Photo by Kaycee Prevedel
biito’owu’ is Earth in the Arapaho language
sokopia is Earth in the Shoshone language
Earth Month with the Buffalo
Every day is Earth Day for Indigenous peoples. Our connection to Mother Earth is planted deep within our ancestral teachings and languages. The relationship between people and nature is really a relationship with ourselves. It’s become increasingly obvious that this relationship is severed. To disrespect land, water, and wildlife is a severance of people from all our other relatives.
How Buffalo Bring Us Back to Ourselves
Buffalo remind us to come back to ourselves as Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho peoples sharing the same land on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Our Buffalo relatives are the perfect example of how to take care of the Earth and each other. The biodiversity of plants and other animals increase when Buffalo are present on the landscape. Native grasses come back, which brings insects back, and that brings with it everything else that used to roam the land in unprecedented abundance.
As we celebrate Earth Month together, please be mindful of the connection Tribal peoples have with our Buffalo relatives. Buffalo restoration is largely Indigenous-led, and the ongoing work at Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative is scientific as well as healing.
Indigenous Science Supports the Earth
As we build relationships with higher learning institutions, conservation organizations, and individual researchers, we are continuing to find all the ways Indigenous-centered research helps us protect the Buffalo as well as all our other relatives. Many of our staff have advanced degrees and have been trained on how to support ecological relationships of all kinds. Culturally relevant research is how the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative strengthens the bonds of our ancestral knowledge and western science.
Include Tribes as You Celebrate Mother Earth
As Spring makes our days warmer, it’s time to commit to supporting Indigenous Buffalo rematriation. Our work is intertwined with science and healing all led by the Buffalo’s return to the high plains and sagebrush steppes of the Wind River Indian Reservation. Reach out to us on our socials or sign up for emails if you have any questions about our work.
And, as always, please come visit Buffalo Camp. The best way to learn more about our organization is to come see it for yourselves.
Recommended Reading: Why Buffalo Restoration Must Be Indigenous-Led