The team at the Cheyenne River Youth Project experienced a thrill this fall when their brand-new beekeeping operation provided its first honey harvest. CRYP harvested roughly 40 pounds of honey in October, canned it and are selling it as Wičháyažipa Othí Wín Wičháyažipa Čhanhánpi (Honeycomb Woman Honey).
Julie Garreau, CRYP’s founder and chief executive officer, said she has dreamed about having bees and producing honey for years. In part, she explained, that is due to their symbiotic relationship with humankind.
“Quite simply, we wouldn’t exist without bees,” she said. “They’re responsible for pollinating the majority of the food that feed the world’s population. They are an essential and precious piece of the circle of life, which makes them a beautiful addition to the Native food sovereignty work we are doing here at CRYP.”
The honey’s name comes from a 2024 poem written by Taté Walker, a Lakota citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and an award-winning Two Spirit storyteller. They shared the poem during CRYP’s 10th annual RedCan Invitational Graffiti Jam in July, and Garreau said the entire staff loved the idea of giving this name to their new honey three months later.
Made possible with support from the Whole Kids Foundation and Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member Grady Kraft, CRYP’s beekeeping program started in June 2024 with 1,000 bees from Maine-based Gold Star Honeybees. Kraft helped staff members set up hives with nine pre-combed frames so the bees could get to work, and one frame with capped and uncapped honey so they could eat.
“That gave the bees everything they needed to make honey and also start having babies,” Garreau explained. “The queen lays eggs daily, so that steadily increases the number of bees in our colony.
“I quickly became mesmerized by their structure, their hierarchy and how they work to protect each other,” she continued. “They work together to create an environment in which they all can thrive. I have so much respect for them as I learn more.”
By August, the youth project had one brood box full of bees, eggs, larvae and winter stores and a second box that half full. Two months later, they discovered they could make their first harvest: nearly 40 pounds of honey, which became 87 half-pint jars.
Not only will the honey be sold through the Keya Gift Shop, CRYP’s signature social enterprise, it will be incorporated into meals and snacks at the “The Main” youth center for 4- to 12-year-olds and at the Cokata Wiconi (Center of Life) teen center for youth ages 13-18. It also will be used in programming like the Indigenous Cooking Teen Internship, where it can be incorporated into traditional foods like wasna and flat cedar tea.
“Honeycomb Woman Honey will allow our staff to teach our local youth about beekeeping, honey’s medicinal and economic value, and supporting honeybee populations as they face unprecedented stress,” Garreau said. “We all will continue to learn together, particularly as the bees dictate what we plant in the garden.
“The flowers we choose will give the honey a particular flavor,” she continued. “Our honey tastes different and so much better than what we can buy at the store. We extend our deepest gratitude to Grady Kraft for helping to make this dream come true.”
Garreau advised the youth project will maintain its beekeeping program at its Eagle Butte campus for now, but in the future, she hopes to move the bees to Wakanyeja Kin Wana Ku Pi (The Children Are Coming Home), CRYP’s organically certified property adjacent to sacred Bear Butte in rural Meade County.
To order CRYP’s Honeycomb Woman Honey and a variety of other locally grown food items, contact the office at (605) 964-8200. For a full list of artisanal and traditional foods available for purchase by phone, visit https://lakotayouth.org/shop/homemade-artisanal-and-traditional-foods/.
Non-food items can be purchased directly online through the Keya Gift Shop’s E-Store at https://lakotayouth.org/shop/. All purchases directly support CRYP’s youth programming and services on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.
To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project, founded in 1988, is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.