Bison and calves, Wolakota Buffalo Range, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. © WWF-US / Clay Bolt
In Ken Burns’ two-part documentary, The American Buffalo, the bison’s tale is interwoven with the recent history of the Indigenous Peoples of North America who, like the bison, were pushed to the brink of annihilation by the westward expansion of European settlers and their descendants. Since those grim days, bison and Native people have charted a course of survival and resurgence against staggering odds. In recent decades, people of Native Nations have begun to write a new chapter for themselves and the bison—one that spells a more prosperous future for both people and nature.
The end of the 19th century saw the bison, once 30-60 million strong, slaughtered until only a few hundred remained. Conservationists—including Indigenous people—successfully restored the plains bison to a population of approximately 45,000 in Tribal and conservation herds. Of those, 20,000 are managed in the public interest by governments and environmental organizations, and an estimated 25,000 are managed by Native Nations.
Bison and calves, Wolakota Buffalo Range, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. © WWF-US / Clay Bolt
And yet, as the Ken Burns documentary notes, “Being saved from extinction is not the same as being wild and free.” There remains much work to be done, but Native Nations working to restore bison to their lands are a cornerstone of the species’ recovery. Since 2014, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has partnered in Native Nation-led efforts in the Northern Great Plains to reintroduce or expand bison herds on Tribal lands, while also delivering ecological, economic and community benefits guided by local vision and needs.
Bison and calves, Wolakota Buffalo Range, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. © WWF-US / Clay Bolt
On the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, Sicangu Co, the economic arm of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, secured 28,000 acres of grassland for the establishment of the Wolakota Buffalo Range. This initiative has quickly become one of the largest Native-owned and managed bison herds on the continent, with a capacity to support up to 1,500 bison. Once completed, the project will expand the Native-owned bison population by 7% across the US.
On Montana’s Fort Peck Reservation, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes are growing their Tribal bison herd and associated community programs to contribute to the health and well-being of their people and the bison. Fort Peck’s buffalo program has demonstrated true vision and leadership as they manage a facility that is key to holding and redistributing Yellowstone bison to Native Nations across the continent.
Bison and calves, Wolakota Buffalo Range, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. © WWF-US / Clay Bolt
Finally, 180 miles to the west, the Fort Belknap Indian Community is restoring thousands of acres of native grasslands by reseeding cropland that was ill-suited for cultivation but will serve as vital bison habitat for herd expansion efforts once native grasses and forbs take hold. Aaniiih Nakoda College, Fort Belknap’s Tribal College, is establishing the ʔíítaanɔ́ɔ́nʔí/Tataģa (Buffalo) Research and Education Center and delivering a bachelor’s degree program in Aaniiih Nakoda Ecology that merges Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western science to foster future leaders in wildlife and land management on their lands and beyond.
These bison restoration efforts draw from the connections that Native Nations of the Plains have shared with these iconic animals since time immemorial, in a relationship that demonstrates that the health and well-being of people and the natural world can be one and the same. Bison evolved with North America’s grasslands and their presence and behaviors enrich them, supporting diverse flora and fauna. Their wallowing behavior crafts depressions in the earth that serve as watering holes for other creatures, fostering a thriving grassland ecosystem that provides numerous benefits to people near and far, including the storage of vast amounts of carbon that would otherwise contribute to planetary warming.
Bison and calves, Wolakota Buffalo Range, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. © WWF-US / Clay Bolt
The return of the bison is a testament to the resilience of Native Nations and the lands they have conserved, which are now supporting the return of bison. Bringing bison back is about restoring sacred connections, Nation building, reviving age-old traditions and establishing new ones, and ensuring that future generations inherit a world where bison roam and their people thrive. The thunder of bison hooves, nearly silenced forever over a century ago, has returned to the Great Plains, serving as a clarion call for renewal, unity and hope.
Bison and calves, Wolakota Buffalo Range, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. © WWF-US / Clay Bolt