Vendor of the Month: Native American Natural Foods
We are so excited about featuring Native American Natural Foods as our Vendor of the Month this November! Co-founders Karlene Hunter and Mark A. Tilsen imagine a world filled with healthy foods that add to the restoration and preservation of our lands and ecosystem -- a world without the pain of starvation or obesity. The world they imagine embraces the lifestyle that Native American people lived just over a century ago.
Karlene, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and her long-time business partner Mark, founded their business in 2006 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. To this day, the creation of their delicious, natural, and healthy Tanka buffalo-based food products is based on Native grounds. They offer Tanka Bars, Tanka Bites, Tanka Sticks and Tanka Warrior Bars all in a variety of flavors. Their Tanka product line and fund are focused on one of their key business values: Heart, Mind, Body, and Spirit, described below:
“Buffalo "Tanka" is used in reference to delivering your best with all your heart, mind, body and spirit. It is the choices that you make and the actions that you take to be who you are. Whether you're Native, white, black, yellow or brown, it is your ability to overcome, to extend a helping hand for those in need, to defeat racism, to protect our Mother Earth, and to love all others on our planet.”
For them, their goal of wellness doesn’t just stop at the meat products that they create, but they also have a Tanka Fund that is on a mission to bring Buffalo back to Indian Country. Tanka Fund provides funding directly to Native ranchers to establish new buffalo ranches or to support, expand, and sustain existing ranch operations. They look at wellness holistically and focus on regenerative agriculture and social justice in order to support Native American practices and Buffalo care-takers.
By purchasing a delicious, minimally processed, and nutritious Tanka product, you are supporting a Minority and Native American-Owned business that gives back as a certified B-Corporation and through their non-profit. We are proud to carry their products and share them with our community. Come check them out in store today!
