CR This may seem like a basic question, but I want our readers to hear the answer from you. Why are buffalo so important to Tribes?
EC In our history, we’ve lost a lot of things—our land, our language, our autonomy. The buffalo were hunted to near extinction. To us, buffalo represent our spirit. They remind us of how we once lived free, in harmony with nature. So much of our history and our culture have been taken from us, so over the years, it’s become my passion to help bring back some of what’s been missing. It’s interesting, though; the whole time I lived with my grandparents, I never heard any stories about buffalo. They never had any connection to the buffalo. That’s how far back buffalo have been gone.
CR Can you tell me what you’re wearing around your neck?
EC It’s an Iniskim—a buffalo stone. Legend has it that many years ago, during an especially brutal winter when our Tribe was starving, some warriors went out to find buffalo to kill for food. At a lake, they found this stone, and shortly thereafter a herd of buffalo came out of the lake and presented themselves for a hunt. Buffalo stones are still found by people around that area.
This stone was transferred to me in a ceremony, so it means a lot to me—it’s meant to be my protection whenever I wear it.
CR Also, it means that when you’re wearing it, there’s no question that you’re all about buffalo.
EC I’m all about buffalo.
CR You recently talked to our staff about a collective effort to restore buffalo to Native lands, and to reconnect buffalo to landscapes and to livelihoods and cultures. It’s something we’re honored to be a part of. What’s your vision for what this collaboration could achieve?
EC My vision is to be able to help get all the buffalo that we can out to the Tribes that want them back and to provide funding to sustain those homes. Tribes are always strapped for dollars. When they do have money, it goes toward social issues. So the funding piece is important.
CR I think this story about restoration is one that the world desperately needs. It’s not only about the survival of buffalo, but about expanding their numbers and their range. What I’ve learned from you and other Tribal leaders is how important that is to restoring your food sovereignty, your traditional cultures, your lands, and your profound connection to buffalo that has spanned millennia. When you were talking to our staff earlier you said something about how to move from distrust to trust.
EC Distrust has unfortunately been a big part of our history, especially with the US government. So many things were taken from us—land, health, education, sovereignty, livelihoods, traditions. A lot of treaties were never honored.
Sometimes, I can feel right away who wants to work with us in a good way, and who is just there for themselves so they can say, “Well, here I am doing these good things.” You have to have that trust to make things work. And if there’s no trust, it just won’t work. And sometimes you have to build the trust, but it takes a long time. So to have it right from the beginning is a good thing.
CR Was the trust there from the beginning in our work together?
EC I have to be real honest. Maybe not at the beginning, at least not with everyone. But there’s people within your organization who have learned, people I feel that trust with now. I’m always going to be leery of things at first. But I feel a little more comfortable today than I did yesterday.
CR We’re a work in progress, toward a shared cause.
EC I will tell you, I felt that trust from the beginning with you.
CR I felt the same way. There are people, when you meet them, who don’t say anything except what they think and what they feel. And that’s how you are. It’s important for your voice to be heard. Not for me to tell people what you said, but for you to say it yourself.
EC Thank you. We want to tell our own story. That’s the way it should be.
CR Somehow I don’t think this is the last time we’re going to see each other.
EC I hope not.
Learn more about the Tribal Buffalo Lifeways Collaboration.
