{"id":39874,"date":"2026-03-06T00:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/more-than-1500-buffalo-returned-to-tribal-nations-in-2025\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T00:15:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:15:17","slug":"more-than-1500-buffalo-returned-to-tribal-nations-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/more-than-1500-buffalo-returned-to-tribal-nations-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 1,500+ buffalo returned to Tribal Nations in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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RAPID CITY, S.D. \u2014More than 20 Tribal Nations welcomed more than 1,500 buffalo, also known as American bison, back to ancestral grazing lands and their communities last year, the InterTribal Buffalo Council announced today.<\/p>\n

The transfers were completed by the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) with support from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver Mountain Parks, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and The Wilds in Ohio.<\/p>\n

ITBC\u2019s goal is to restore buffalo as a keystone species, which plays a crucial role in spiritual and cultural revitalization, ecological restoration and conservation, food sovereignty, health and economic development for Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuffalo remain central to the spiritual, cultural, ecological, and economic life of Native Communities,\u201d ITBC\u2019s Board President Ervin Carlson said. \u201cThe restoration of buffalo is not only a natural resource effort but a profound act of cultural healing and Tribal sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n

ITBC is comprised of 89 Member Nations that now manage more than 25,000 buffalo across 22 states.<\/p>\n

In 2025, ITBC coordinated the return of more than 1,500 buffalo from public, private and Tribal lands to the following Tribal Nations:
\n\u2022 Blackfeet Nation (MT)
\n\u2022 Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (SD)
\n\u2022 Crow Tribe (MT)
\n\u2022 Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (MN)
\n\u2022 Kalispel Tribe of Indians (WA)
\n\u2022 The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes (ND)
\n\u2022 Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (WI)
\n\u2022 Modoc Nation (OK)
\n\u2022 Northern Cheyenne Tribe (MT)
\n\u2022 Oglala Sioux Tribe (SD)
\n\u2022 Oneida Nation (WI)
\n\u2022 Osage Nation (OK)
\n\u2022 Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (OK)
\n\u2022 Pit River Tribe (CA)
\n\u2022 Quapaw Nation (OK)
\n\u2022 Rosebud Sioux Tribe (SD)
\n\u2022 Seneca-Cayuga Nation (OK)
\n\u2022 Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (MN)
\n\u2022 Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SD)
\n\u2022 Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (ND)
\n\u2022 White Earth Nation (MN)
\n\u2022 Yankton Sioux Tribe (SD)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Nature Conservancy is a proud partner of ITBC\u2019s efforts,\u201d said Corissa Busse, director of TNC\u2019s Buffalo Restoration Program, which provided more than 500 buffalo to ITBC in 2025 from preserves in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma. \u201cThe restoration of buffalo to Tribal Nations is essential for their communities and for the health of our remaining prairies and grasslands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffalo restoration is more than a logistical activity\u2014it is a sovereign expression of cultural renewal, ecological healing, and the restoration of a sacred relationship disrupted by forced removal, federal extermination policies, land dispossession, and historical trauma.<\/p>\n

The presence of buffalo, which can weigh upwards of 2,000 lbs., helps build resilience against a changing climate. Bison hooves work the ground to create space for new plants to grow, their droppings provide nutrients for soil microorganisms, and native grass seeds can stick to their fur and disperse as the animals move across the land. Their grazing behavior and the effects they have on the prairie help a wide range of wildflowers, plants, insects and amphibians to flourish.<\/p>\n

The InterTribal Buffalo Council\u2019s surplus buffalo translocation work continues to be one of the most visible, impactful, and culturally important support provided to its 89 Member Nations.<\/p>\n

In addition to returning buffalo to Tribal Nations, ITBC also provides technical assistance, program development, youth and cultural programming and national conservation leadership.<\/p>\n

About The InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC)<\/strong><\/p>\n

ITBC is a federally chartered Tribal organization, formed in 1992 as a gathering of 17 Tribes. Today, it has a membership of 89 Tribal Nations and growing every year, sharing a mission to restore buffalo to Indian Country to preserve our historical, cultural, traditional, and spiritual relationship for future generations. To reestablish healthy buffalo populations on Tribal lands is to reestablish hope for Indian people. Returning buffalo to Tribal lands will help to heal the land, the animal, and the spirit of Indian people.<\/p>\n

Media contacts:
\n<\/strong>Alicia Nevaquaya, InterTribal Buffalo Council, alicia@itbcbuffalonation.org; (918) 699-9850
\nChris Anderson, The Nature Conservancy, canderson@tnc.org, (612) 845-2744<\/p>\n

The post More than 1,500+ buffalo returned to Tribal Nations in 2025<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0 RAPID CITY, S.D. \u2014More than 20 Tribal Nations welcomed more than 1,500 buffalo, also known as American bison, back to ancestral grazing lands and their communities last year, the InterTribal Buffalo Council announced today. The transfers were completed by the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) with support from The Nature <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a>
Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> March 6, 2026<\/p>\n

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