A treaty has been signed among several aboriginal tribes straddling the Canada US border in an effort to increase the numbers of bison.
The “Buffalo Treaty” is to allow the free flow of the animals across the international border and restore the bison’s central role in the food, spirituality and economies of several western American Indian tribes and native reserves in Canada, more commonly referred to as First Nations.
Bison once roamed the western prairies of Canada and the US Midwest in the millions. Unchecked hunting , primarily for hides, left the US herds virtually eliminated with only about 325 left in the US and about 1000 in Canada.
“This is a historic moment that we hope will translate into a conservation movement among Great Plains Tribes,” said Keith Aune, director of bison programmes with the Wildlife Conservation Society and chairman of the bison specialist group for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Leroy Little Bear, a member of southern Alberta Blood Tribe who helped lead the signing ceremony says, “The idea is, hey, if you see buffalo in your everyday life, a whole bunch of things will come back to you,” Little Bear who is also a professor emeritus of Native American studies at the University of Lethbridge adds “Hunting practices, ceremonies, songs — those things revolved around the buffalo. Sacred societies used the buffalo as a totem. All of these things are going to be revised, revitalized, renewed with the presence of buffalo.”
He said the treaty has been in the making for about five years.
“The buffalo brings about an ecological balance,” said Littlebear. “In other words, when the buffalo is not there, a lot of plants, animals, birds disappear. When it’s there, they seem to come back. It has a very different grazing pattern than beef cattle, for instance.”
The plan to restore freely roaming bison, also known as buffalo among native groups, could also involve Canada’s Banff National park which plans to re-introduce about 30-50 animals in the back-country in a five year pilot programme, with eventually up to almost 1,000.
With the treaty, the hopes are to re-introduce bison to the collective native –controlled territory which collectively make up more than 2.6 million hectares throughout the U.S. and Canada.
There has been resistance to the re-introduction of bison in the US state of Montana by cattle ranchers who say the bison would compete for grass and possibly transmit disease to their herds.
Because of that opposition, the plan is expected to take several more years before substantial free roaming bison herds will be seen in Canada’s Rocky Mountain and Great Plains areas of North America
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.