Bison

I.A INTRODUCTION

I.B. CASE SUMMARY:

The American buffalo (bison) is of significant importance to the American Indian people, representing their spirit and recalling them of their free and harmonious life with nature. In order to subdue the western tribal nations in the 1800’s, the white-man destroyed existing buffalos and this led to a reduction in buffalos from over 60million to only a few hundred. (ITBC, 2008)

The necessity to restore these buffalos, spirit and way of life of these people became imminent as the destruction of these buffalos disrupted their self-sufficient lifestyle. Thus, tribes began to sign treaties with the U.S Government so as to protect their land and buffalos for future generations. Some tribes or tribal members have been engaged in the production of buffalo for sale, subsistence and for cultural use but there has been little collaboration or cooperation between these tribes or individuals. This led to the formation of the Inter Tribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) in 1990.

This Cooperative was formed to coordinate and assist tribes in returning the buffalo to Indian country. A meeting was subsequently hosted by the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society and due to this Society’s drive and hard work, Congress appropriated funding for tribal bison programs in June 1991. This represented a potential restoration of tribal values and preservation of the bison. In April 1992, the ITBC officially became a recognized non-profit tribal organization and later in September of that same year, ITBC was incorporated in Colorado with its headquarters in Rapid City, South Dakota. (ITBC, 2008)

59 tribes make up the ITBC and have a collective herd of over 15,000 bison. The historical numbers of bison range from about 30,000,000 to 100,000,000. Many of the numbers are mere guesses. Probably the most scientifically-done estimate is 30,000,000, and it was done by Dale Lott (2003; American Bison; University of California Press, Berkeley,...