The Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative is
Restoring Our Connection with the Buffalo
We are on a mission to restore conservation Buffalo through land rematriation, community revitalization, and youth education. Our vision is Buffalo living as wildlife, protected under Tribal law.
Support Our Work
One acre of land restored to Buffalo habitat costs $6,000. One mile of wildlife-friendly Buffalo fencing costs $60,000. One Native youth reconnected to their cultural roots and ceremony through Buffalo is priceless. Your gift in any amount will help us do what it takes to bring Buffalo back to the Wind River landscape — healing our ecosystem and our people.
10
BUFFALO IN 2016
150+
BUFFALO IN 2024
1000+
BUFFALO IN THE FUTURE
News & Stories
Healing the Land, Healing Ourselves
Millions of Buffalo once roamed the Great Plains of America. They were integral to the ecosystem of prairies and the Native peoples who long called them home.
Buffalo provided food, clothing, and shelter, and were essential in the spiritual ceremonies of Tribes. Nearly every part of the animal was used, including horns, meat, and tail hairs.
As we work to restore the Buffalo, a process of renewal and healing begins that balances human, animal, and environmental health.
Buffalo Territory
Before 1800, it is estimated that 60 million Buffalo roamed the plains of North America. By 1900, there were fewer than two dozen left in Yellowstone.
Notes from Sage Country
“The Buffalo was part of us, his flesh and blood being absorbed by us until it became our own flesh and blood. Our clothing, our tipis, everything we needed for life came from the buffalo’s body. It was hard to say where the animals ended and the human began.”
Meet Jason Baldes
Founder of Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative
“The Buffalo have helped me, personally. I know that as the Buffalo heal and are restored to this land, our people will also be healed and restored. Because, we have a connection with them. We are people of the Buffalo.”
The Story of the Buffalo
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Buffalo in Shoshone
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