Sacred Storm Buffalo Butcher Shop & Market Food Hub is a movement. Located in the heart of North Rapid City, South Dakota, at 1601 Haines Avenue, our food hub is the public-facing heartbeat of a larger Indigenous-led food sovereignty initiative, born from a powerful vision to revitalize Native economies, reconnect people to land-based healing, and restore cultural lifeways through the buffalo.
We are South Dakota’s only fully Indigenous-owned and operated buffalo meat processing facility and workforce development social enterprise located in an urban area. What that means to our customers is this: when you purchase from Sacred Storm Buffalo Butcher Shop & Market, you’re not just buying a steak, roast, or bar of tallow soap—you are supporting the revival of an entire ecosystem rooted in cultural dignity, traditional knowledge, and a commitment to the next generation.
We’re proud to offer premium, ethically harvested bison meat products, wild game, Indigenous-made goods, and specialty body products made from buffalo tallow. We carry cuts you won’t find in typical grocery stores—heart, tongue, marrow bones, soup bones, kidneys, liver, and other sacred pieces of the animal that are typically discarded by conventional processors. These are the pieces that tell the story of our people’s relationship with the buffalo, and we ensure every part is honored and put to good use.
Our product line extends beyond the freezer case. At Sacred Storm, you’ll find our exclusive Pretty Pink Buffalo tallow-based skincare line, crafted with care and ceremony to nourish your body with natural, Indigenous-sourced ingredients. From lip balm to whipped body butter, each item carries the spirit of the buffalo and the legacy of our daughters, aunties, and grandmothers.
And we don’t stop there. Through our on-site “The Cook Shack” food truck, we bring the flavors of the prairie to your plate with daily rotating menus featuring bison tacos, burgers, chili, and seasonal specialties. Whether you’re grabbing a quick lunch or bringing home dinner, every meal from The Cook Shack – (home of the-$7Indian Tac) carries the story of resilience, restoration, and care for our community.
What truly sets us apart is that we are Indigenous-owned, Indigenous-operated, and Indigenous-driven—every decision, every recipe, every cut, and every community program is rooted in our values and guided by our people. Sacred Storm Buffalo is a workforce development initiative of Wambli Ska Community Development Okolakiciye, a Native nonprofit organization with deep roots in the Rapid City community. Our leadership spans multiple generations, carrying forward ancestral knowledge while innovating solutions to today’s challenges.
Unlike large, corporate meat processors who treat animals and people as numbers, we operate with ceremony. We believe every harvest, every gathering, every initiative must begin with prayer. We train our youth to respect the life of the buffalo, to use their hands with intention, and to never waste a single part. In a world focused on speed and profit, we take the time to build relationships—with our customers, our community, and the land. We believe in Nation to Nation and Neighbor to Neighbor- Rematriation Economics.
The Feed The People campaign is not charity.
It is sovereignty.
It is self-determination.
It is reclaiming a food system that once sustained our ancestors for thousands of years.
When our buffalo feed our people, we strengthen a cycle that heals, unites, and uplifts our communities.
We’re not just selling meat—we’re building futures. Sacred Storm Buffalo is first and foremost a social enterprise, and all of our operations are rooted in training, mentorship, and economic empowerment for Indigenous youth and young adults – so our people may eat! Our workforce development model connects participants to long-term careers in food systems, agriculture, entrepreneurship, and trade skills. Many of the young people you see stocking the shelves, packaging cuts, or working the register came through our Warriors Lodge program, where they learned not just how to butcher, how to lead.
We understand what our youth and their families are facing. That’s why we created a safe space for them to gain real-world skills, build confidence, and reconnect with their cultural identities. Our staff doesn’t just show up for a paycheck—they show up to break cycles and build dreams.
We practice what we call “field-harvest butchery,” which means that our buffalo are never subjected to feedlots, confinement, or high-stress slaughterhouse conditions. Instead, our animals live on prairie grass and are harvested in their natural environment with as little stress as possible. This results in better quality meat and honors the traditional way—where the hunter, the animal, and the land are in relationship with one another.
Field harvest is cleaner, more humane, and aligned with our spiritual teachings. We work closely with Native ranchers, buffalo stewards, and Tribal nations who share our values, ensuring that every animal we process is part of a larger story of land regeneration, climate resilience, and sovereignty.
Every item we sell—whether it’s a buffalo ribeye, a tallow lip balm, or a smoked marrow bone for your dog—is infused with cultural meaning. The sacredness of the buffalo is not just symbolic; it’s practical. For thousands of years, our people survived and thrived because of the buffalo. Today, we are bringing that legacy forward in a way that blends tradition with innovation.
We don’t just “include” culture—we lead with it. From traditional dry meat and ceremonial cuts to youth-designed merchandise and ribbon skirts, our store reflects the vibrancy, resilience, and pride of Indigenous communities. When you shop at Sacred Storm, you’re stepping into a space where Indigenous excellence is on full display, every single day.
Sacred Storm Buffalo Butcher Shop & Market is more than a retail location—it’s a community hub. Every weekend, we host pop-ups, cultural demonstrations, food giveaways, and tasting events. Our goal is to rebuild community through food and create a space where people feel seen, nourished, and connected.
In times of crisis—whether from federal budget cuts, the closure of other local services, or community emergencies—we’ve remained open and responsive. We are often the first call when someone needs a warm meal, a job lead, or a space to gather. We serve unsheltered relatives, youth aging out of foster care, grandmothers raising grandkids, and everyone in between.
Our mission is simple but powerful: to return the buffalo to the people, the people to the land, and the land to ceremony. We believe in a future where Native communities are thriving—not surviving. A future where our youth use their tools of resiliency and transform – dream, build, and they don’t have to choose between culture and opportunity, because both are right here.
In the coming year, Sacred Storm Buffalo will be expanding our meat offerings, growing our Pretty Pink Buffalo product line, launching new seasonal menus from the Cook Shack, and offering cooking demos, wellness nights, and youth internships.
We dream of building a full-scale food campus—a place where people can butcher, cook, eat, learn, and gather in celebration of Indigenous foodways and collective healing.
At Sacred Storm Buffalo Butcher Shop & Market Food Hub, we do more than feed bodies—we feed movements. We invite you to be part of our circle. Shop with us. Eat with us. Learn with us. Grow with us. Every customer, every bite, every purchase is a piece of a much bigger story—a story of return, resilience, and revolution.
We’re building legacies. And we’d be honored to have you walk this road with us.
