Texas Tribal Buffalo Project
About Texas Tribal Buffalo Project
Texas Tribal Buffalo Project works to restore the traditional kinship between bison and Indigenous nations in the state’s southern plains–as a pathway to strengthening tribal sovereignty. Founder Lucille Contreras created the Project to help heal intergenerational trauma in her own community, the people of the Lipan Apache Band, who continue to fight for federal tribal recognition after being displaced from their traditional lands. By engaging communities in returning and caring for buffalo, the Project not only provides access to healthy, sustainable foods, but catalyzes the reclamation of Indigenous language, culture, and identity.
Challenges and Opportunities
After formally becoming a nonprofit in 2019, the Project reached out to Emergence for help with building financial resources it needed to grow. Fundraising was initially challenging, in part because the Lipan Apache are not yet a federally recognized tribal nation and do not possess a formal designated land base–making it difficult to gather and present concrete data on community needs and placing some significant grant programs out of reach.
Approach
Team Emergence got creative, working with the Project’s staff to refine their messaging to capture the attention of a wider range of funders–including both individuals and foundations. Through strategic planning discussions, we helped to expand the scope of the Project’s vision, highlighting its potential impact on tribal nations across southwestern Texas. We also connected the Project’s work to the global climate change crisis, shedding light on Lucille’s visionary leadership and the vital importance of investing in regenerative agriculture to restore the health of both Indigenous lands and Indigenous communities.
Impact
Lucille’s vision for the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project is now capturing the support of followers and funders across the state–and well beyond. Coverage of the project in the media has grown significantly, and Lucille was recently named a member of the James Beard Foundation’s Legacy Network Program, bringing light to the Project’s mission and her vision for restoring health to Texas’s Indigenous communities. Through powerful messaging, strategic planning, and leadership coaching, Emergence continues to help Lucille and her team grow into their place at the forefront of the movement for Indigenous food and tribal sovereignty.
“Emergence has been an integral part of our success at Texas Tribal Buffalo Project. Their team helped me take my overarching vision for the Project’s future and break it down into a strategic, step-by-step plan. They helped us craft the narrative about the work that we do so that our communications are clear and powerful. And then they helped us get our story in front of major foundations and funders, to build connections and relationships to support us now and in the future. At the end of our first year, after having my nose to the grindstone, I looked up and was floored at how much our budget had grown. But beyond that, I’ve been inspired to work with such a strong team of women who are all so driven and passionate about the work that needs to be done for our communities to thrive, not just now but for the next generations. It’s exciting to see the movement of women in Indian Country supporting each other in fulfilling our visions–and Emergence is very much a part of that.” -Lucille Contreras, Executive Director.