When The Buffalo Return
How Native Nations are reviving a sacred relationship once nearly destroyed
Near extinction: Tens of millions of buffalo once roamed North America, but by the late 1800s, government-backed slaughter reduced the herds to fewer than 1,000, part of a strategy to break Native nations.
Sacred relationship: For over 60 tribes, buffalo were not just food or shelter but sacred relatives at the heart of culture, ceremony, and identity.
Seeds of survival: Native peoples preserved songs, ceremonies, and the memory of buffalo until restoration became possible in the late 20th century.
The return: Today, 82 tribes manage more than 20,000 buffalo on over a million acres of land, reviving ecosystems, economies, and traditional foodways.
Healing & resilience: Each buffalo birth, like the calf born this year on the White Earth Reservation, symbolizes cultural renewal, survival, and hope for future generations.
On a crisp morning earlier this month, something extraordinary happened on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota: a buffalo calf was born.
For most readers, that may sound like a simple event. But for the Anishinaabe people, and for Native communities across the continent, this birth marked the return of a sacred relative absent for generations. It was more than the birth of an animal, it was history, healing, and resilience made flesh.
“This bison calf being born, it didn’t follow a script,” said Jack Heisler, White Earth Nation’s bison foreman. The young mother wasn’t “supposed” to give birth yet, but the calf came anyway, just as the movement to restore buffalo to Native lands has defied all odds.
Why Buffalo Matter
For thousands of years, more than 60 Native nations lived in relationship with buffalo. They weren’t “resources.” They were relatives.
Buffalo provided food, shelter, tools, and spiritual connection. Every part of the animal had a purpose. Their massive herds thundered across the Great Plains, shaping ecosystems and inspiring ceremonies, songs, and stories.
As Crow chief Plenty Coups once lamented, when the buffalo disappeared, “the hearts of my people fell to the ground, and they could not lift them up again.”
Buffalo weren’t just central to Native economies, they were central to Native identities.
The Great Slaughter
That’s what made the 1800s destruction so devastating. In the span of two decades, tens of millions of buffalo were reduced to fewer than 1,000. This wasn’t a byproduct of expansion, it was policy.
Military leaders like General Philip Sheridan openly encouraged extermination, believing that if the buffalo went, Native peoples would have no choice but to surrender their homelands and move to reservations.
It worked. Families who had lived in abundance became dependent on government rations. Ceremonies and languages were suppressed. An ecological massacre became a tool of cultural genocide.
By 1889, only 541 buffalo were left in all of North America.
Seeds of Return
Yet even in the darkest times, the bond endured. A handful of buffalo survived in Yellowstone, zoos, and private ranches. Native communities held on to the stories, songs, and ceremonies.
By the late 20th century, tribes began reclaiming buffalo herds. In 1990, the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) formed, uniting dozens of tribes around a vision to bring buffalo back not just as wildlife, but as relatives.
Today, 82 tribes steward more than 20,000 buffalo across a million acres of Native land. The herds are growing, and so is the movement.
A Modern Renaissance
In 2024 alone, more than 500 buffalo were transferred to Native lands. White Earth’s first calf was just one story among many.
In Texas, the Lipan Apache are using buffalo herding to heal generational trauma.
On Pine Ridge, Lakota ranchers are replacing cattle with buffalo, creating food systems that reflect traditional values.
In Montana and Wyoming, tribal herds are revitalizing grassland ecosystems.
This isn’t just about conservation. Buffalo restoration feeds people, creates jobs, revives ceremonies, and heals land.
Buffalo are a “keystone species.” Their grazing patterns shape entire ecosystems. Their presence restores biodiversity. For tribes, their return restores something even more important: cultural wholeness.
More Than Survival
Buffalo meat is healthier and more culturally appropriate than the processed foods forced onto reservations through federal programs. Tribes hold buffalo harvests that double as ceremonies, teaching young people that hunting is more than killing, it’s prayer, reciprocity, and responsibility.
Buffalo also create economic opportunity. From tourism to meat production, tribes are building sustainable enterprises rooted in cultural values. Unlike cattle, buffalo thrive naturally on grasslands with minimal intervention.
And above all, buffalo are sparking a cultural renaissance. Songs once whispered are sung again. Ceremonies once dormant are thriving. Elders are teaching traditional skills of tanning, processing, and honoring buffalo, ensuring that knowledge passes to the next generation.
The Challenges Ahead
The work isn’t simple. Reservations often lack the land base to sustain large herds. Infrastructure, fencing, water systems, veterinary care, is costly. And because all buffalo today descend from a tiny pool of survivors, preserving genetic diversity is critical.
But despite these challenges, momentum is on Native peoples’ side. Federal support is growing. Conservation groups are investing. And tribal youth are stepping up to lead herds into the future.
Healing in Motion
When White Earth Nation announced the birth of their calf, they called it “a sign of resilience, healing, and hope for future generations.”
That’s exactly what buffalo restoration represents. A healing of land. A healing of spirit. A healing of relationships torn apart by colonization.
The buffalo’s return is a reminder that destruction is never the final story. With patience and care, relationships can be restored, cultures can be renewed, and futures can be rewritten.
The herds are coming home. And with them, the heart of Native America beats strong once again.
If you’ve never seen buffalo up close, picture this: a living symbol of survival thundering across prairie grass, carrying centuries of memory in its steps. For Native peoples, their return isn’t just about conservation, it’s about justice, healing, and the chance to dream again.