Where the buffalo roam... Native Americans plan return of free range Bison on the American Great Plains

Buffalo are part of the American west. Across the vast prairies of the Great Plains, herds grazed and migrated, crisscrossing the open grasslands in great, thundering tides. Each year, some of these buffalo were hunted by Native Americans who used everything, from meat, to hides, to bones, to build their societies. Then, with the arrival of outsiders, all this came to an end.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Buffalo herds once roamed in the tens of millions. The animals, properly called bison, were so integral to the natural ecology that they formed a key link in the environment. Buffalo tilled soil with their hooves, they spread seed with their dung, they provided food for animals that preyed upon them, and for the people who hunted them, they provided everything.

When American settlers moved west, they found the impressive herds to be perfect for target shooting and making easy money. Thousands of buffalo could be slaughtered in a day, some killed just for their hides or other specific parts, many killed just for target practice.

Restore more than land -- restore faith in those with need.

The mass killing of the buffalo also had another well-intended effect-it rendered the traditional lifestyle of many Native Americans obsolete. Without roaming buffalo herds to follow, there was no more supply for all the things they needed. There was also little need to roam. This made subjugating and exterminating the Native Americans easier for European Americans who viewed the Native Americans as a nuisance.

With buffalo and Native Americans largely out of the way, the prairies were open to settlers who fenced the land and grew cattle and crops. Both the buffalo and Native American faced extinction.

Fortunately, these devastating changes occurred at the end of the 19th century, a time when people in the United States began to realize that mass extinction and human genocide were intrinsic evils.

Many decades would pass before both Native American and buffalo populations would rebound from years of extermination. In recent decades, Native Americans have become an increasingly powerful minority in the lands their ancestors once lived. The public has become sympathetic to Native American causes, and a romance has developed about the times before the European American settlers arrived.

Part of that romance includes buffalo herds, freely roaming the lands.

On Sept. 23, a treaty was signed between Native American tribes on both sides of the U.S. border with Canada. Signed in Blackfeet Territory in Montana, the treaty calls for cooperation between the tribes, governments, conservation groups and area farmers and ranchers to restore wild buffalo herds in the area.

Called the "Buffalo Treaty" the aim is to both preserve and promote Native American culture as well as natural conservation. The treaty will see the return of wild buffalo herds on lands common to the stakeholders.

Find all your stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts at Catholic Online Shopping

Native Americans hold large tracts of intact prairie, which will be better served by the presence of buffalo. The Native Americans themselves will also be able to restore and express an ancient part of their culture, long suppressed by hostile circumstances.

The cooperation of many stakeholders will ensure the restoration of the herds will be successful.

The return of the buffalo will restore ancient lands to the state they enjoyed long before European Americans settled on the Great Plains. It will also restore the heritage of the many great Native American people of the plains.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'