Restoring a Home Where the Buffalo Roam

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

 I'm reading the novel Eliza Sunshine by award-winning Canadian author Michelle Good -- you may know her from Five Little Indians. Good, who is Cree,  came to novel writing relatively late after years working in advocacy as a lawyer.

Eliza Sunshine is a multi-generational story beginning with a Cree family and community living in western Canada before there was a nation with that name. An essential aspect of their existence was the annual buffalo/bison hunt which they approached with a combination of pragmatism and reverence. Bison were killed for sustenance and virtually all of the carcass used. At the same time there was a sense these creatures were kin and that there was a "covenant" (Good's term) with them. When previously unknown hairy-faced men arrived their traditional way of life came to an end.

                                                                    Mound of Bison Skulls 

History tells us that European settlers, including those building railroads, engaged in mindless slaughter of bison, often taking only pelts and tongues and leaving the rest to rot. Some researchers argue that bison were also killed as a way of subjugating the Indigenous peoples who depended on them. In a few decades the vast herds numbering between 30 and 60 million across the continent were gone and less than a thousand bison remained. It has taken more than a century to bring numbers back into the hundreds of thousands but the majority are domesticated animals raised for food. 

In Canada and the US governments and Indigenous communities have been involved in this restoration. For First Nations bison are an essential aspect of their cultural and spiritual identity and the reestablishment of small herds is often an emotional enterprise. 

                                             Lake Audy, Riding Mountain National Park, bison herd

In June we were in Manitoba and spent time in Riding Mountain National Park where there is a small herd of about 40 bison. The Lake Audy bison enclosure is about 500 hectares with a road through it accessed by cattle gates. We were told that dawn and dusk were the best times for viewing so we were there early on, sighting a number of bears, coyotes, and deer on the way. But no bison. We drove slowly around the enclosure, stopping at a lookout where the only evidence was impressive excretions. As we were just about to depart there they were, grazing calmly right beside the gravel road. It was just us and the largest land mammals on the continent, including eight calves, and it was a holy moment. 

 No, we did not exit our vehicle as I've seen people do in Wyoming to get closer because they apparently had a death wish. We've probably all seen the video of the camper in Yellowstone who was tossed by a cranky bison without provocation. 

                                     Brain-dead tourist in Yellowstone National Park

Our attempts at reconciliation with Indigenous peoples won't be worth a plug buffalo nickel if we don't take into account the ecocide that was part of cultural genocide for more than a century. Restoring homes where the bufflalo/bison roam is a matter of justice and a source of hope. 

Famed documentarian Ken Burns explored the history of bison in America but there are some excellent Canadian docs as well.