Sacred Ground International

Programs: Activities and achievements for the year 2012 2012 was a year that taught us to have faith, faith in our mission, faith in ourselves and faith that we are supported. The year started with the sacred hunt season well underway and doing well in spite of the severe weather and cold. In order to cull the herd numbers we increased the number of hunts and although that brought more hunters, it was more work and more stress for the herd. For the balance of the year we put our efforts into revising, updating and expanding the information available on our website. These efforts paid off bringing people from alaska, so. Africa and all over the united states. All of our outreach projects, including you tube, videos, tv and online as well as print are all proving very effective. Attracting the people and the hunters who came because of the sacred ceremonies along with the teachings and protocol of respect and honor for man as well as nature. The revenue from the sacred hunts is a blessing and also is bringing us closer to a sustainable balance for the ranch and projects as a whole. This was a surprise as we did not set out to have the hunts be such a large stage from which we could creatively outreach to so many people. While 2011 broke many records with rainfall and moisture, 2012 broke records for drought. In order to provide grass and water we had to open all gates and allow the buffalo full roam of the grasslands rather than following a grazing program. Even with this our available feed was down by at least 50%, our hay supply very short and the wildlife population exploded, looking for feed. Our summer activities centered more around the ranch proper because of the fire hazard. Grass fires came within a mile of the ranch house. The gardens required twice the attention and watering. We had a good harvest with the assistance of our many volunteers. August was a month of preparation for the international sundance. People came from around the world to listen to the elders and participate in the ceremonies and teachings. This very special occasion even brought local visitors from our ranch community. This was a first and it opened doors to even greater relationships, more collaboration and understanding with our ranching neighbors. Our relationships with businesses and people of billings, our closest city, also grew. We had more visitors and more opportunities for support for maintenance of our fragile infrastructure and old vehicles. Winter came early, very cold with deep snow. Without the assistance of the heavy equipment and man power from our neighbors we would not have been able to get feed to the buffalo, contain them, or bring them through some of the worst blizzards to date. Fellow ranchers lost cattle and other livestock. Our buffalo lost weight but all came through. The year was remarkable. It gave a depth of meaning to all that sustains us.