Cuthand: The return of the bison revives First Nations traditions

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When a people is rebuilding after colonialism, one of the best tools for change is cultural revitalization. The First Nations of Turtle Island are experiencing a return to traditional ceremonies, the revitalization of the powwow and, more recently, the return of the bison.

The return of the buffalo is both spiritual and economic. Bison and indigenous people once ruled the plains. Combining the deadly accuracy of firearms and the strength and speed of the horse, our people hunted buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter.

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This was our golden age, and it was known as horse culture. The great herds of buffalo will never return to the way they were before, but they live on in our memory and serve as reminders of a time when we were independent and benefited from the gifts of the Creator.

Two hundred years ago, buffaloes ruled the plains and created their own ecosystem. They fed and ventilated the great plains as well as the animals that no longer live with us. Plains grizzly bears and bison wolves followed the large herds preying on the old, lame and infirm.

The plains grizzly bear was a fearsome sand-colored hunter and lived on the Great Plains. They were joined by packs of large buffalo wolves that were larger than their northern cousins, the timber wolves.

The last Plains grizzly bear died in the late 1980s, while the last buffalo wolves were seen in the Cypress Hills in the 1920s.

The disappearance of the large herds of buffalo left an empty and barren landscape, with the original inhabitants facing starvation. Meanwhile, the government and railroad companies presented the new western lands as virgin farmland. But the land was not virgin; she was a widow.

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Small pockets of buffalo remained. In Canada there were two herds, one in Wainwright, Alberta and another in Elk Island National Park, also in Alberta. These two sites served as an incubator for the return of buffalo on a smaller scale.

A few years ago, a group of First Nations came together and signed a treaty to bring back the bison and prepare the land so they could thrive again.

I was fortunate to be allowed to attend a conference call involving native buffalo from the Northwest Territories in Canada to northern Mexico in the south. The range of these beautiful animals is immense.

Different representatives reported on the progress of their herd and advice and information was shared. Many bison ranchers are cattle ranchers, so they have made the mistake of treating them as if they are the same.

For example, one rancher said he separated bulls from the herd like he would cattle. He found that the bulls were frustrated and unhappy.

It turned out they were part of the herd and had a job to do. In the wild, buffalo are the protectors and keep cows and calves safe. They were kept in a separate enclosure and felt frustrated. It turns out that a buffalo herd is a unit that has developed its internal culture to survive, and the buffalo felt it.

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Through sharing under the Bison Treaty, Indigenous peoples become experts on these magnificent animals. Across North America, First Nations set aside land to manage bison herds.

The organization’s interim leader is Leroy Little Bear, a professor at the University of Lethbridge and a member of the Kainai Nation. He would like to see more First Nations rally behind the cause to revitalize their culture and contribute to the return of the bison.

I was recently with the Siksika Nation and interviewed someone about Treaty 7, which is their treaty with the Crown. He told me that when they were asked to hand over the land, they did not understand land ownership. The land was a gift from the Creator and was accessible to all.

He told me that for them, the buffaloes owned the land. This observation of his says it all.

Doug Cuthand is the Indigenous affairs columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Regina Leader-Post. He is a member of the Little Pine First Nation.

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