11 Tribes Unite for Yellowstone Buffalo on National Bison Day Shoshone Bannock Casino, Fort Hall Reservation, Idaho November 4-5, 2023 “We pray the spirit of the Buffalo is with us today and all days going forward.” - Chief Arvol Looking Horse 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe and Spiritual Leader of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Oyate |
| | For immediate Release: November 6, 2023 |
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Fort Hall, ID - On National Bison Day, Buffalo Field Campaign invited the Yellowstone affiliated tribes to express their perspectives on shared Tribal stewardship of Yellowstone Buffalo. Delegates from 11 sovereign nations came together at this historic summit to discuss this matter of paramount importance. Many indigenous languages-- Shoshone, Ute, Crow, Arapahoe, Northern Cheyenne, Cree, Nez Perce, Lakota/Dakots, and English—were used to speak in solidarity on the sacredness and importance of buffalo to the people and ecosystems of Turtle Island (North America). Indigenous Buffalo lifeways have many different specific names and words related and center around the buffalo. We heard literally hundreds of words about and for the buffalo in nine different indigenous languages and English. The Buffalo unify people of all tribal nations in the name of a shared goal: restoring wild buffalo to heal people and land. "The path Buffalo Field Campaign has chosen is to work with the tribes. We know that it will be Indigenous peoples who will step up to protect our relatives. We are honored to host the tribes and come together in song, dance and ceremony to honor the sacredness of Buffalo and our shared responsibility to them." - James Holt, BFC Executive Director |
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