Shaun Grassel (l) and seven year old Sage Fletcher (r), releasing one of the first batch of thirteen black-footed ferrets into a prairie dog burrow on the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation.

Learn more about this exciting work, and how to support it, on this website.

 

 

 

MAKA FOUNDATION 

 

Our Lakota word for earth, its land, water and animals is “maka”.  The Maka Foundation was formed in 2005 as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and became fully operational in 2006. The Maka Foundation was created to support species recovery and conservation, to consolidate suitable habitats, restore degraded habitats, and to adequately educate and equip tribal members to become part of the recovery team.

 

The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe had already successfully reintroduced bison, elk, wild turkey and many native plant species to the reservation; however there was more work to be done in making our environment healthier.  Thus, the Maka Foundation was created and immediately began raising charitable funds from friends like you who share our concern for the environment, species reintroduction and habitat restoration. This tax-deductible financial support to the Maka Foundation directly supports these efforts in creating self-sustaining populations of species that began disappearing with the arrival of European explorers, the establishment of dams, and certain farming practices.

The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe has purchased approximately 36,000 acres of land through an aggressive land re-purchase and consolidation program. The land re-purchase allows the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Wildlife, Fish and Recreation Department to effectively manage the land by discontinuing over grazing by cattle, replanting Native grasses, and shrubs and natural prairies and wetlands restored.  These programs although labor intensive, costly and timely, are crucial in effective wildlife and land management. 

  

A primary goal is reconsolidation of Tribal land.  Rebuilding the landbase itself is critical for all restoration work. 

 

An exciting project that is happening now is the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret and swift fox.  These two species were reintroduced into the wild on the Reservation.  Financial support for this reintroduction work is needed.  To learn more, go to the "Black-footed ferret Reintroduction" and "Swift Fox Reintroduction" pages on this website.

 

 

Thanks for visiting this website and for your support.