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49 bison were released on Blackfeet tribal lands near Nínaiistáko, also known as Chief Mountain near Glacier National Park. The bison are descended from a herd that was trapped on Blackfeet land in 1873 by Samuel Walking Coyote of the Pend d’Oreille tribe, who were then sold to Michel Pablo and Charles Allard. Pablo and Allard built up the country’s largest conservation herd in the late 19th century, according to the National Park Service. Part of the herd was sold to the Canadian government, who released them on to Elk Island National Park. 87 of the bison calves on Elk Island were transferred back to the Blackfeet in 2016 with the goal of releasing them back to their homelands one day. On June 26, 2023 49 bison were finally welcomed back home. “The Blackfeet People have been Bison People for thousands of years. It is our connection to iinnii (bison) that has carried our people to this day,” said Ervin Carlson, the director of the Blackfeet Buffalo Program. While bison restoration efforts face challenges across their homelands, especially by cattle ranching, the Blackfeet Nation have unique advantages for caring for their relatives including tribal sovereignty and long stretches of unallotted land where the bison can roam. “The roots go so deep with anything we do with buffalo,” explained Kim Paul, the executive director of the Piikani Lodge Health Institute. “It’s reclaiming our history, reclaiming our health, reclaiming our way of life, reclaiming our identity.” #Indigenous #NativeLand #Bison