A Historic Harvest: A Special Gathering for the Third Annual Buffalo Harvest
This year marked the third annual Southern Plains Buffalo Harvest, hosted by the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project. 2025 was a milestone year, as we celebrated the reclamation of 150 acres of ancestral homeland in Floresville, Texas—land with deep significance to the Lipan Apache, Coahuiltecano, Carrizo Comecrudo, and Southern Plains Buffalo peoples.
Relive the Harvest:
Read how matriarchs reclaimed space, tradition, and leadership during this year’s harvest—on the very land our ancestors once walked.
Help Us Reclaim Our Ancestral Homeland
Your donation will directly support this important work—ensuring the land is protected, nourished, and passed down to future generations. As we work to repay The Conservation Fund and secure this land for good, we invite you to be part of this historic reclamation.
Meet our 2025 Guest Panelists
As part of this special gathering, we are proud to host Tipi Talks, an exclusive space by and for Indigenous women to share stories, knowledge, and vision for the future.
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TTBP FOUNDER & CEO
Lucille is the CEO and founder of the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, an organization dedicated to buffalo conservation, regenerative agriculture, and reconnecting Texas lineal descendants to their heritage. As a trailblazer in the field, Lucille leads the only known women-led bison ranching operation in Texas and is committed to preserving Indigenous foodways and community sovereignty.
A graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder with an Arts Degree, Lucille brings a unique blend of academic and artistic insight and hands-on experience to her work. She is also a James Beard Fellow, a professional development program for emerging food suppliers. The program helps fellows gain skills and visibility. In addition to her agricultural expertise, Lucille is self-taught in IT, a skill that has allowed her to enhance the organization's operations and outreach.
A proud Lipan Apache and Mexica descendant, Lucille is also an Aztec dancer with Grupo Tlaloc, an aztec dance group based in Denver, Colorado, further reflecting her dedication to preserving and honoring Indigenous traditions.
Under her leadership, the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project has developed innovative programs such as "Meat for Mamas," which provides nutrient-rich bison meat to expecting mothers, ensuring baby and mama stay healthy. The organization is also proud to be the only bison producer that accepts EBT, ensuring access to healthy, traditional food while shipping bison products across Turtle Island.
Lucille's visionary approach continues to shape the future of Indigenous-led agriculture, fostering sustainability and community empowerment through every initiative.
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TTBP RANCH MANAGER
Denise Lozano (she/her/ella) is the passionate and dedicated Ranch Manager at the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, where she plays a vital role in the conservation and stewardship of buffalo. Before joining the project, she ran her own successful business, Lozano Handywoman Services, in San Antonio, Texas, refining her problem-solving skills and craftsmanship.
With a background as a massage therapist, Denise brings a unique understanding of hands-on care—not just for people, but now for the majestic buffalo she tends to daily. As an emerging expert in bison care, she is quickly becoming a respected figure in the field, guided by her deep reverence for these sacred animals. Many of her handywoman skills are self-taught, a
testament to her determination, ingenuity, and adaptability.
Denise is of Lipan Apache descent, which deeply connects her work to the land and the buffalo. Her heritage informs her approach, blending traditional knowledge with modern conservation techniques to honor the resilience of both the animals and the people she serves. Whether she’s repairing ranch infrastructure, caring for the herd, or sharing her wisdom, Denise’s unwavering dedication and vibrant energy shine through in all she does.
Denise Lozano (she/her/ella) is the passionate and dedicated Ranch Manager at the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, where she plays a vital role in the conservation and stewardship of buffalo. Before joining the project, she ran her own successful business, Lozano Handywoman Services, in San Antonio, Texas, refining her problem-solving skills and craftsmanship.
With a background as a massage therapist, Denise brings a unique understanding of hands-on care—not just for people, but now for the majestic buffalo she tends to daily. As an emerging expert in bison care, she is quickly becoming a respected figure in the field, guided by her deep reverence for these sacred animals. Many of her handywoman skills are self-taught, a
testament to her determination, ingenuity, and adaptability.
Denise is of Lipan Apache descent, which deeply connects her work to the land and the buffalo. Her heritage informs her approach, blending traditional knowledge with modern conservation techniques to honor the resilience of both the animals and the people she serves. Whether she’s repairing ranch infrastructure, caring for the herd, or sharing her wisdom, Denise’s unwavering dedication and vibrant energy shine through in all she does.
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TTBP TXIndigiDNA PROJECT LEAD
Dr. Vivian Delgado (Yoeme/Tiwa-Tewa) is a professor dedicated to Indigenous Studies. She played a key role in creating a four-year Indigenous Studies degree at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota, focusing on decolonization, social justice awareness, and transformative processes.
Currently, she works primarily as a researcher and consultant for the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project and several treaty councils. Dr. Delgado leads the TXIndigiDNA project, focusing on research, cultural preservation of the Lipan Apache, and community outreach initiatives.
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TTBP FUNDRAISING AND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
Seed-Keeper, Sobadora/Huesera
Born in unceded Coahuiltecan, Lipan Apache, and Estok G’na territories—known as Yanawana (San Antonio, TX)—Alexas is a Two-Spirit Guaní (Taino), Coahuiltecan, Guachichil, and Black woman. She shares, “I have cultivated a deeper relationship with seeds, birthwork, health, and the land through my culture. I believe that through a harmonious relationship with nature, we can begin to restore equilibrium, as individuals and as a human collective.”
Alexas is a land steward, birthworker, herbalist, seed-keeper, farmer, and food sovereignty advocate. She is the director and co-founder of the Traditional Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Healing and the Indigenous Land Conservation Council, as well as the owner of f l x s: healing-informed support services. She is deeply committed to the preservation and restoration of Indigenous life-ways, carrying forward teachings received through Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge practices and mentorship.
Her life work is devoted to the preservation and restoration of Indigenous life-ways.
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CHEF & SANA ROOTS CO-FOUNDER
Chef Reb Mari (she/they) is a Yanaguana-based, Two – Spirit Tejana with a passion for ancestral healing through food, art, and activism. Reb possesses an invigorating spirit of initiative that is deeply interwoven in cultura and indigenous roots.
They are the chef and owner of the highly acclaimed and nationally recognized La Botanica SA. In addition, a danzate with Danza Coyolxauhqui, a member of The Ballet Folklorico en Azltan and a CEO of Sana Roots Co.
Reb is a changemaker and trendsetter, always centering healing in their work.
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TTBP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Izel Lopez has been with the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project (TTBP) since 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Native American Studies from the University of the Incarnate Word.
An enrolled member of the Tap-Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, Izel lives in Atascosa, Texas, with her husband and three children. Together, they raise Wagyu/Angus cattle, pigs, and chickens, practicing sustainable agriculture. Their goal is to instill in their children the importance of a healthy food system while demonstrating how traditional practices can be integrated to sustain and enhance it for future generations.
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CEO & FOUNDER
NIB ranch is nestled on 11 acres of indigenous Lipan Apache land 15 miles west of present-day Fort Clark / Brackettville Texas in Kinney County. CEO and founder of NIB Mande' Gonzales Garcia Davalos and her Lipan Apache family roots run deep in Brackettville Texas predating 1700's. NIB strives to honor our ancestors and to bring much needed healing to our indigenous communities thru prayer, tradition, ceremonies, indigenous foods and education.
The Lipan Apache living peacefully along Los Moras springs in Brackettville were removed from their ancestorial lands along the springs once Fort Clark was in place in 1852 cutting the Lipan Apache off from one of their major water supplies and many sacred holy sites. Several Lipan families remained in Brackettville including Mande's family after Fort Clark was completed and have remained on our ancestral homelands since time immemorial despite the Governments attempt of total annihilation and mass extermination of all Apache in Texas. Mande' and her family are survivors of many raids including Mackenzie’s Raid in El Remolino on May 18, 1873. Not all Lipan survivors were taken to Mescalero or Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania as the victors claim in their memoirs, instead many surviving Lipans remained in Brackettville Texas hiding in plain sight.
~Decedents of broken treaty signer Nanta an’ (Chief) Cuelgas de Castro. ( Live Oak Treaty, January 8, 1838 Ratified December 19, 1838 ; Tehuacama Creek Treaty October 9, 1844 Adopted January 24, 1845, Ratified May 15, 1846; 9 Stat. 844, Presidential proclamation March 8, 1847).
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