Colorado recognizes buffalo as wildlife

DENVER—With the passage of Senate Bill 25-053, Colorado has become the first state in the country to formally recognize the role bison extermination played in the U.S. government’s efforts to destroy the sovereignty and survival of tribal nations. The legislation reclassifies bison as wildlife—unless privately held or tribally managed—and includes explicit language acknowledging the historical trauma inflicted on American Indians through the mass slaughter of their primary food source.

This bill echoes the efforts of the Shoshone at Wind River who have spent a decade trying to reintroduce bison to their reservation as wildlife.

Although the bill may never have any practical application, as wild bison roaming near civilized areas is not a good idea, the acknowledgement of what happened to the bison, and why, and the devastating impact it had on the people who depended on the bison for their survival, is a first-in-the-nation attempt to acknowledge and apologize for this historical wrongdoing.

The bill, signed into law last week by Governor Jared Polis, marks a seismic shift in how Colorado defines and manages one of the continent’s most iconic species. Starting January 1, 2026, wild bison will be afforded the same protections and regulatory oversight as elk, moose, and other big game, signaling what supporters call a long-overdue correction to a centuries-old injustice.

“This action represents a step toward making amends for the attempted genocide of American Indians through the eradication of their food source, the bison,” the legislation states. According to longtime Indigenous policy expert Rick Williams, the bill marks “the first time in the history of the Colorado legislature that they have recognized the genocide in the history of the state.”

At its heart, SB25-053 is an acknowledgment that the near-extinction of bison in the 19th century was not merely an ecological catastrophe but a deliberate campaign of cultural warfare. As laid out in the bill’s legislative findings, U.S. military authorities were authorized to decimate bison herds as part of a broader policy to force Plains tribes into submission and onto reservations.

The bill quotes Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, who infamously declared, “Kill every buffalo you can! Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone.” The bill links this doctrine directly to the forced removal of tribal nations from their ancestral lands in Colorado and the surrounding Plains.

Between 1830 and 1870, an estimated 30 million bison were killed, often for sport or to rot on the prairie. By Colorado’s statehood in 1876, only a few hundred remained south of the Platte River. The coordinated campaign, as the bill documents, was a means to sever Native communities from the animal that provided them with food, shelter, clothing, spiritual guidance, and cultural cohesion.

The reclassification effort begins with a legal pivot: unless specifically raised as livestock or held in tribal or private captivity, bison will now be classified as wildlife. This change empowers the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to manage the species like any other game animal.

Rick Williams, whose group, People of the Sacred Land, has been advocating for bison protections for years, says this legal reframing isn’t just symbolic. “It means buffalo are no longer viewed as meat on the hoof, as indistinguishable from cattle,” he said. “It means their cultural and spiritual significance must be taken into account when decisions are made.”

The bill’s passage is the result of cooperation among tribal advocates, lawmakers, environmental groups, and municipal allies, including officials from the City and County of Denver. “We had many allies who worked tirelessly behind the scenes,” Williams noted. “The real legislative champions were Senators Jessie Danielson and Representatives Junie Joseph and Elizabeth Velasco. Monyka Snowbird did the real work of herding all of us—special thanks to her.”

The measure emerged from the work of the American Indian Affairs Interim Study Committee, which consulted tribal voices and emphasized restoring dignity to both buffalo and the Indigenous people who revere them.

The law also sets aside $75,000 in funding for the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife to implement wildlife operations related to the reclassification, per the appropriation in Section 6.

Although the law does not mandate bison reintroduction, it clears legal obstacles that have long hindered coordinated restoration. “If the state of Colorado and the people of Colorado can reintroduce wolves,” Williams observed, “it would seem a natural and positive environmental action to reintroduce buffalo.”

Williams added that the southern herd in Colorado was once estimated at over five million animals. He cautioned that any population growth must avoid reducing buffalo to livestock: “They don’t need a boarding school experience to thrive.”

Among Indigenous communities, buffalo are more than animals; they are kin. The legislation affirms that bison remain integral to ceremonies such as the Sundance and the White Buffalo Calf Woman teachings, practices that continue today and shape tribal identity and health.

Notably, the law contains key exemptions:

• Tribal sovereignty is preserved. Bison owned or managed by federally recognized tribes are excluded from the state’s wildlife designation. This ensures that tribal governments retain full authority over bison herds held on their lands.

• Privately owned bison remain under livestock designation, maintaining existing agricultural and commercial operations.

This balance avoids regulatory conflicts and respects existing bison enterprises while carving out a new legal category for herds living in the wild or managed by public entities.

For many Native leaders, the bill offers a rare glimpse of justice moving forward rather than retreating. “We anticipate making an announcement that will help us achieve some of our goals,” Williams added, while emphasizing caution and perseverance. “We will follow the advice of our ancestors and never give up.”

Ultimately, the bill reframes Colorado’s relationship with a species long treated as a commodity, instead embracing its ecological, cultural, and legal complexity. As the text makes plain, “This action represents a step toward making amends.”

(James Giago Davies is an enrolled member of OST. Contact him at skindiesel@msn.com)

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