This holiday season, Running Strong is partnering with 5–10 communities across the country to make sure families have the ingredients they need for warm, nourishing holiday meals. From Pine Ridge to the Navajo Nation, the Cherokee Nation, and Standing Rock, our partners are working to uphold local traditions through food and community care.
Pine Ridge: Honoring Tradition Through Holiday Meal Baskets
On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Sacred Healing Circle (SHC) is preparing holiday meal baskets filled with ingredients for a healthy, traditional holiday dinner. As executive director, Dr. Yvette Running Horse Collin explains, these efforts are carried out “in a manner that respects and honors our traditional Lakota leadership structure.” For families and elders alike, these baskets help ensure that everyone can enjoy a warm, comforting meal during the holiday season.
Cherokee Nation: Community Gatherings Around a Shared Feast
In the Cherokee Nation, the Brushy Cherokee Action Association is planning a community meal that brings together teachers, students, families, and neighbors. Chairman Gary Bolin describes the feast as “a Native American tradition that allows participants to meet and greet and share stories with other community members.” The focus is simple: good food, fellowship, and cultural connection.
Supporting Holiday Tables With Turkeys and Meal Kits
Across South Dakota, Running Strong is also helping stock holiday tables by sending 1,648 twelve- to fourteen-pound turkeys to the Oyate Ta Kola Ku (OTKK) Community Center on Pine Ridge and the Eagle Butte Food Pantry on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.
At OTKK, families will also receive 200 Thanksgiving meal kits packed with apples, dinner rolls, carrots, green beans, potatoes, yams, butter, gravy mix, a frozen pie, a six-pound turkey breast, and a coupon for milk—everything needed for a complete, comforting holiday meal.
These holiday meals offer families a joyful moment at the table—one chance to feel some peace and happiness in the middle of an otherwise challenging time.