A historic partnership restores buffalo to Native lands

A buffalo with a herd under colorful skies

The slaughter of millions of American bison is one of the great tragedies in US history.

In 1870, an estimated 10 million to 15 million bison (or buffalo) roamed the Great Plains, where they maintained healthy ecosystems and supported Indigenous lifeways. But as European settlers and hunters advanced west, they massacred the animals for their hides, supplying a booming trade. At the same time, the US government and military backed campaigns to eliminate the species to subjugate the Tribes that relied on them. By the late 1880s, around just 500 Plains buffalo remained.

As the buffalo were exterminated, Tribes suffered forced relocations onto reservations, lost prosperity, and starvation. Still, their spiritual connection to the buffalo persisted, along with small clusters of the animals conserved from once vast herds.

So in July 2024, when representatives from the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), Native Americans in Philanthropy, The Nature Conservancy, and WWF formed the Tribal Buffalo Lifeways Collaboration with a shared vision of stabilizing, expanding, and establishing Tribal and Native-led buffalo restoration efforts across Native lands, it marked the start of a new chapter—one that would confront a painful past while ushering in a better future.

Saving a species

Restoring buffalo herds is “a mission that the Tribes have been on for decades,” says Joel Moffett, director of environmental and special projects at Native Americans in Philanthropy and member of the Nez Perce Tribe. At the turn of the 20th century, early conservationists—including Indigenous peoples—saved the buffalo from near extinction, after which many Tribes began slowly rebuilding their herds.

Today, around 45,000 of the country’s 350,000 buffalo live in Tribal and conservation herds. Of those, 25,000 are managed by members of the ITBC, which has grown to include 85 Tribes across 23 states and has played a critical role in recovering the species.

But bison recovery efforts still have a long way to go, and most herds aren’t large enough to sustain their long-term genetic health.

Today, around 45,000 of the country’s 350,000 buffalo live in Tribal and conservation herds. Of those, 25,000 are managed by members of the InterTribal Buffalo Council.

The ITBC’s work is severely underfunded, receiving only about $1.8 million annually in federal money. With those funds, it has relocated buffalo from national parks and wildlife refuges onto Tribal reservations, supported Tribes in managing their herds, and helped with fencing, watering systems, and disease management.

Now the new alliance—in partnership with the US Department of the Interior (DOI) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA)—aims to restore buffalo at an unprecedented scale. “Firstly, we’re looking at Tribal buffalo programs already operating as best they can without the resources they need,” says Moffett. “Shoring them up is our solemn obligation.”

For Tribes that want to expand existing buffalo programs or start from scratch, the collaboration can provide funds and expertise. Recognizing that buffalo restoration looks different for each Tribe, the collaboration will provide resources for trainings for herd managers, facilitate knowledge-sharing, and help acquire the necessary land—an obstacle for all Tribes. “Due to historical land theft, many don’t have the space to host a herd,” notes Moffett.

To address that challenge, the collaboration (among other groups) is exploring the idea of securing co-stewardship agreements between Tribes, the DOI, and the USDA to expand federal lands to which buffalo will have access. It’s also considering co-ownership of herds among smaller Tribes.

At the heart of these combined efforts is a larger dream: the cultural, spiritual, ecological, and economic revitalization of Native communities where buffalo were central and which disproportionately suffer from health issues, food insecurity, and poverty tied to the loss of their land and buffalo.

An additional priority is advancing the Indian Buffalo Management Act, bipartisan legislation that would create a permanent buffalo program at the DOI.

The benefits of buffalo

Bringing buffalo back is important for several reasons, says Dr. Trudy Ecoffey, a wildlife ecologist based on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota who has worked on buffalo restoration projects for more than 20 years, most recently with the ITBC and the Tribal Buffalo Lifeways Collaboration. “Buffalo are a keystone species whose grazing patterns improve a grassland’s health, promoting biodiversity,” she says. They also fertilize the soil and increase carbon sequestration to counteract climate change.

Then there are the benefits the buffalo bring to communities. “Some smaller Tribes just want to have the animals for cultural purposes, while others want to rebuild sustainable food systems that are deeply connected to their culture,” she says.

Equally important, these efforts are an essential step in reconciling a traumatic history.

“When buffalo come back, something powerful happens,” says Ecoffey, referring to her experiences witnessing buffalo reintroduced to their ancestral lands. “I’ve seen elders’ and children’s faces light up when these animals step off the trailer, and some people weep with joy. There’s a sense that something lost has been returned.”

A seat at the table

Despite representing close to 3% of the US population, Native American communities have in the past received less than 0.4% of US philanthropic dollars. But Moffett hopes the collaboration will reverse this trend.

“We have a unique moment to make a huge, positive impact,” Moffet says. “We have funders who genuinely support Tribally led work, and we have federal agencies putting teeth into their commitments. This is the time to dream big and make a lasting difference.”

The work will foreground Native voices and priorities, he says, but will also require all partners to work to their strengths: raising funds, effecting policy changes, and building capacity to ensure long-term sustainability. “We’re trying to change the blueprint on how philanthropy has interacted with Tribal communities,” he emphasizes. “It’s about developing trust-based relationships, understanding our histories and cultures, and letting us guide the process.”

To underscore that point, the buffalo—sometimes represented by a skull or hide—has a seat at the table when the partners meet. And while more details of the collaboration still need to be hammered out, says Moffett, that gesture’s implications are clear—buffalo will be restored and managed in a way that honors their role as relatives rather than treated as commodities.

“Historically, this Indigenous perspective has been missing from the traditional conservation world,” he says. “But for us, it’s at the core of everything.”

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