For thousands of years, the great grasslands of North America pulsed with the movement of millions of buffalo. They shaped the land with their grazing, created diverse mosaics of plants and wildlife, and became central to the lifeways of many Tribal Nations. As described in the project, Bison in Boulder Project, early naturalists wrote of herds so vast that “it is impossible to describe or even conceive the multitudes of these animals.” For the Indigenous Peoples of the Plains, the buffalo was more than a species—it was a relative, a teacher, and a foundation for cultural, spiritual, and economic wellbeing.
But by the late 1800s, colonial violence, forced removal, and targeted extermination of buffalo shattered these relationships. Buffalo were slaughtered to near extinction, and Tribal Nations were pushed onto reservations, separated from the herds that had sustained them for countless generations. Both the people and the land suffered.
Today, Native Nations and allies across the continent are leading one of the most significant ecological and cultural restoration movements of our time: the return of the buffalo.
Eco-Cultural Restoration: More Than Conservation
The return of buffalo is not only a conservation project—it is what many Indigenous Peoples describe as rematriation: the act of restoring relatives, relationships, and responsibilities to the land. As the report highlights, buffalo are both an ecological keystone species and a cultural keystone species. Their presence shapes plant and wildlife diversity, enhances soil health, reduces invasive species pressure, and even influences wildfire behavior through their unique grazing patterns.
But their role in Native culture is equally profound. Buffalo restoration brings opportunities for renewed ceremony, food sovereignty, youth education, spiritual connection, and community healing. Many Tribal Nations see buffalo as embodying values of strength, generosity, and resilience—qualities essential for community wellbeing today.
Not surprisingly, Tribal requests for surplus buffalo far exceed availability each year, reflecting the deep desire for cultural reconnection and land stewardship grounded in traditional teachings.
Braiding Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science
A core insight from the document is the need to move beyond siloed approaches. Western scientific knowledge offers data on grazing, biodiversity, and climate impacts. Indigenous Knowledge brings a holistic worldview, long-term observation, and teachings about ethical relationships between humans, buffalo, and the land. Both are necessary for meaningful restoration.
This is the essence of convergence science – a model where different knowledge systems are brought together with intention, respect, and balance. The proposal calls this work the building of an eco-cultural restoration framework, one grounded not just in ecological measurement but in reciprocity, ceremony, and shared responsibility.
Central to this convergence is the concept of ethical space, a framework that helps Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners work together in a way that honors sovereignty, values, and worldviews. Ethical space requires humility, active listening, and the recognition that restoration is not only ecological—it is relational and cultural.
A National Movement with Local Possibility
Across the U.S., buffalo now exist in conservation herds, Tribal herds, National Parks, and private ranchlands, yet many restoration efforts have not fully integrated cultural goals. The initiative described in the CU Bison in Boulder Project seeks to change this by building a national “knowledge convergence hub” to gather, share, and analyze both Indigenous and Western insights across ten restoration sites.
Locally, the Boulder region itself is considering buffalo restoration on city and county grasslands—an opportunity to connect ecology, culture, research, and community learning in a living model of co-stewardship.
Healing Land, Healing People
Buffalo restoration is ultimately a story of return—of species, of relationships, and of hope. As Tribal Nations reclaim their relatives, they also rebuild food systems, renew ceremony, strengthen identity, and empower future generations. The land responds as well: grasses flourish, biodiversity increases, and the rhythms of the prairie begin to breathe again.
The return of the buffalo is not only about the past—it is about the future we want to create. A future with respect, regeneration, and shared stewardship. A future where Tribal Nations lead the way in healing land and community together.
REFERENCE: Bison in Boulder: Re-imagining collaborative stewardship and sustainability in eco-cultural restoration, RIO Seed Grant, University of Colorado-Boulder
