I get asked about good ways to help Indian people quite frequently. Every summer it seems as though there is an infestation of groups looking to help rebuild homes and such and that is a great way to help. There are also truckloads of secondhand and even new items sent to the reservations in the hopes of making lives better. That is also a good way to help if it is done by the right organization. It is sad but there is some fraud and sometimes the materials do not get to the people who need it most. Do your research and make sure the organizations are legit.
Having said that, I do know one easy and delicious way to help out the people of Pine Ridge.
I cannot remember where I first heard of Tanka Bars but I was instantly interested. A Tanka Bar is based off a traditional Lakota food called wasna, other people would recognize it as pemmican. It is a traditional mixture of dried buffalo meat, choke cherries, and fat pounded together and formed into cakes. Wasna was easy to store and provided a nutritionally rich food source during the winter and when traveling. Sometimes nuts and other berries were added if they were available. The Tanka Bar, produced by Native American Natural Foods uses dried smoked buffalo meat and cranberries.
The Philosophy of Native American Natural Foods is.
We are Oglala Lakotas on the Pine Ridge Reservation, SD, with a deep commitment to helping the People, the Buffalo and Mother Earth. We look forward to providing you with the very best foods that are sustainably grown by Native American producers, minimally processed with care and respect, to help you feed mind, body and spirit.
To “Be Tanka” means to live your best life: in harmony with your spirit and with the earth. We created Tanka products to help you do just that.
Pilamaya (thank you).
Tanka products include
- Tanka bar – traditional and hot
- Tanka Bites – bite sized Tanka Bars in traditional and hot
- Tanka Wild – a healthy alternative to Slim Jims. Once again traditional and hot
- Tanka Dogs – Buffalo hotdogs.
All of their Tanka products are outrageously delicious and as a bonus just as good for you. All products are 100% natural, never use preservatives, Erythorbates, Potassium Sorbate, Fillers, or Artificial Flavors. They are gluten free, soy free and contain no hormones or antibiotics or MSG. I would like to stress again that what they do have is great flavor.
What is even more amazing than their products is their work in the community of Kyle, SD. They are providing much needed jobs in an area where employment is scarce. They are working to improve not on the community of Kyle and the Pine Ridge Reservation but they stand out as a great example for other Native Nations to follow for creating successful Indian owned and run businesses on reservations. By purchasing Tanka products you are helping yourself and helping a people. Tanka is taking the country by storm and others are taking notice.
Tanka Bar spicy blend – wins Editors Choice 2010 Backpacker Magazine.
Tanka Dogs – July buys Better Nutrition magazine July 2011
Tanka Bar – Top Healthy Snack – Golf Digest May 2011
Tanka products are available in all 50 states and they Native American Natural Foods can ship to Canada.
Get yourself something good to eat and help good people in a good way
Go to www.tankabar.com for company information, product information, news and to order Tanka products.
Have you gotten your Tanka on?
ikcewicasa 
Great message and Great TANKA BAR!
Best dog I have ever eaten in my whole life..and I am getting old….ehhh. Seriously… I am diabetic and I can eat these. Thank you. Found them at a natural foods store here in Abq, NM. Miigwech!!