Yo'oriwa Ania Wildlife Sanctuary & Cultural Education Center
A Native-led Sanctuary
Yo’oriwa Ania Wildlife Sanctuary & Cultural Education Center is an Indigenous-governed nonprofit in North Texas dedicated to the care, protection, and understanding of Native mesocarnivores — specializing in raccoons, and providing vital support for Native wildlife.
Guided by Indigenous values of kinship and reciprocity, the sanctuary serves as a safe and healing space for orphaned and injured wildlife, with a focus on species often misunderstood and targeted by urban development and public misconception.
The Cultural Education Center weaves wildlife rehabilitation with Indigenous ecological knowledge, offering community workshops, youth programs, and hands-on learning about coexistence, habitat restoration, and traditional land stewardship. Through education and advocacy, Yo’oriwa Ania helps shift public attitudes toward compassion and respect for wildlife.
Governed under matriarchal leadership, the organization ensures that all decisions and practices honor the balance between human and non-human relatives, strengthening cultural sovereignty while protecting the land for future generations.
Our Mission
Yo’oriwa Ania Wildlife Sanctuary & Cultural Education Center exists to protect and restore balance between people, wildlife, and the land. Rooted in Indigenous governance and guided by matriarchal leadership, our mission is to provide compassionate care and rehabilitation for native wildlife—specializing in raccoons and supporting other Native wildlife—while sharing cultural and ecological knowledge that teaches respect, coexistence, and responsibility to the land. Through education, advocacy, and hands-on stewardship, we work to heal both the animals and the communities that depend on them, ensuring that future generations inherit a world where all beings can thrive together.
Our Vision
Our vision is a future where Indigenous leadership guides wildlife stewardship, and where every community lives in balance with the land and its animal nations. Yo’oriwa Ania envisions protected habitats across North Texas where raccoons, skunks, opossums, and other Native species can thrive freely, and where people learn to live as relatives, not rulers. Through education, restoration, and cultural renewal, we aim to rebuild relationships of respect and reciprocity—healing both the Earth and the spirit of the people.
