The North American prairies they once vibrated under the footsteps of millions buffaloesbut the arrival of the colonizers dramatically reduced the population of these majestic animals, with serious impacts on indigenous communities and local ecosystems.
Today, a cultural and environmental rehabilitation movement is expanding among indigenous nations, such as the Montana First Nation, who, in their efforts to restore the balance of their ancestral land, are reintroducing buffalo.
This “re-registration” process goes beyond simple reintroduction: the term, coined by author Stó:lō Lee Maracle, holds a profound cultural meaning, highlighting a commitment to re-establish a connection between indigenous peoples, buffalo and naturerespecting indigenous laws and honoring the past, present and future.
Buffaloes can migrate freely thanks to ecological corridors
The re-registration of buffalo promotes biodiversity and the ecological balance of the grasslands, but also creates a sense of cultural regeneration. The Buffalo Treaty, signed in 2014 by various indigenous nations, expresses a common commitment to the return of these animals to their natural condition. This collaboration aims to guarantee buffaloes the possibility of migrate freely, creating ecological corridors to maintain genetic diversity and strengthen indigenous cultural connections.
For indigenous nations, the buffalo represents not only a natural resource, but a spiritual and cultural relative. This bond is evident during the ritual hunt, in which young and old participate side by side, strengthening intergenerational ties and recovering lost traditional knowledge during the colonial era. The process of processing buffalo meat and bones becomes a moment of learning and reflection on the relationship between humanity and nature.
The impact of buffalo also extends to very soil of the prairiescontributing to fertility and to the health of land through grazing and seed dissemination. According to Melissa Arcand, a biogeochemist and member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, the return of the buffalo could also contribute to the climate change mitigationsince prairie soils, enriched by buffalo, have a remarkable capacity to store carbon.
The re-registration movement thus becomes a testament to indigenous resilience. For many indigenous people, the return of the buffalo is a symbol of healing and hopea way to reconnect with their identity and with a land that has never stopped waiting for them.
