The bison battles in Montana continued Wednesday. As Republicans decried the move by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, to move genetically pure bison from Yellowstone National Park to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Schweitzer visited the National Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation to discuss transporting more Yellowstone bison there.

Missoulian reporter Vince Devlin was with Schweitzer at the range:

MOIESE – A dozen or so bison, chased by hollering horseback riders, thundered down a hillside at the National Bison Range Tuesday, oblivious to the human battles taking place in their name.

The “mini-roundup,” as Bison Range manager Jeff King explained, had a purpose – to cull out four of the animals for placement in a display pasture near the Visitor Center.
But it was timed to coincide with a visit by Gov. Brian Schweitzer and federal officials the governor has verbally sparred with over wildlife management decisions in recent months.
Specifically, the U.S. Department of Interior in December initially turned down Schweitzer’s proposal to relocate dozens of what the governor called “brucellosis-free, genetically pure” bison captured outside Yellowstone National Park to the Bison Range.

At the time, Schweitzer called the Bison Range herd “genetically impure mongrels” and blocked the Interior Department from transporting fish or wildlife anywhere within the state or across state lines in response.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: bison, Department of the Interior, Flathead Indian Reservation, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Jeff King, Missoulian, National Bison Range, vince devlin

Sixty four genetically pure bison arrived on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation this week, the Montana Associated Press reports.

Restoring the animal to the area was heralded by tribal members there, which long fought to move some of the herd from Yellowstone National Park.

The move didn’t come without contention. Ranchers in the area have long protested the move due to brucellosis and rangeland damage concerns.

But the Fort Peck Tribes and state government officials reach an agreement late last week to move the bison and wasted no time in transporting them Monday to the northeastern corner of the state.

Fort Peck Chairman Floyd Azure responded Monday night by saying that the state has no jurisdiction now that the bison are on the reservation.

“Now that they’re here, they are here to stay,” Azure said.
For the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck, tribal leaders said the relocation offers a chance to revive their connection with an animal that historically provided food, clothing and shelter for their ancestors.

The trip from Yellowstone was capped by a welcoming caravan of tribal members who fell into line behind the trailers that carried the bison across the Missouri River and onto the reservation.

A drum group gathered to sing a traditional song of welcome as the bison were unloaded in a field 25 miles north of Poplar.

“This has deep spiritual meaning for us. They are the sole survivors from our ancestors,” said Leland Spotted Bird, a Dakota tribal elder and spiritual leader.

Associated Press reporter Matt Volz has the full story.

Jenna Cederberg

Tags: bison, fort peck, fort peck tribal council, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, matt volz, Yellowstone National Park

Thanks to a quick, mild winter, few of the bison that normally migrate out of Yellowstone National Park haven’t traveled beyond the park’s boundaries this year.

That means Native hunters have had few opportunities to bag the beasts, as Brett French of the Billings Gazette reports.

As a result, Nez Perce tribal members who have driven hundreds of miles from Idaho to hunt bison have chosen instead to shoot elk outside the park’s northern boundary near Gardiner, as allowed under their treaty rights, rather than go home with no meat.

That hunting season ended Saturday. Some are worried that the hunts have eaten away at an elk herd with already dwindling numbers, which some say is due to wolf introduction.

Chris Kelly said tribal members are killing elk from an already severely depressed Northern Yellowstone herd. At last count in December, the herd numbered just over 4,600, a drop from their peak of 19,000 decades earlier. Numbers from this year have not yet been compiled; the count was taken Wednesday.

. . .

Bill Hoppe, a Gardiner hunting outfitter who lives on Eagle Creek near where the elk have been shot recently, said there’s no point in complaining about the situation.

“They can kiss this northern herd goodbye,” he said. “I don’t see any way they can come back.”

Hoppe said he has seen around 70 bull elk cross the road near his house this entire winter, compared with 100 bulls in one group before wolves were reintroduced.

Jenna Cederberg

Tags: bison, brett french, elk, migration, Nez Perce, Wolves, Yellowstone National Park

By Jesse Abernathy, Native Sun News Editor

PINE RIDGE RESERVATION – In a case eerily reminiscent of the recent turmoil on the Cheyenne River Reservation stemming from that tribe’s near loss of its buffalo herd in a legal battle, the Oglala Sioux Tribe is currently in search of some missing buffalo.

Reports started circulating last month that the tribe’s buffalo herd count was off by approximately 100-150 head, though estimates are wildly inconsistent. It is also unclear how many total head of the traditionally revered creatures the tribe actually owns.

The tribal administration’s lack of accountability for the livestock has sent a shockwave of disbelief and speculation throughout this large, landlocked island community. Many residents will not speak publicly about the controversy for fear of retaliation by those in charge of both internal and external governmental dealings.

The case is being jointly investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services.

According to some tribal members, deputies from the nearby Sheridan County Sheriff’s Department in Nebraska shot and killed a few of the tribe’s roaming buffalo near Gordon, which lies some 40 miles to the south of the intermingled Pine Ridge Reservation and South Dakota borders.

Not so, says Sheridan County Sheriff Terry Robbins.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: bison, jesse abernathy, Native Sun News, Oglala Sioux Tribe

High school students in a South Dakota town are helping to bring bison back, thanks to a program that encourages consumption of the sacred animal through cooking and other classes.

As Kristi Eaton of the Associated Press reports, the program is also inspiring a reconnection to culture.

The program was started by Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe and South Dakota State University researchers at Flandreau Indian School.

The school began preparing school meals with fresh bison meat last year as part of the pilot project.

Nearly 20 professors across five departments at SDSU are involved in the project, which they hope will be used as a model among other tribes trying to revive the demand for bison.

Although bison tastes a bit different — some think it has a sweeter, richer flavor than beef — Flandreau Indian School senior Dillon Blackbird said he prefers school meals served with bison because it’s “real meat.”

One of more than 30 students from the Flandreau Indian School to take part in cooking workshops with bison as the main ingredient, Blackbird said he now knows how to whip up his own dishes with bison, which has less fat and fewer calories than beef.

“I make basic stuff: tacos, enchiladas, spaghetti, lasagna,” Blackbird said.

SDSU researchers want other teenagers to follow Blackbird’s lead, creating a market within the tribe for the next 40 to 50 years and changing the way members think about the animal.

Jenna Cederberg

Tags: bison, bison meat, buffalo burgers, flandreau, flandreau indian school, Flandreau santee sioux tribe, South Dakota, star tribune

Because this is the Buffalo Post, here is a list of some of the top bison stories posted here in 2011.

White bison continue to awe
The oldest known white bison walked on in October.

But when Lightning Medicine Cloud was born in Texas, it was cause for great celebration.

Bison meat is very, very popular these days
An Associated Press story this year highlighted the struggle bison ranchers are having to keep up with demand for the meat.

And even as the price for the sweeter, leaner meat from the animals keeps going up, consumers keep paying the cash.

Managing bison made headlines a several times
In Montana, several tribes and the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks department started down the road to writing better regulation rules for disease-free bison.

Celebrating its 103rd birthday this year, the National Bison Range also was a news topic as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe battles for a management role at the range.

Hunting the great beasts is always on the radar
A great bison hunting story this year came out of Oregon, where the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation regained the chance to hunt bison for the first time in 100 years.

Tags: 2011, 2011 year in review, bison, buffalo bost, lightning medicine cloud, National Bison Range, White bison, year in review

The PBS series “Independent Lens” has picked up “Facing the Storm: Story of the American Bison,” for its fall run. The film was directed by Doug Hawes-Davis, who through the movie tells the story of the bison’s fight to remain wild in the hills of the west as humans did their best to drive the animals to extinction.

ICTMN reports that the film, made in coordination with Missoula, Mont.-based High Plains films, will be shown on PBS sometime this fall.

Using archival materials and interviews with experts, the filmmakers tell the story of the eradication of approximately 30 million buffalo from the Great Plains areas in less than 50 years. Although not of Native descent, Hawes-Davis gives an excellent account of the American Indians’ relationship with the Bison.

The Missoulian’s Joe Nickell wrote a review of the film when it debuted at the Wilma in Missoula in October 2010.

You can see several trailers for the film or order it as the High Plains Film website.

Jenna Cederberg

Tags: bison, buffalo, buffalo post, doug hawes-davis, facing the storm, high plains films, independent lens, indian country today media network, PBS, story of the american bison

Several tribes are asking for more organization when it comes to managing bison in Yellowstone National Park.

The Bozeman Chronicle reports:

Representatives from the Nez Perce tribe, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes and the Intertribal Buffalo Council said there was a lack of protocol and choreography among the groups involved and asked that there be a written procedure for the way they make decisions, meet and conduct business.

Representatives from several government agencies said they agreed written protocol as needed.

Those at the meeting also asked about the fate of bison that are part of a quarantine project. The animals in question do not have brucellosis, a disease that can cause miscarriages. The disease has made bison a controversial topic once they wander onto state land because of a fear that the sickness could spread to cattle and threaten the livestock industry.

Pat Flowers, Region 3 supervisor for FWP, said environmental assessments are ongoing at four locations where quarantined bison could temporarily be taken. Flowers noted that though the Department of Livestock tends to have a say in the management of potentially infected bison in the state, it would not have jurisdiction over the quarantined animals because they are disease-free.

Jenna Cederberg

Tags: bison, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, intertribal buffalo council, Nez Perce, Yellowstone National Park

Bison are being listed as a “hot commodity” these days. The iconic and once scarce beasts are being used more and more in everyday meals. And even as the price for the sweeter, leaner meat from the animals keeps going up, consumers keep paying the cash.

It’s a trend that has bison ranchers looking for ways to keep up with the growing demand, the Associated Press reports.

Ground bison meat runs about $7 a pound, while bison burgers sold at various restaurants are on average $2 more than a beef burger.

Bison grow slower than other livestock, and a heifer can’t have her first calf until she’s 3, said Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association in Westminster, Colo. Beef cows can have calves at 2. Also, many producers are finding heifers more valuable for breeding than eating, which means fewer bison going to market – at least temporarily, he said.

The tight supply comes after bison farmers spent much of the past decade aggressively courting consumers by touting the health benefits of the low-fat, low-cholesterol meat. Bison caught on, and even in the economic slump, prices haven’t discouraged consumers.

“Now our challenge is keeping up with that demand,” Carter said.

Jenna Cederberg

Tags: associated press, bison, bison burger, buffalo post