, which is the traditional homelands of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and will be located near the Tribe’s buffalo herd.

Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2024 with completion by the spring of 2025.

The facility will reportedly create several jobs for Tribal members residing in a rural community and help to feed over 5,800 members nationwide.

“We greatly appreciate the United States Department of Agriculture’s grant to support the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s ongoing work to sustainably harvest buffalo from our herd to feed our tribal members across the country,” Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Chairwoman Candace Schmidt said. “This grant will help our Tribe advance our mission to provide services, support and nutrition to our tribal members regardless of whether they live within our Tribal service area.”

The grant falls under the Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing Grant Program.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the awards in Cherokee, North Carolina, at the National Congress of American Indiana (NCAI) 2024 Mid-Year Convention and Marketplace.

In the announcement from the USDA, Sec. Vilsack said, “USDA has worked hand-in-hand with Tribal NaTons to ensure our programs incorporate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. As part of our commitment to Tribes, we are making good on our promises and investing in projects that advance food sovereignty and self-determination for Tribal nations.”

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