For 113 years, Buche Foods of Wagner has provided fresh, quality food at a fair price. The Wagner, South Dakota company has a long history of operating in Native American country and reservation communities. When the lease of Pine Ridge’s only grocery store came up for bid, they saw an opportunity to not only serve but also provide an essential lifeline for the town.

The existing grocery store had a troubled history of dated food, health violations and even a shutdown, which put many lives at risk. Understanding the complexities of reservations and tribal rule, Buche Foods knew they had a great case to make, but also an uphill battle to be awarded the lease of the store.

HS assisted with a massive public relations effort to tell the Buche story and combat false stories. The campaign included a dedicated Facebook page, video, website, newspaper and radio buy, event planning and listening sessions, presentation proposals, testimonial coordination, speech writing, news releases, and a ready response effort.

The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted 10-4 to grant the store lease to Buche Food on November 9th.  And we think they made the right choice! Congratulations to RF and Buche Foods!