Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) recognizes that for many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is observed as a Day of Mourning. This perspective acknowledges the devastating impact of colonialism, including the near-extermination of buffalo as part of broader efforts to suppress Native peoples and their way of life. BFC connects its mission to protect Yellowstone’s wild buffalo with these themes, emphasizing the sacred relationship between buffalo and Indigenous cultures. We actively support Native sovereignty and treaty rights, advocating for holistic approaches to coexistence with wild buffalo in alignment with Indigenous life ways, traditional ecological knowledge, and environmental restoration efforts​. Our work is tied to a broader commitment to truth, reconciliation, and addressing the legacy of oppression tied to colonial history. It's an honor to work with Native people's to help restore wild buffalo to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

A Visit To Wind River
By Culutral Historian, Leon Aliski

Paha Sapa, the Black Hills, the “Heart of Everything That Is,” is considered sacred by the Oceti Sakowin Oyate (People of the Seven Council Fires), comprised of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota nations. Paha Sapa is the place of emergence for many Indigenous nations, and where the Buffalo first migrated through Buffalo Gap onto the plains.

There are countless places of ceremony and prayer that have been held in trust for future generations since time immemorial, including Wind Cave, the place of emergence. While a visitor center (managed by the National Park Service) provides storyboards that explain the cultural significance of the site, South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance (SDNTA) envisions that these cultural narratives and creation stories will also be told to the general public in a more traditional and culturally appropriate manner.

Frank Kills In Water, Chairman of SDNTA, reminds everyone that these creation stories were passed down from generation to generation through oral tradition by storytellers. Still today, Oceti Sakowin people aspire to tell their stories in their own voices, with the vocal rhythms, timing, tone, intonations, and all the storyteller’s physical gestures; they do not want people to learn these stories solely from reading a signboard or as written text translations.

For this reason, SDNTA has begun training guides who can share their Native histories and creation stories. One of those guides is Tianna Yellow Hair (Oglala Lakota/Northern Cheyenne), a SDNTA board member who owns Tatanka Rez Tourz, a licensed Native-owned and operated tour guide service on the Pine Ridge Reservation. In this way, Oceti Sakowin people have begun renewing and sharing their own histories and culture.

National parks and forest lands were traditionally the homelands of Native peoples throughout the Americas. Most, if not all, Indigenous creation and emergence stories are connected to a particular place, mountain, river, valley, or place of emergence where events in creation stories have taken place. Many of these places are still considered culturally and spiritually significant such as Maka Oniye “breathing earth," or what has become known today as Wind Cave. As we visit these places, let us remind ourselves and remember their cultural and spiritual significance, for as they say in Lakota, “Taku ole ca iyeye,” “What you seek, you shall find.”

Leon Aliski, PhD is a cultural historian, BFC Buffalo Backbone Supporter, and project manager for Dean Runyan Associates, a firm that specializes in travel research. He attended the South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance Quarterly Meeting and Tourism Forum (November 12-13, 2024), hosted in partnership with Crazy Horse Memorial.

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This Giving Tuesday, join us in saving America’s last wild buffalo. The Yellowstone bison are a living connection to our history, sacred to Indigenous cultures, and a keystone species for their ecosystem. Yet, they face relentless threats—from habitat loss to unnecessary culling.

Buffalo Field Campaign works tirelessly to stop the slaughter of these iconic animals and ensure their survival. With your support, we can continue to:

• Advocate for permanent, year-round protections.
• Preserve their migratory routes and natural habitat.
• Stand with Native Nations to honor the sacred bond between buffalo and Indigenous traditions.

Every dollar you donate helps safeguard the future of Yellowstone’s wild herds. Your gift today creates a legacy of respect for wildlife and Indigenous sovereignty.

Together, we can ensure a thriving future for the Yellowstone buffalo.

Donate now to make a difference!

2025 Wild Bison Calendars Now Available!
Cyber Monday Special $10 each or 10 pack for $50!

Now in it’s fifteenth successful year, this beautiful calendar features the last continuously wild herds of bison in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Once numbering in the tens of millions, there are approximately 4,000 wild buffalo surviving today.

Wild Bison 2025 combines superb photographs, artwork, facts, poems, and writings about this magnificent North American mammal. Each month offers a seasonal look at bison, bison-related artwork, and highlights of their natural history.

This calendar is compiled, produced, and distributed by Buffalo Field Campaign, the only organization with a continuous presence in and around Yellowstone, monitoring and documenting the plight of wild bison in the field for the last 28 years.