Singing Back the Buffalo

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SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO follows Indigenous visionaries and communities who are rematriating the buffalo to the heart of the North American plains they once defined, signaling a turning point for Indigenous nations, the ecosystem, and all our collective survival.

As a girl growing up on the prairies in Saskatchewan, Tasha Hubbard would imagine herds of buffalo roaming vast open plains on which she lived. 165 years ago, it was common for big herds to stretch out as far as the eye could see and take two days to pass by. Three decades later, after massive campaigns of deliberate slaughter, there were as little as 250 buffalo left from the over 50 million that moved across the continent. The impact on Indigenous plains nations, who had depended on the buffalo for food, shelter, and spiritual sustenance, was disastrous. The buffalo's fate forced Indigenous Peoples, now starving, into confinement on the reserves. For over a century, neither have been free to walk the lands for which Indigenous Peoples have cared for millennia.

Hubbard is now an award-winning filmmaker, a buffalo academic and buffalo activist. With SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO, she takes viewers on an epic journey that has not yet been told on screen, exploring concepts of buffalo consciousness, buffalo personhood, and relationships between buffalo and Indigenous Peoples. From her Indigenous point of view, we learn the importance of rematriating teachings from the buffalo, and how the land needs the buffalo back more than ever in this time of climate change, food insecurity, and uncertainty. We meet Indigenous visionaries, leaders, scientists, and communities who are restoring the buffalo to the land they once defined. Their return back across the heart of North America signals a turning point for the long-term collective survival of Indigenous nations, the environment and all of humanity.

A MARC record for this title is not available yet.

Keywords

Truth & Reconciliation,Indigenous Issues,Ecology,Conservation,North American Buffalo,Rematriation,Saskatchewan,First Nations; "Singing Back the Buffalo"; GOOD DOCS

00:00:01.625 --> 00:00:03.625
(buffalo grunting)

00:00:06.791 --> 00:00:11.791
(gentle music)

00:01:03.416 --> 00:01:05.791
(birds chirping)

00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:17.791
- [Narrator] When I
was a little girl,

00:01:17.875 --> 00:01:20.541
I didn't know what it meant
to be a Cree person.

00:01:23.041 --> 00:01:25.750
I was raised away
by a farming family,

00:01:25.833 --> 00:01:27.833
and the only time
I felt connected

00:01:27.916 --> 00:01:30.375
was when we would come
to the Qu'Appelle Valley.

00:01:32.041 --> 00:01:36.208
I'd stare at the empty hills
and imagine my ancestors

00:01:36.291 --> 00:01:39.750
and the massive herds of
buffalo moving across the land.

00:01:50.791 --> 00:01:54.458
I was lucky to find my birth
family in my late teens,

00:01:54.541 --> 00:01:56.666
but I still felt
like something was missing.

00:01:58.875 --> 00:02:00.666
When I was
30 years old

00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:03.291
Elders took me to
see a buffalo rib stone.

00:02:05.916 --> 00:02:11.000
We sang to it, and for a
moment we thought it sang back.

00:02:16.416 --> 00:02:18.708
That day I started
my buffalo journey.

00:02:22.458 --> 00:02:25.666
These rib stones help
us renew our kinship

00:02:25.750 --> 00:02:29.041
within our own families
and with the buffalo.

00:02:36.791 --> 00:02:39.666
I did my PhD on
buffalo consciousness

00:02:39.750 --> 00:02:42.000
and I work on
buffalo rematriation.

00:02:44.291 --> 00:02:46.333
I've been fortunate
to have teachers like

00:02:46.416 --> 00:02:48.250
Dr. Leroy
Little Bear,

00:02:48.333 --> 00:02:50.000
a scholar from
the Blood Tribe

00:02:50.083 --> 00:02:52.250
or Kainai
in Alberta.

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- [Leroy]
In Blackfoot,

00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.000
if you were
to say the word,

00:02:58.083 --> 00:03:00.333
Atsinikssin.

00:03:00.416 --> 00:03:02.500
If you asked another
Blackfoot speaker

00:03:02.583 --> 00:03:05.708
to translate
that to English,

00:03:05.791 --> 00:03:06.916
they would say,

00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.666
Atsinikssin
means story.

00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:10.958
Okay?

00:03:11.041 --> 00:03:13.583
But when you really look
at the deep meaning of

00:03:13.666 --> 00:03:18.250
Atsinikssin,
it really means

00:03:18.333 --> 00:03:22.583
your involvement
in a happening.

00:03:22.666 --> 00:03:26.625
(gentle music)

00:03:26.708 --> 00:03:29.875
So the thing is,
when we're talking about

00:03:29.958 --> 00:03:33.208
Atsinikssin,
hey, we're talking about

00:03:33.291 --> 00:03:38.208
our involvement in
all those happenings,

00:03:38.291 --> 00:03:40.916
happenings with
the buffalo, see.

00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:42.583
(buffalo grunts)

00:03:42.666 --> 00:03:45.250
Our Elders, were,

00:03:45.333 --> 00:03:47.916
were concerned that,

00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.625
hey, we still
have the songs,

00:03:52.708 --> 00:03:57.416
we tell the stories,
we have the ceremonies,

00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:01.958
but there's no buffalo
to be seen out there.

00:04:02.041 --> 00:04:05.416
They were all-
almost went extinct.

00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:09.250
Well, we need to
bring that buffalo back

00:04:09.333 --> 00:04:14.625
so that our youth
will make that connection.

00:04:16.333 --> 00:04:19.458
So that when
they hear the songs,

00:04:19.541 --> 00:04:21.250
they'll know what
they're singing about.

00:04:21.333 --> 00:04:23.583
(drumming)

00:04:23.666 --> 00:04:26.833
(drumming and singing)

00:04:40.458 --> 00:04:42.958
(buffalo grunting)

00:04:48.916 --> 00:04:52.125
- [Narrator] In the days that
still live in our stories,

00:04:52.208 --> 00:04:54.625
millions and
millions of buffalo

00:04:54.708 --> 00:04:56.958
moved across
North America.

00:05:05.208 --> 00:05:06.875
History books
tell everyone

00:05:06.958 --> 00:05:09.208
that Buffalo was
the main food source

00:05:09.291 --> 00:05:11.708
for Plains
Indigenous peoples.

00:05:11.791 --> 00:05:13.708
And while
that's true,

00:05:13.791 --> 00:05:15.458
it's only
part of the story.

00:05:18.083 --> 00:05:20.208
Buffalo is
our relative,

00:05:20.291 --> 00:05:22.041
the one
we learn from,

00:05:22.125 --> 00:05:24.208
the one
that cares for us.

00:05:24.291 --> 00:05:26.083
We held
covenants with them.

00:05:29.125 --> 00:05:33.000
We had obligations to them
through our ceremonies,

00:05:33.083 --> 00:05:35.708
and if we upheld
those responsibilities,

00:05:35.791 --> 00:05:38.500
the buffalo people
would give themselves to us,

00:05:38.583 --> 00:05:41.916
the human people,
so we could be nourished,

00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.541
be warm, and have
the tools we needed to live.

00:05:45.625 --> 00:05:48.833
(gentle music)

00:05:50.958 --> 00:05:52.750
(buffalo grunting)

00:05:52.833 --> 00:05:54.583
This cycle
of interdependency

00:05:54.666 --> 00:05:57.916
with the buffalo,
the humans and the land

00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.750
existed on
Turtle Island

00:06:00.833 --> 00:06:02.375
until it
was interrupted.

00:06:06.583 --> 00:06:10.583
The vibration of Buffalo hooves
was once felt in our bones.

00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.333
The silence when they
were gone cut us deeply.

00:06:23.375 --> 00:06:27.291
Indigenous peoples have
experienced waves of trauma,

00:06:27.375 --> 00:06:30.000
including
epidemics and genocide.

00:06:33.125 --> 00:06:36.458
What is often called the
disappearance of the buffalo

00:06:36.541 --> 00:06:37.666
hides the truth.

00:06:39.708 --> 00:06:43.125
It was genocide
of the buffalo people.

00:06:43.208 --> 00:06:45.791
Done to clear us
both off the land

00:06:45.875 --> 00:06:49.000
and replace us
with cattle and settlers.

00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:57.166
By 1890, the buffalo
numbered less than 300.

00:06:57.250 --> 00:06:59.833
Cattle diseases and
the targeted efforts of

00:06:59.916 --> 00:07:03.166
governments, military,
and hide hunters

00:07:03.250 --> 00:07:06.000
were responsible for
the bulk of the destruction.

00:07:09.250 --> 00:07:11.750
The buffalo's bodies
became commodities

00:07:11.833 --> 00:07:13.125
in the industrial age.

00:07:17.541 --> 00:07:21.333
Their hides became factory
belts and military boots.

00:07:24.166 --> 00:07:27.833
Their bones became
fine china and fertilizer.

00:07:33.708 --> 00:07:37.708
It's hard to comprehend what
the loss of the buffalo meant,

00:07:37.791 --> 00:07:39.333
but the numbers are stark.

00:07:41.250 --> 00:07:44.291
From the
multitude of millions

00:07:44.375 --> 00:07:46.333
to the
several hundred.

00:07:50.541 --> 00:07:52.083
With their
destruction,

00:07:52.166 --> 00:07:54.041
millions of other
beings suffered.

00:07:56.875 --> 00:07:59.000
Our grief
was immeasurable.

00:08:07.125 --> 00:08:09.750
Without the
buffalo sustenance,

00:08:09.833 --> 00:08:11.875
our ancestors
fell into starvation

00:08:11.958 --> 00:08:14.250
and watched
their loved ones die.

00:08:16.625 --> 00:08:18.041
Weakened,

00:08:18.125 --> 00:08:20.000
we lost our independence.

00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:25.541
The wise ones remember
that we stopped singing

00:08:25.625 --> 00:08:27.416
when the
buffalo were gone.

00:08:31.916 --> 00:08:35.333
But our stories
and prophecies say

00:08:35.416 --> 00:08:38.041
the buffalo will
come back to us one day.

00:08:48.583 --> 00:08:51.250
- [Leroy] Having the
buffalo in that circle,

00:08:51.333 --> 00:08:54.750
you know, sitting next to us,
so to speak,

00:08:54.833 --> 00:08:59.625
is like having grandpa,
grandma next to you,

00:08:59.708 --> 00:09:03.875
you know,
for security and so on, see.

00:09:03.958 --> 00:09:09.208
And that buffalo
also brings about

00:09:09.291 --> 00:09:15.458
a balance in the relational
networks amongst humans.

00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:22.083
And it was from that,
if I can say a wish,

00:09:22.166 --> 00:09:26.583
on the part of the
Elders that we held

00:09:28.125 --> 00:09:33.833
buffalo dialogues all
over Blackfoot territory.

00:09:33.916 --> 00:09:38.958
And finally, the Elders,
after four or five years

00:09:39.041 --> 00:09:44.291
of holding those,
those buffalo dialogues,

00:09:44.375 --> 00:09:47.208
the Elders said,

00:09:47.291 --> 00:09:51.666
"Hey, I think we
are all of one mind.

00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:55.250
"We all want the
buffalo to come back,

00:09:55.333 --> 00:09:58.958
"but we can't do it
all by ourselves.

00:09:59.041 --> 00:10:01.166
"It's a big job,

00:10:01.250 --> 00:10:05.375
"and it's an uphill job
to bring that buffalo back.

00:10:05.458 --> 00:10:08.583
"We will need partners."

00:10:08.666 --> 00:10:12.000
We used to sign treaties
with the other tribes,

00:10:12.083 --> 00:10:13.708
in the old days,

00:10:13.791 --> 00:10:19.125
way before we ever
signed treaties with Canada

00:10:19.208 --> 00:10:21.875
or the United States.

00:10:21.958 --> 00:10:23.875
We should bring
our people together

00:10:23.958 --> 00:10:28.041
and sign a treaty about
bringing the buffalo back.

00:10:31.083 --> 00:10:33.666
- [Narrator] The Buffalo
Treaty with cooperation,

00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:36.625
renewal, and
restoration at its heart

00:10:36.708 --> 00:10:40.375
was first signed in
2014 by eight nations.

00:10:41.375 --> 00:10:45.000
Blackfoot, Chief Earl Old
Person was the first to sign.

00:11:08.625 --> 00:11:09.958
My mother's
people are from

00:11:10.041 --> 00:11:12.416
the Qu'Appelle Valley
in Saskatchewan.

00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:17.125
It's now 2016,

00:11:17.208 --> 00:11:20.208
and Leroy and his partner,
Amethyst First Rider,

00:11:20.291 --> 00:11:22.083
are in
Treaty 4 territory

00:11:22.166 --> 00:11:24.291
to invite nations
to join the treaty.

00:11:25.291 --> 00:11:31.500
- This Buffalo Treaty
is an act of sovereignty

00:11:31.583 --> 00:11:34.000
on the base
of our nations.

00:11:34.083 --> 00:11:36.041
In fact, some
government people

00:11:36.125 --> 00:11:40.166
did come and ask us,
can you do that?

00:11:42.791 --> 00:11:44.208
The Chief's response,

00:11:44.291 --> 00:11:47.916
where in the Elder's
response was, we're sovereign.

00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.958
We don't have to ask
anybody to do, you know,

00:11:52.041 --> 00:11:53.708
to sign a treaty.

00:11:53.791 --> 00:11:55.666
We never gave up
that authority.

00:11:57.291 --> 00:12:00.333
(drumming and singing)

00:12:16.875 --> 00:12:19.125
- [Chief Lynn]
I wanted to present you and,

00:12:19.208 --> 00:12:20.375
I wanna
pass this on

00:12:20.458 --> 00:12:23.666
to strengthen your
work that you do.

00:12:23.750 --> 00:12:25.291
- Thank you so much.

00:12:25.375 --> 00:12:26.375
- Thank you.

00:12:28.916 --> 00:12:30.333
- Thank you, for all...

00:12:30.416 --> 00:12:32.375
- Yeah, that
was wonderful.

00:12:32.458 --> 00:12:34.333
- Yeah, we were so happy.
- It was.

00:12:34.416 --> 00:12:36.708
- It's a beautiful-
and we're just beginning.

00:12:36.791 --> 00:12:38.041
We ain't done yet.

00:12:47.166 --> 00:12:50.125
- [Narrator] The buffalo
are matriarchal.

00:12:50.208 --> 00:12:53.250
They are led by their
wisest woman buffalo

00:12:53.333 --> 00:12:56.000
and her daughters become
the leaders after her.

00:12:58.291 --> 00:13:01.000
This hereditary leadership
system ensures that

00:13:01.083 --> 00:13:04.500
the herd wisdom carries on
throughout the generations.

00:13:09.083 --> 00:13:11.625
They live in family
groups with the young

00:13:11.708 --> 00:13:13.166
and the old
in the center.

00:13:15.333 --> 00:13:17.458
It's a system of
care and protection

00:13:17.541 --> 00:13:19.583
provided by
the cows and bulls.

00:13:23.166 --> 00:13:24.958
I've come to
understand buffalo

00:13:25.041 --> 00:13:27.208
as a guide to
living well together.

00:13:28.375 --> 00:13:30.333
Working to
rematriate the buffalo

00:13:30.416 --> 00:13:32.916
means putting them
back on the land,

00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.416
but it also means restoring
the balance that once existed.

00:13:48.125 --> 00:13:50.708
Elk Island National
Park in Alberta

00:13:50.791 --> 00:13:52.125
is one of
the most important

00:13:52.208 --> 00:13:55.875
conservation buffalo
herds in North America.

00:13:55.958 --> 00:13:58.583
The park regularly
gifts surplus buffalo

00:13:58.666 --> 00:14:02.375
to Indigenous nations,
especially in recent years.

00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.375
(fence rattling)

00:14:24.833 --> 00:14:27.083
Blackfoot Elder
Charlie Crow Chief

00:14:27.166 --> 00:14:30.875
told me that his Elder
said the buffalo's return

00:14:30.958 --> 00:14:33.333
would happen when
their hooves crackle.

00:14:35.416 --> 00:14:38.041
(hooves clanking)

00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:56.416
87 buffalo yearlings are
being moved from Elk Island

00:14:56.500 --> 00:14:57.958
to the Blackfeet
Reservation

00:14:58.041 --> 00:15:00.083
in Northern
Montana.

00:15:00.166 --> 00:15:02.125
Their ancestors
originated there

00:15:02.208 --> 00:15:03.916
150 years ago.

00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.000
(gentle music)

00:15:17.166 --> 00:15:20.083
The Blackfoot word
for buffalo is iiníí,

00:15:20.166 --> 00:15:23.000
and this effort is part
of the iiníí initiative.

00:15:24.916 --> 00:15:27.416
Leroy and Amethyst
meet us at the border.

00:15:28.791 --> 00:15:29.916
- For the outtakes.

00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.250
(laughing)

00:15:32.333 --> 00:15:34.041
- [Narrator] It's a
challenge to move Buffalo

00:15:34.125 --> 00:15:36.541
in North America
due to federal and

00:15:36.625 --> 00:15:40.041
state or provincial
regulations.

00:15:40.125 --> 00:15:43.125
Recently, conservation
organizations offer

00:15:43.208 --> 00:15:45.541
support to
Indigenous efforts.

00:15:45.625 --> 00:15:48.000
And in this case,
it's the Oakland Zoo

00:15:48.083 --> 00:15:50.083
and the Wildlife
Conservation Society.

00:15:50.166 --> 00:15:51.750
- Hard work to get this...

00:16:37.583 --> 00:16:41.250
- Hey, so good to see you.

00:16:42.791 --> 00:16:45.000
You look good,
my friend.

00:16:45.083 --> 00:16:47.500
- That's what our
Elders were saying.

00:16:47.583 --> 00:16:50.333
We want those kids
to see those buffalo.

00:16:50.416 --> 00:16:53.250
- Chief Old Person just
said a prayer down here,

00:16:53.333 --> 00:16:54.833
and he said,
this is for the kids.

00:16:54.916 --> 00:16:57.583
(drumming and singing)

00:17:06.333 --> 00:17:08.083
- Like I said,
remember when they,

00:17:08.166 --> 00:17:09.791
uh, when they
do come out,

00:17:09.875 --> 00:17:12.125
guys kinda keep
it down a little bit.

00:17:12.208 --> 00:17:14.333
But right now,
they came from a long trip.

00:17:14.416 --> 00:17:15.416
They're irritated.

00:17:17.750 --> 00:17:19.375
- [Child]
Come out, iiníí.

00:17:21.166 --> 00:17:22.458
- [Narrator] While a
few of the buffalo

00:17:22.541 --> 00:17:24.583
came out
later that evening.

00:17:24.666 --> 00:17:27.375
Most waited
until the morning.

00:17:27.458 --> 00:17:30.166
They now need to stay
in quarantine for a month

00:17:30.250 --> 00:17:32.833
because of the border
crossing requirements.

00:17:38.833 --> 00:17:40.833
(gentle music)

00:17:44.375 --> 00:17:46.416
The buffalo
evolved perfectly

00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:49.333
with multiple
North American ecosystems

00:17:49.416 --> 00:17:51.250
and can thrive
almost anywhere.

00:17:55.333 --> 00:17:57.000
They are
a keystone species.

00:17:58.625 --> 00:18:00.166
This means
they influence

00:18:00.250 --> 00:18:02.375
and support
multitudes of beings

00:18:02.458 --> 00:18:04.166
who share the
land with them.

00:18:08.666 --> 00:18:10.583
They keep
everything in balance.

00:18:14.416 --> 00:18:16.291
As they move
across the land

00:18:16.375 --> 00:18:18.041
their hooves
aerate the soil.

00:18:23.791 --> 00:18:26.500
As they graze,
they ensure renewed growth.

00:18:35.208 --> 00:18:37.708
Their woolly
coats capture seeds

00:18:37.791 --> 00:18:40.125
and distribute them
across great distances.

00:18:51.583 --> 00:18:53.583
Their wool,

00:18:53.666 --> 00:18:55.416
urine,

00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:57.333
patties,

00:18:57.416 --> 00:18:58.750
and mucus

00:18:58.833 --> 00:19:01.000
provide benefit to many.

00:19:07.083 --> 00:19:10.291
And their wallowing, where
they rock back and forth,

00:19:10.375 --> 00:19:14.375
creating dust bowls, gives
them protection from insects

00:19:14.458 --> 00:19:16.666
and helps shed
their winter coats.

00:19:20.291 --> 00:19:23.208
The wallows create
much needed pools of water.

00:19:26.791 --> 00:19:30.125
The land and countless beings
miss their presence.

00:19:43.458 --> 00:19:46.250
Both Indigenous people
and buffalo people

00:19:46.333 --> 00:19:50.208
moved freely
across North America

00:19:50.291 --> 00:19:52.166
until Canada and
the United States

00:19:52.250 --> 00:19:54.708
created a border
across our territories.

00:19:54.791 --> 00:19:56.791
(gentle music)

00:20:01.458 --> 00:20:04.666
One herd has a historic
relationship with that border.

00:20:07.833 --> 00:20:11.625
They originated as orphan
calves in Blackfeet territory,

00:20:11.708 --> 00:20:14.333
the survivors of the
slaughter south of the border.

00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:20.791
The oral history
of the Salish Kootenai

00:20:20.875 --> 00:20:23.500
tells of a Salish
man named Atatice.

00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.791
He had a dream, which told
him to gather orphan calves

00:20:29.875 --> 00:20:32.833
and bring them over the Rocky
Mountains to start a new herd.

00:20:36.791 --> 00:20:39.666
Eventually,
Atatice's son did just that

00:20:39.750 --> 00:20:43.083
during the dying days of
the Buffalo in the 1870s.

00:20:45.250 --> 00:20:47.375
The herd changed hands
to Charles Allard

00:20:47.458 --> 00:20:50.500
and Michelle Pablo,
also tribal members.

00:20:57.791 --> 00:21:00.666
The US government forced
individual land ownership

00:21:00.750 --> 00:21:04.416
onto many reservations
opening up land for settlers.

00:21:13.166 --> 00:21:15.208
When the Confederated
Salish Kootenai

00:21:15.291 --> 00:21:17.583
lost two thirds
of their land,

00:21:17.666 --> 00:21:19.833
Pablo was forced to
sell the buffalo herd.

00:21:23.208 --> 00:21:26.458
The government of Canada
was the only willing buyer,

00:21:26.541 --> 00:21:29.083
and it took three years
to round up the herd.

00:21:35.166 --> 00:21:37.625
Once the buffalo
arrived in Canada,

00:21:37.708 --> 00:21:39.666
they were moved
to different areas

00:21:39.750 --> 00:21:41.625
with some eventually
being slaughtered.

00:21:43.333 --> 00:21:46.541
But a small healthy herd
and its descendants

00:21:46.625 --> 00:21:48.666
remained in
Elk Island National Park.

00:21:52.125 --> 00:21:55.666
The US government then took
more Salish Kootenai land

00:21:55.750 --> 00:21:57.750
for a National Bison Range.

00:22:00.166 --> 00:22:02.541
Since that time,
the Salish Kootenai

00:22:02.625 --> 00:22:04.958
have been fighting
to get their land back

00:22:05.041 --> 00:22:07.166
and to be the caretakers
for the buffalo

00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:09.041
on the National Bison Range.

00:22:12.458 --> 00:22:14.583
The buffalo
avoided extinction,

00:22:14.666 --> 00:22:17.500
but lost their
freedom and agency

00:22:17.583 --> 00:22:19.583
on both sides
of the border.

00:22:21.333 --> 00:22:24.000
Land was lost on the
Canadian side as well.

00:22:27.416 --> 00:22:31.000
19th and early 20th century
Canadian government policies

00:22:31.083 --> 00:22:34.500
deliberately forced
my Cree people apart,

00:22:34.583 --> 00:22:38.000
resulting in more reserves
with smaller land bases.

00:22:41.458 --> 00:22:43.166
Then the government
made policies

00:22:43.250 --> 00:22:45.000
that restricted
our movement.

00:22:46.750 --> 00:22:49.583
Cree Elders spoke of
how Indigenous people

00:22:49.666 --> 00:22:51.375
confined to
our reserves

00:22:51.458 --> 00:22:54.375
resembled the
state of the buffalo,

00:22:54.458 --> 00:22:56.375
both of us
behind fences

00:22:56.458 --> 00:22:59.000
and unable to
move across our lands.

00:23:03.666 --> 00:23:07.583
We are slowly tearing these
fences down through resistance

00:23:07.666 --> 00:23:10.000
and undoing the
impacts of colonization.

00:23:27.833 --> 00:23:31.041
- [Leroy] Two nations
that are with us today

00:23:31.125 --> 00:23:34.166
that want to
sign the treaty.

00:23:34.250 --> 00:23:36.750
- [Narrator] The third annual
Buffalo Treaty gathering

00:23:36.833 --> 00:23:38.583
is held in
Banff National Park.

00:23:39.875 --> 00:23:41.625
The park once
had a small herd,

00:23:41.708 --> 00:23:43.708
but no buffalo
currently exist there.

00:23:44.791 --> 00:23:47.583
(drumming and singing)

00:24:08.250 --> 00:24:10.250
(cameras clicking)

00:24:16.875 --> 00:24:18.875
(clapping)

00:24:20.083 --> 00:24:22.333
- We would like to
welcome you to the fold.

00:24:22.416 --> 00:24:24.375
(laughing)

00:24:24.458 --> 00:24:26.416
- Yeah.
- Thank you, everyone.

00:24:31.750 --> 00:24:33.000
- [Narrator]
Earlier in the week,

00:24:33.083 --> 00:24:35.333
the signatories met
to set resolutions

00:24:35.416 --> 00:24:37.125
in areas where
the buffalo and

00:24:37.208 --> 00:24:38.708
buffalo people
need support.

00:24:41.125 --> 00:24:43.666
One is for the
Confederated Salish Kootenai

00:24:43.750 --> 00:24:46.875
to have the National Bison
range restored to their people.

00:24:48.166 --> 00:24:50.500
- [Leonard] It's been said
time and time again

00:24:50.583 --> 00:24:54.875
how the buffalo are bringing
the people back together.

00:24:54.958 --> 00:24:58.250
And we've
been so close in

00:24:58.333 --> 00:25:01.583
restoring the
bison range so many times,

00:25:01.666 --> 00:25:05.875
only to have the
door shut tightly.

00:25:07.041 --> 00:25:10.708
And currently,
we're so close

00:25:10.791 --> 00:25:14.625
to having feet on the
ground at the bison range.

00:25:14.708 --> 00:25:18.958
I'm praying that
the voices, the signatures

00:25:19.041 --> 00:25:24.291
behind the resolution
are what tips the scale

00:25:24.375 --> 00:25:28.958
and finally gets our people
back at the bison range.

00:25:30.833 --> 00:25:32.833
(gentle music)

00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.833
- [Narrator] The Blackfeet
calves in Montana

00:25:49.916 --> 00:25:52.208
are now finished
their quarantine

00:25:52.291 --> 00:25:54.916
and get to move
to a more open space

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:57.416
a little closer
to a freer existence.

00:26:01.083 --> 00:26:03.250
And while the Blackfeet
have had a buffalo herd

00:26:03.333 --> 00:26:06.541
for a while,
these calves are special

00:26:06.625 --> 00:26:09.166
as they are descendants
from those orphan calves

00:26:09.250 --> 00:26:10.708
taken from
their territory

00:26:10.791 --> 00:26:12.583
to the Salish
Kootenai territory.

00:26:19.458 --> 00:26:22.083
Ervin Carlson has been the
Blackfeet Tribe's Buffalo

00:26:22.166 --> 00:26:25.125
program manager
for decades,

00:26:25.208 --> 00:26:26.458
but he's also
the president

00:26:26.541 --> 00:26:29.333
of the Intertribal
Buffalo Council.

00:26:29.416 --> 00:26:32.916
Formed 30 years ago,
the ITBC strives

00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.416
to restore buffalo
to tribal lands.

00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:38.958
- [Ervin] I wanted to bring
back adult animals here

00:26:39.041 --> 00:26:42.458
to start our breeding,
breeding program a lot earlier.

00:26:42.541 --> 00:26:45.583
But, um,
as I stood there

00:26:45.666 --> 00:26:47.625
and I looked out
at those animals and,

00:26:47.708 --> 00:26:50.708
and it just hit me that
they left here as calves.

00:26:50.791 --> 00:26:54.000
And so they wanted to
return here as calves

00:26:54.083 --> 00:26:57.291
to grow up here,
back in the original homeland.

00:26:57.375 --> 00:26:59.875
And even through
bringing them back

00:26:59.958 --> 00:27:02.708
with the iiníí project
being in place

00:27:02.791 --> 00:27:07.333
and then, it just hit me
how all of these,

00:27:07.416 --> 00:27:08.916
these things
fell into place.

00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:13.250
Just, um, things that
were not of our control,

00:27:13.333 --> 00:27:15.250
but I think it
was their control.

00:27:15.333 --> 00:27:17.916
(trailers rattling)

00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.000
(gentle music)

00:27:26.083 --> 00:27:27.333
It was another
real good feeling

00:27:27.416 --> 00:27:29.375
to see them
be out of the pens.

00:27:29.458 --> 00:27:31.916
And I hate to see them
being in the little pen

00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:34.583
and, uh, and
even worked, you know,

00:27:34.666 --> 00:27:35.791
through a chute
and stuff like that.

00:27:35.875 --> 00:27:38.791
Those things
are not for them.

00:27:38.875 --> 00:27:42.125
So it was good to see them
getting out and being free.

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:52.208
- [Narrator] I felt it was
important to bring my son

00:27:52.291 --> 00:27:54.000
on some
of the shoots.

00:27:57.791 --> 00:27:59.375
When he was born

00:27:59.458 --> 00:28:02.458
I wanted him to have
what I didn't have

00:28:02.541 --> 00:28:04.583
a strong connection
to who he is.

00:28:04.666 --> 00:28:07.083
(laughing)

00:28:07.166 --> 00:28:10.166
He's grown up visiting
buffalo and hearing our stories.

00:28:19.250 --> 00:28:22.958
There is a Cree and Nakoda
story about the Mistasiniy,

00:28:23.041 --> 00:28:25.916
also known as the
Mostos-Awasis Asiniy

00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:28.000
or Buffalo Child Stone.

00:28:33.958 --> 00:28:36.208
One version
tells of a baby boy

00:28:36.291 --> 00:28:38.291
who is accidentally
left behind.

00:28:42.041 --> 00:28:44.083
Two buffalo,
find the child,

00:28:44.166 --> 00:28:46.666
and one decides to adopt
him as a grandchild.

00:28:49.916 --> 00:28:52.916
The boy grows up
thinking he is a buffalo.

00:28:55.791 --> 00:28:57.125
He's very content.

00:28:57.208 --> 00:28:59.791
Until he sees his
reflection in the water

00:28:59.875 --> 00:29:01.541
and realizes
he is different.

00:29:01.625 --> 00:29:03.791
(buffalo gently grunts)

00:29:03.875 --> 00:29:05.916
His grandfather tells
him he should go back

00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.000
to visit his
own human people.

00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:15.041
He eventually starts his own
family and is happy once again.

00:29:15.125 --> 00:29:18.000
But he also deeply misses
his buffalo family.

00:29:20.125 --> 00:29:22.416
He goes back to
his buffalo grandfather

00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:24.000
to ask what
he should do.

00:29:26.333 --> 00:29:30.333
His grandfather tells him
he can roll over four times

00:29:30.416 --> 00:29:32.791
and become the
Mostos-Awasis Asiniy.

00:29:32.875 --> 00:29:35.000
(buffalo grunting)

00:29:35.083 --> 00:29:37.916
In this stone form
he would now always

00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:40.500
be the place
for the human people

00:29:40.583 --> 00:29:44.708
to come to honour the buffalo
people for their sacrifice.

00:29:53.833 --> 00:29:57.041
In 1966,
the government decided

00:29:57.125 --> 00:30:00.208
the Mostos-Awasis Asiniy
needed to be destroyed

00:30:00.291 --> 00:30:02.000
in order to
make way for a dam.

00:30:03.583 --> 00:30:05.708
There was a desperate
effort to raise the money

00:30:05.791 --> 00:30:08.166
to save it,
without success.

00:30:11.208 --> 00:30:14.708
My family members held one
of the last ceremonies there

00:30:14.791 --> 00:30:16.250
before it
was blown up.

00:30:34.916 --> 00:30:39.083
In 2021, the Saskatchewan
Indigenous Cultural Center

00:30:39.166 --> 00:30:43.333
received land to hold fragments
of the Buffalo Child Stone.

00:30:47.041 --> 00:30:51.291
As indigenous people
recovering from waves of trauma,

00:30:51.375 --> 00:30:53.208
we are all
seeking the healing

00:30:53.291 --> 00:30:55.333
needed to put
ourselves back together.

00:31:31.791 --> 00:31:33.125
Jason Baldez leads

00:31:33.208 --> 00:31:36.166
the Wind River
Tribal Buffalo Initiative.

00:31:36.250 --> 00:31:39.458
He's on the board of the
Intertribal Buffalo Council

00:31:39.541 --> 00:31:41.541
and is the
Buffalo Program Manager

00:31:41.625 --> 00:31:44.000
for the National
Wildlife Federation.

00:31:44.083 --> 00:31:45.000
- [Jason] That's a big guy.

00:31:45.083 --> 00:31:46.166
- [Narrator]
His biggest influence

00:31:46.250 --> 00:31:47.666
is his dad, Richard,

00:31:47.750 --> 00:31:50.416
one of the first
Indigenous wildlife biologists

00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:51.958
in North America.

00:31:53.083 --> 00:31:56.750
When Jason was a teenager,
Richard took him to Africa,

00:31:56.833 --> 00:31:59.750
where they witnessed
the wildebeest migration,

00:31:59.833 --> 00:32:02.916
inspiring Jason to take
on his father's dream

00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:06.000
of bringing the buffalo
back to their tribal lands.

00:32:09.125 --> 00:32:10.208
- [Tasha] Did you
ever worry that it

00:32:10.291 --> 00:32:11.833
wasn't gonna happen
in your lifetime?

00:32:11.916 --> 00:32:14.791
- [Richard] Oh yeah,
lots of times.

00:32:14.875 --> 00:32:17.916
Coming out here and
seeing the buffalo

00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:20.458
and looking
at them in the eye,

00:32:20.541 --> 00:32:24.166
and they almost know that
they're something special.

00:32:24.250 --> 00:32:26.958
And I'm sure Jason has
told you or gonna tell you.

00:32:27.041 --> 00:32:29.208
Are you gonna tell
them about the five buffalo?

00:32:29.291 --> 00:32:31.250
- I didn't tell
them yet, yeah.

00:32:31.333 --> 00:32:33.458
- Well, you should
tell them that story.

00:32:33.541 --> 00:32:35.041
- It was 2019,

00:32:35.125 --> 00:32:38.500
and we were due to get
five bulls from Fort Peck

00:32:38.583 --> 00:32:41.041
to share in a
Yellowstone offspring.

00:32:41.125 --> 00:32:43.291
So we had a
tribe-to-tribe agreement,

00:32:43.375 --> 00:32:47.916
and three times the weather
canceled it on us.

00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:51.916
And on, uh,
on the third,

00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.541
on the third attempt,
uh, we had people show up.

00:32:56.625 --> 00:32:58.583
Buffalo were
supposed to arrive,

00:32:58.666 --> 00:33:01.041
and they got
rained out up north,

00:33:01.125 --> 00:33:02.791
and so they
didn't get loaded.

00:33:03.916 --> 00:33:06.916
We decided to do
a little event here anyway,

00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:10.666
and so we perched up
on top of the hill there

00:33:10.750 --> 00:33:13.458
and, uh, all the
buffalo were down low.

00:33:13.541 --> 00:33:14.916
And so the
singers, they,

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:16.833
they started
singing a couple songs

00:33:16.916 --> 00:33:21.125
and five bulls
come out of the herd

00:33:21.208 --> 00:33:24.125
and came up
the hill and came.

00:33:24.208 --> 00:33:26.833
And as the singers
were singing, the,

00:33:26.916 --> 00:33:30.750
the buffalo
were dancing.

00:33:30.833 --> 00:33:33.416
They came close
to the drum and they

00:33:33.500 --> 00:33:37.458
presented themselves
as if they were standing in

00:33:37.541 --> 00:33:39.708
for the five that
were supposed to arrive.

00:33:41.416 --> 00:33:44.208
It's just indescribable
kind of things like that

00:33:44.291 --> 00:33:46.708
that happen with
these buffalo, that.

00:33:46.791 --> 00:33:49.250
It's metaphysical, it's-

00:33:49.333 --> 00:33:52.000
It's beyond our
understanding sometimes.

00:33:53.916 --> 00:33:55.000
- [Richard] You know,
there was a lot of people

00:33:55.083 --> 00:33:58.333
that were opposed to
bringing buffalo here.

00:33:59.833 --> 00:34:04.000
And then because of a lot of
the work that Jason is doing,

00:34:04.083 --> 00:34:06.041
and people coming,
being able to come out here

00:34:06.125 --> 00:34:11.208
and experience that with
the animals, animals themselves,

00:34:11.291 --> 00:34:12.583
that's pretty
potent stuff.

00:34:14.916 --> 00:34:16.291
That's cool.

00:34:16.375 --> 00:34:17.416
- [Jason] What are you
doing there, Buffalo?

00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:18.500
- [Tasha] Hello.

00:34:25.833 --> 00:34:28.041
So where I'm from,
we've got moose, right?

00:34:28.125 --> 00:34:29.041
Moose and elk.

00:34:29.125 --> 00:34:32.291
Big ungulates going
through the land.

00:34:32.375 --> 00:34:34.375
No one
stops to say,

00:34:34.458 --> 00:34:37.416
"Hey, they, they should
be behind fences, right?"

00:34:37.500 --> 00:34:40.791
But, but buffalo,
it's different.

00:34:40.875 --> 00:34:44.458
And I'm just curious
what you guys think about that.

00:34:44.541 --> 00:34:46.625
- They should never
have been fenced in the-

00:34:46.708 --> 00:34:48.083
they should
never be fenced.

00:34:48.166 --> 00:34:51.083
And and of course,
native people looked at the land

00:34:51.166 --> 00:34:55.416
differently than
non-native people.

00:34:55.500 --> 00:34:57.041
Ownership.
We don't own it.

00:34:57.125 --> 00:34:59.875
We're just here to take care
of it for a little while and,

00:34:59.958 --> 00:35:02.166
and live
off the land.

00:35:02.250 --> 00:35:06.458
And, uh, that philosophy
that came over

00:35:06.541 --> 00:35:10.416
from the ocean,
across the ocean,

00:35:10.500 --> 00:35:14.708
uh, just doesn't,
didn't fit in.

00:35:14.791 --> 00:35:16.041
And we're still
fighting that.

00:35:18.041 --> 00:35:20.458
- [Tasha] What do you think
is behind that resistance

00:35:20.541 --> 00:35:22.416
that people have that,

00:35:22.500 --> 00:35:24.916
that need to keep
buffalo behind fences?

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:25.916
Like what?

00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:28.416
- The west was won.

00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:32.500
That colonial and
assimilative processes

00:35:32.583 --> 00:35:35.458
that were brought here
with a different worldview.

00:35:36.916 --> 00:35:38.833
It trained people to
think that things need to be

00:35:38.916 --> 00:35:41.833
domesticated,
fenced in, fenced out,

00:35:41.916 --> 00:35:43.416
plowed up,
paved over.

00:35:44.750 --> 00:35:46.333
Progress.

00:35:48.291 --> 00:35:50.083
And so the
people that, you know,

00:35:50.166 --> 00:35:51.916
once the buffalo
was eliminated

00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:53.875
and tribes were
forced onto reservations

00:35:53.958 --> 00:35:56.041
it made way for these
large beef operations.

00:35:56.125 --> 00:35:57.250
You, you hear
a lot about the

00:35:57.333 --> 00:35:59.333
fourth or fifth
generation ranchers.

00:36:01.041 --> 00:36:04.375
Well, what about the millennia
of generations before that,

00:36:04.458 --> 00:36:06.500
that we relied
on buffalo?

00:36:06.583 --> 00:36:07.958
And most of the people
that are opposed

00:36:08.041 --> 00:36:10.291
to tribal
buffalo restoration

00:36:10.375 --> 00:36:12.083
were also opposed
to tribal sovereignty

00:36:12.166 --> 00:36:13.541
and self-determination.

00:36:17.083 --> 00:36:20.000
People know that history
and the atrocities.

00:36:22.666 --> 00:36:26.666
And many don't know how
to help or do anything,

00:36:26.750 --> 00:36:30.208
but if we can take
some of that energy

00:36:30.291 --> 00:36:32.666
and turn it
into something good,

00:36:32.750 --> 00:36:36.708
then that means that
buffalo restoration

00:36:36.791 --> 00:36:40.375
can be land rematriation,
which is reconciliation.

00:36:50.416 --> 00:36:52.958
- [Narrator] Richard has
passed the torch to Jason,

00:36:53.041 --> 00:36:55.916
and it makes me reflect
on other Indigenous people

00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:59.416
who worked hard to protect and
restore buffalo in the past.

00:37:02.458 --> 00:37:04.458
The big
challenges remain,

00:37:04.541 --> 00:37:06.916
including conflict
over grazing lands.

00:37:09.333 --> 00:37:13.333
Bringing back the buffalo in
a big way across the continent

00:37:13.416 --> 00:37:15.416
requires
sharing the land

00:37:15.500 --> 00:37:17.583
and transcending
imposed boundaries.

00:37:19.666 --> 00:37:23.333
It also requires
collaboration and innovation,

00:37:23.416 --> 00:37:26.416
so the buffalo can live
a life less contained.

00:37:33.583 --> 00:37:37.875
The only continuously free
unfenced herd of plains buffalo

00:37:37.958 --> 00:37:40.000
is in Yellowstone
National Park.

00:37:42.583 --> 00:37:45.791
In the dying days,
a small herd of 23 buffalo

00:37:45.875 --> 00:37:49.166
hid to avoid poachers
and survived.

00:37:51.166 --> 00:37:53.833
The herd now
numbers around 5,000.

00:37:58.916 --> 00:38:00.500
The buffalo
want to maintain

00:38:00.583 --> 00:38:02.333
their seasonal
movement patterns

00:38:02.416 --> 00:38:04.708
that are dependent
on availability of food.

00:38:07.791 --> 00:38:10.791
But they don't know that
there is a park boundary.

00:38:10.875 --> 00:38:12.541
And once
they enter Montana

00:38:12.625 --> 00:38:14.291
according
to state policy,

00:38:14.375 --> 00:38:16.000
they can be shot.

00:38:17.958 --> 00:38:20.291
Some Indigenous people
have always argued

00:38:20.375 --> 00:38:22.250
against
this practice,

00:38:22.333 --> 00:38:24.458
but efforts to
challenge this in court

00:38:24.541 --> 00:38:26.041
have not yet
been successful.

00:38:27.666 --> 00:38:32.041
Tribal hunters are guaranteed
access to hunt for sustenance,

00:38:32.125 --> 00:38:35.833
but some of the people
holding guns are non-Indigenous.

00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:43.875
Because cattle were in
the park in the past,

00:38:43.958 --> 00:38:47.125
some of these buffalo
now carry brucellosis,

00:38:47.208 --> 00:38:49.000
a cattle disease
that causes

00:38:49.083 --> 00:38:51.541
pregnant mothers
to lose their calves.

00:38:53.083 --> 00:38:55.250
There has never
been a case where buffalo

00:38:55.333 --> 00:38:57.541
spread the
disease to cattle,

00:38:57.625 --> 00:38:59.583
but it's often
used as an excuse

00:38:59.666 --> 00:39:01.791
to limit buffalo
on public lands.

00:39:04.708 --> 00:39:07.708
More recently, the
Intertribal Buffalo Council

00:39:07.791 --> 00:39:11.125
successfully advocated
for a quarantine system

00:39:11.208 --> 00:39:13.333
to capture some of
the migrating animals

00:39:13.416 --> 00:39:15.250
and test
for brucellosis.

00:39:18.416 --> 00:39:22.000
If healthy after two years,
the buffalo can be moved

00:39:22.083 --> 00:39:25.250
to the first quarantine
facility outside of the park

00:39:25.333 --> 00:39:28.375
on the Fort Peck reservation
in Northeast Montana.

00:39:31.041 --> 00:39:35.083
If after a certain time the
buffalo are still disease free,

00:39:35.166 --> 00:39:37.708
Fort Peck can transfer
the healthy animals

00:39:37.791 --> 00:39:39.291
to US-based tribes.

00:39:48.125 --> 00:39:52.041
The Pté Group is made up of
Indigenous women from Fort Peck

00:39:52.125 --> 00:39:53.833
who are committed
to bringing Buffalo

00:39:53.916 --> 00:39:56.333
consciousness
to their community.

00:39:56.416 --> 00:39:58.333
They have
multiple projects

00:39:58.416 --> 00:40:00.416
with the Buffalo
Treaty as a guide.

00:40:02.333 --> 00:40:04.583
They work closely
with Robbie Magnan,

00:40:04.666 --> 00:40:07.541
the longtime buffalo
manager for Fort Peck.

00:40:07.625 --> 00:40:10.833
- [Robbie] Not only have we
given to different reservations,

00:40:10.916 --> 00:40:14.375
our goal is to put them on
federal lands, national parks,

00:40:14.458 --> 00:40:17.458
reserves, and actually
transfer them over to

00:40:17.541 --> 00:40:19.333
our relatives
to the north.

00:40:19.416 --> 00:40:21.625
And we're working on,
hopefully someday we can

00:40:21.708 --> 00:40:23.041
get some up
there to the north.

00:40:24.416 --> 00:40:26.666
- [Suzanne] One thing
about Indian people,

00:40:26.750 --> 00:40:28.458
as a value,
is we share,

00:40:28.541 --> 00:40:30.041
we share
everything we have.

00:40:30.125 --> 00:40:34.291
So I mean, Robbie and
Donnie have been there

00:40:34.375 --> 00:40:37.416
to see them going
to their new homes.

00:40:37.500 --> 00:40:38.833
What a gift,
what a blessing.

00:40:38.916 --> 00:40:40.750
A little sad that
they're going, you know,

00:40:40.833 --> 00:40:45.208
but that's sending medicine,
that's sharing that medicine

00:40:45.291 --> 00:40:47.416
with all our other,
our other relatives,

00:40:47.500 --> 00:40:50.000
the other nations
is giving them medicine

00:40:50.083 --> 00:40:52.833
and they're so happy
to receive them

00:40:52.916 --> 00:40:56.333
so that treaty is
helping other people.

00:40:56.416 --> 00:40:58.500
We're just, we all
wanna help the nations.

00:40:58.583 --> 00:41:00.208
We all need
to help each other.

00:41:01.625 --> 00:41:02.833
- [Jonny] You know,
a lot of these projects

00:41:02.916 --> 00:41:04.500
just don't
come into being.

00:41:04.583 --> 00:41:07.083
A lot of these projects
depend on a lot of hard work

00:41:07.166 --> 00:41:09.125
by a lot of people
behind the scenes.

00:41:09.208 --> 00:41:11.166
And Suzanne is one
of those powerhouses

00:41:11.250 --> 00:41:13.375
behind the scenes
that make it happen.

00:41:13.458 --> 00:41:17.208
And so, you know, we're not,
not many people know enough

00:41:17.291 --> 00:41:20.375
or say enough to say
thank you or pinamiya to them,

00:41:20.458 --> 00:41:23.875
but those people in any
project with any tribal nation,

00:41:23.958 --> 00:41:27.166
those are the type of people
you need to make the successes.

00:41:27.250 --> 00:41:29.125
Sure, we get mad at
each other once in a while,

00:41:29.208 --> 00:41:30.875
but we know
what we have to do

00:41:30.958 --> 00:41:32.208
is for the
benefit of everyone.

00:41:32.291 --> 00:41:34.250
And then we put those
aside and come back and

00:41:34.333 --> 00:41:37.541
put our nose back to the
grindstone and keep on working.

00:41:39.291 --> 00:41:40.666
- [Suzanne]
We're like the buffalo.

00:41:40.750 --> 00:41:43.958
That small group went in the
Yellowstone to save themselves.

00:41:44.041 --> 00:41:48.041
I said, "we are
saving ourselves as well."

00:41:48.125 --> 00:41:50.541
They tried to exterminate
them as well as our people.

00:41:50.625 --> 00:41:52.541
So, that didn't happen.

00:41:52.625 --> 00:41:54.083
We're coming back stronger.

00:41:54.166 --> 00:41:58.083
So, Indian people all
over are very resilient.

00:41:58.166 --> 00:42:01.250
You know, they, they
have a little, you know,

00:42:01.333 --> 00:42:03.208
they're a little bruised
and a little battered,

00:42:03.291 --> 00:42:05.083
but you know, they're,
they're going to get well,

00:42:05.166 --> 00:42:06.625
we're going to get well,
we're gonna get better.

00:42:06.708 --> 00:42:09.625
And this is the hope I have
for these efforts here.

00:42:14.583 --> 00:42:16.916
- [Robbie] I really
never knew, understood,

00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:21.458
how connected the buffalo
are with the Creator.

00:42:24.125 --> 00:42:27.791
One time we had
a buffalo that died.

00:42:27.875 --> 00:42:30.875
Well, at that time we
had a bear coming here

00:42:30.958 --> 00:42:32.416
who chased
our buffalo around.

00:42:33.541 --> 00:42:36.375
So I went and put
some game cameras out

00:42:36.458 --> 00:42:38.750
where this
dead bull was.

00:42:38.833 --> 00:42:42.041
Different coyotes and birds
were all trying to come in.

00:42:43.416 --> 00:42:45.458
These younger bulls
were pushing it away,

00:42:45.541 --> 00:42:47.625
and they were, they
weren't letting it on there.

00:42:47.708 --> 00:42:49.750
And that continued on
for four days.

00:42:53.541 --> 00:42:55.208
And then they just
let the carcass go.

00:42:57.041 --> 00:42:59.958
So I talked to one of
our traditional people,

00:43:01.125 --> 00:43:03.791
and he said,
"that's where Assiniboines

00:43:03.875 --> 00:43:05.375
got a four day feast."

00:43:05.458 --> 00:43:08.375
That you mourn your
dead for four days.

00:43:08.458 --> 00:43:10.458
And basically what
the younger bulls

00:43:10.541 --> 00:43:12.083
were respecting -
they were mourning him.

00:43:12.166 --> 00:43:14.166
(gentle music)

00:44:17.250 --> 00:44:18.666
- [Narrator] After
years of urging

00:44:18.750 --> 00:44:20.083
by both
non-Indigenous

00:44:20.166 --> 00:44:21.791
and Indigenous
people.

00:44:21.875 --> 00:44:25.333
Banff National Park decides
to reintroduce buffalo.

00:44:27.333 --> 00:44:30.375
Buffalo Treaty advisors
urge them to be inclusive

00:44:30.458 --> 00:44:32.166
of indigenous people.

00:44:32.250 --> 00:44:34.125
And so the
Blackfoot Confederacy,

00:44:34.208 --> 00:44:37.125
the Stoney-Nakoda
and Tsuut'ina Nation

00:44:37.208 --> 00:44:39.500
are invited to hold
a joint ceremony.

00:44:42.041 --> 00:44:44.375
- We're not really
blessing this, this place.

00:44:44.458 --> 00:44:47.333
We're asking for
blessings from this place.

00:44:47.416 --> 00:44:49.208
This is
a sacred place.

00:44:53.208 --> 00:44:54.833
- [Narrator]
We are all given tobacco

00:44:54.916 --> 00:44:56.208
and asked
to pray together.

00:44:59.125 --> 00:45:01.125
(singing in background)

00:45:10.208 --> 00:45:13.750
The next day, Leroy will
be flown up via helicopter

00:45:13.833 --> 00:45:16.458
to put down the tobacco
in the back country

00:45:16.541 --> 00:45:18.916
where the buffalo will
eventually be placed.

00:45:25.666 --> 00:45:28.500
(singing in background)

00:45:28.583 --> 00:45:30.583
(drumming and singing)

00:45:32.666 --> 00:45:34.125
(laughing)

00:45:34.208 --> 00:45:36.791
(indescernible chatting)

00:45:36.875 --> 00:45:39.333
(drumming and singing)

00:46:09.000 --> 00:46:11.250
(helicopter whirring)

00:46:19.416 --> 00:46:20.708
A few months later,

00:46:20.791 --> 00:46:24.375
16 buffalo from Elk Island
National Park arrive.

00:46:29.916 --> 00:46:32.375
Once the buffalo's hooves
are on the ground,

00:46:32.458 --> 00:46:34.666
they immediately run
to the exact site

00:46:34.750 --> 00:46:36.708
where Leroy
placed the tobacco.

00:46:38.041 --> 00:46:40.541
They will now choose
how much they have contact

00:46:40.625 --> 00:46:41.875
with human people.

00:46:49.750 --> 00:46:51.750
(birds chirping)

00:46:57.750 --> 00:47:02.416
- [Leroy] Again, today,
a very historic time

00:47:02.500 --> 00:47:07.416
that we've had three
more new signatories

00:47:07.500 --> 00:47:09.833
to the Buffalo Treaty.

00:47:09.916 --> 00:47:13.875
As we can see,
and as we have witnessed,

00:47:13.958 --> 00:47:17.500
the buffalo is,
seems in the center

00:47:17.583 --> 00:47:21.041
and it's bringing
us all together.

00:47:21.125 --> 00:47:23.916
- [Johnny]
Okay, before I sign,

00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:26.750
before I sign,
can I have your attention now?

00:47:26.833 --> 00:47:28.333
All of you
buffalo owners,

00:47:28.416 --> 00:47:30.208
all of our
country people,

00:47:30.291 --> 00:47:33.916
before I signed this
in your hearts,

00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:37.625
in your hearts now
promise me

00:47:37.708 --> 00:47:39.416
that you will
honour the buffalo.

00:47:39.500 --> 00:47:41.625
Take care of them.

00:47:41.708 --> 00:47:44.041
We don't need to
play with the buffalo.

00:47:44.125 --> 00:47:45.125
Honour them.

00:47:46.708 --> 00:47:48.458
Some of these guys
that are trophy shooting,

00:47:48.541 --> 00:47:51.416
they probably won't
hit the target anyway.

00:47:51.500 --> 00:47:54.041
Poor bull
might be suffering.

00:47:54.125 --> 00:47:55.583
Respect that.

00:47:55.666 --> 00:47:56.833
Is that okay?

00:47:57.916 --> 00:47:59.916
I'm gonna sign here.

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:01.916
Yeah, right here.

00:48:08.541 --> 00:48:10.875
(clapping)

00:48:14.125 --> 00:48:16.958
- [Narrator] Organizations
and individuals can sign

00:48:17.041 --> 00:48:18.833
as supporters
of the treaty

00:48:18.916 --> 00:48:21.541
as their commitment
to the buffalo.

00:48:21.625 --> 00:48:24.458
My son decides
to pick up the pen.

00:48:26.041 --> 00:48:28.041
(clapping)

00:48:49.041 --> 00:48:50.958
(gentle music)

00:48:51.041 --> 00:48:54.375
As we all walk through
the stunning bison range.

00:48:54.458 --> 00:48:56.916
I can understand
why the Salish Kootenai

00:48:57.000 --> 00:48:58.750
want to
have it back.

00:49:23.375 --> 00:49:25.083
- [Ron] Oh, 'cause I had
one chase me before

00:49:25.166 --> 00:49:26.666
during the
breeding season.

00:49:30.041 --> 00:49:32.000
Big bull right there
looking at us.

00:49:33.791 --> 00:49:35.458
- [Narrator] Ron Brown Otter
is a long time

00:49:35.541 --> 00:49:38.083
Indigenous
buffalo rancher.

00:49:38.166 --> 00:49:40.208
He was part of
a class action lawsuit

00:49:40.291 --> 00:49:41.833
to force
the US government

00:49:41.916 --> 00:49:43.916
to treat Indigenous
ranchers fairly.

00:49:46.375 --> 00:49:49.291
Ron is on the board
of the Tanka Fund.

00:49:49.375 --> 00:49:50.958
Their mandate
is to support

00:49:51.041 --> 00:49:53.583
independent Indigenous
buffalo ranchers

00:49:53.666 --> 00:49:57.625
and reestablish a
sustainable buffalo economy.

00:49:57.708 --> 00:49:59.458
- [Ron] All Native Americans,

00:49:59.541 --> 00:50:02.291
anywhere,
that want to get started,

00:50:02.375 --> 00:50:05.250
individual family
people that want to get

00:50:05.333 --> 00:50:08.458
started in the buffalo,
we're there to provide

00:50:08.541 --> 00:50:11.916
assistance from
technical to

00:50:12.000 --> 00:50:15.166
inject grant funds
to help them.

00:50:15.250 --> 00:50:17.041
Yeah, I never had that
when I got started.

00:50:17.125 --> 00:50:19.583
I wish
I would've, but.

00:50:19.666 --> 00:50:22.708
The young people nowadays
that are coming in

00:50:22.791 --> 00:50:24.291
have an
excellent opportunity

00:50:24.375 --> 00:50:27.625
to participate,
if they choose.

00:50:27.708 --> 00:50:30.458
- [Woman] Trying to get
some more buffalo for,

00:50:30.541 --> 00:50:33.416
well, hopefully
two more projects.

00:50:33.500 --> 00:50:35.875
- I mean, if you gave me like,
let's say for example,

00:50:35.958 --> 00:50:37.333
ten Badlands bulls.

00:50:37.416 --> 00:50:40.416
I can give
you 10 yearlings.

00:50:40.500 --> 00:50:41.750
- For something -
other project?

00:50:41.833 --> 00:50:45.000
- Yeah, for a project for
somebody else to start.

00:50:45.083 --> 00:50:46.291
- Yep.

00:50:48.333 --> 00:50:50.666
- [Narrator] Tanka connects
experienced individuals,

00:50:50.750 --> 00:50:53.666
like Ron, with new
buffalo ranchers

00:50:53.750 --> 00:50:57.125
so they can be empowered and
the number of herds can grow.

00:50:59.458 --> 00:51:01.791
(airplane whirring)

00:51:11.375 --> 00:51:12.500
(indescernible chatting)

00:51:12.583 --> 00:51:15.125
(laughing)

00:51:21.208 --> 00:51:22.208
(laughing)

00:51:22.291 --> 00:51:23.708
- Did you pick the bigger one?
- Yeah.

00:51:23.791 --> 00:51:25.833
- I know.
(laughing)

00:51:25.916 --> 00:51:28.000
- [Narrator] My friend
Helen Augare Carlson

00:51:28.083 --> 00:51:31.458
is an educator at the
Blackfeet Community College.

00:51:32.500 --> 00:51:33.916
She and her
husband Sheldon

00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:35.750
also have their
own buffalo herd.

00:51:35.833 --> 00:51:36.916
- [Pilot] Uh, none of
the backseat passengers

00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:37.916
will be able to
reach that, but you.

00:51:38.000 --> 00:51:38.916
- So, if I'm bored...

00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:40.750
(laughing)

00:51:43.250 --> 00:51:44.583
- [Narrator]
Helen and Irvin are part of

00:51:44.666 --> 00:51:46.416
the Blackfeet
Lands collective.

00:51:48.083 --> 00:51:51.291
The collective intends to
place the Blackfeet calves,

00:51:51.375 --> 00:51:54.083
who are now adults,
with their own families

00:51:54.166 --> 00:51:56.791
near Chief Mountain,
a sacred place

00:51:56.875 --> 00:51:58.875
close to the Montana,
Alberta border.

00:52:00.958 --> 00:52:03.291
Members of the collective
are being flown up

00:52:03.375 --> 00:52:06.250
to see where the
buffalo might go.

00:52:06.333 --> 00:52:08.625
- [Helen]
It's such a big effort

00:52:08.708 --> 00:52:11.166
amongst a lot of
different people,

00:52:11.250 --> 00:52:14.166
like a diverse
group of people,

00:52:14.250 --> 00:52:16.291
working together
to ensure

00:52:16.375 --> 00:52:22.791
that this will be
their place for eternity.

00:52:24.166 --> 00:52:27.291
It was
always the vision

00:52:27.375 --> 00:52:31.625
that we would release
them to be free roaming.

00:52:31.708 --> 00:52:36.291
And I think
Chief Mountain area,

00:52:36.375 --> 00:52:38.916
there's just
a strength there.

00:52:39.000 --> 00:52:41.958
That sense of
acceptance and access.

00:52:42.041 --> 00:52:45.583
And for them,
it has all those things.

00:52:45.666 --> 00:52:49.250
It has the
plentiful ecosystem

00:52:49.333 --> 00:52:53.791
and whether they roam into
the province of Alberta

00:52:53.875 --> 00:52:59.000
or into the state of Montana,
it's not about ownership.

00:52:59.083 --> 00:53:02.375
Right from the very beginning
of the dialogues, we,

00:53:02.458 --> 00:53:06.708
we said,
no one owns the buffalo.

00:53:06.791 --> 00:53:10.208
We all have our part
in taking care of them.

00:53:10.291 --> 00:53:14.291
They've taken care of us
for so many generations,

00:53:14.375 --> 00:53:16.958
and it's now our turn
to take care of them.

00:53:17.041 --> 00:53:21.166
So it's not about
a sense of ownership

00:53:21.250 --> 00:53:25.916
as it is about a sense of
how do we work together

00:53:26.000 --> 00:53:28.250
to make sure that
their life is good.

00:53:34.458 --> 00:53:35.791
Yay.

00:53:38.291 --> 00:53:39.500
Oh, did it.

00:53:39.583 --> 00:53:41.333
(laughing)

00:53:41.416 --> 00:53:42.458
That was amazing.

00:53:42.541 --> 00:53:43.458
- Oh...

00:53:43.541 --> 00:53:44.958
Well, I'm glad
you got to see it.

00:53:46.666 --> 00:53:48.416
- Yep.
- Yes. I was like. (gasps)

00:53:48.500 --> 00:53:50.958
This was on the bucket list
and I didn't even know it.

00:53:51.041 --> 00:53:53.000
(laughing)

00:53:58.291 --> 00:54:00.833
- [Helen] The buffalo
are healing.

00:54:00.916 --> 00:54:03.583
Iinii can just,
you can watch them-

00:54:03.666 --> 00:54:05.750
they're like water.

00:54:05.833 --> 00:54:07.541
And one minute
they're here,

00:54:07.625 --> 00:54:10.458
and then they, they look
like they're moving so slow,

00:54:10.541 --> 00:54:12.375
but next thing
they're over here.

00:54:12.458 --> 00:54:16.875
And just to even just watch
them move across the land

00:54:16.958 --> 00:54:19.958
is so healing.

00:54:20.041 --> 00:54:23.916
It just opens up
your mind again to how

00:54:24.000 --> 00:54:26.083
much, you know,
they can teach us,

00:54:26.166 --> 00:54:29.375
and how much
we have learned

00:54:29.458 --> 00:54:30.666
and how much
we have lost.

00:54:30.750 --> 00:54:36.666
And that makes it that much
more important to not just,

00:54:36.750 --> 00:54:40.250
appreciate them
because they're food,

00:54:40.333 --> 00:54:43.208
but appreciate them
because they're,

00:54:43.291 --> 00:54:44.500
they're family.

00:54:51.625 --> 00:54:53.416
- [Narrator] The Confederated
Salish Kootenai

00:54:53.500 --> 00:54:55.875
finally gets the
National Bison Range

00:54:55.958 --> 00:54:58.041
back from the
US government.

00:55:01.375 --> 00:55:04.708
- [Whisper] We fought for
a long time to get this back.

00:55:04.791 --> 00:55:08.916
We've had relationships that
have waxed and waned over time

00:55:09.000 --> 00:55:11.291
and grew and fell apart.

00:55:11.375 --> 00:55:14.500
And we've got to a place
where we have good relationships

00:55:14.583 --> 00:55:18.208
with our neighbours, with the
federal government on some of

00:55:18.291 --> 00:55:21.666
these co-management
type of objectives.

00:55:21.750 --> 00:55:25.291
And the bison can almost take
care of themselves out here.

00:55:26.958 --> 00:55:29.791
So there's already those
discussions within the tribes

00:55:29.875 --> 00:55:33.041
of where can we start to
blur that line with the fence

00:55:33.125 --> 00:55:35.708
and start to encompass
a little bit more.

00:55:35.791 --> 00:55:39.208
And maybe someday we'll have
bison roaming a little bit more

00:55:39.291 --> 00:55:43.083
freely out on the Flathead River
like they did when the

00:55:43.166 --> 00:55:48.375
Pablo-Allard herd was here
when Atatice had his herd

00:55:48.458 --> 00:55:50.958
grazing down there
on his family's land.

00:55:51.041 --> 00:55:55.708
And so that's what
we wanna see, is not just

00:55:55.791 --> 00:55:57.291
this park,
this place.

00:55:57.375 --> 00:55:59.375
We want it to be part
of the reservation

00:55:59.458 --> 00:56:03.375
because it is
a part of us now, again.

00:56:06.833 --> 00:56:09.208
(gentle music)

00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:22.291
(drumming)

00:57:26.500 --> 00:57:28.125
- [Narrator]
It's Indigenous People's Day

00:57:28.208 --> 00:57:29.958
in the
United States

00:57:30.041 --> 00:57:31.791
and Wind Cave
National Park

00:57:31.875 --> 00:57:34.041
and the Intertribal
Buffalo Council

00:57:34.125 --> 00:57:37.666
co-host a celebration
for the buffalo.

00:57:37.750 --> 00:57:40.041
- [Jace] The Black Hills,
the Pahá Sápa.

00:57:40.125 --> 00:57:43.375
this is the place
that holds all the songs.

00:57:43.458 --> 00:57:47.250
It holds the whole
story of our creation.

00:57:47.333 --> 00:57:50.416
And it is
where we came from.

00:57:50.500 --> 00:57:54.833
The sacred land that we
are in is, when I think of,

00:57:54.916 --> 00:57:58.791
Buffalo Gap, that is the
way that our buffalo came

00:57:58.875 --> 00:58:01.916
through that gap so that
they could be in this part of

00:58:02.000 --> 00:58:03.541
the country
for a while.

00:58:03.625 --> 00:58:07.208
We have to remember that
the land is our relative,

00:58:07.291 --> 00:58:09.291
just as the bison
is our relative,

00:58:09.375 --> 00:58:11.625
the land is
our relative.

00:58:11.708 --> 00:58:16.916
And we are, um, we need to
take care of our relatives.

00:58:17.000 --> 00:58:22.833
- So...
(speaking Lakota)

00:58:22.916 --> 00:58:26.458
Take care of the people,
take care of the bison.

00:58:26.541 --> 00:58:28.875
There is only one life.

00:58:28.958 --> 00:58:32.208
So I leave that
as your responsibility.

00:58:32.291 --> 00:58:33.833
Thank you very much
for listening, folks.

00:58:33.916 --> 00:58:36.416
(speaking Lakota)

00:58:36.500 --> 00:58:37.583
For all my relatives.

00:58:37.666 --> 00:58:39.833
(clapping)

00:58:46.833 --> 00:58:49.666
- [Narrator] Historically,
national parks on both sides

00:58:49.750 --> 00:58:53.458
of the border have not been
fair to Indigenous people

00:58:53.541 --> 00:58:56.916
with expulsion and exclusion
at the heart of their policies.

00:58:57.000 --> 00:58:59.875
(gentle music)

00:58:59.958 --> 00:59:03.583
This is starting to shift,
in particular around cooperation

00:59:03.666 --> 00:59:07.416
and the buffalo,
both in the US and in Canada.

00:59:12.083 --> 00:59:14.750
This is where the Intertribal
Buffalo Council has been

00:59:14.833 --> 00:59:19.250
integral in the US,
dismantling those barriers

00:59:19.333 --> 00:59:20.458
and working
with partners

00:59:20.541 --> 00:59:23.583
to support tribal
buffalo restoration,

00:59:23.666 --> 00:59:26.875
including transferring
surplus buffalo to tribes.

00:59:31.208 --> 00:59:34.166
Because all buffalo
living today are descended

00:59:34.250 --> 00:59:36.541
from the same
few hundred animals,

00:59:36.625 --> 00:59:39.500
their genetic
health is a priority.

00:59:39.583 --> 00:59:42.083
And because most buffalo
are behind fences

00:59:42.166 --> 00:59:45.833
and not moved around, some
herds have not had new genetics

00:59:45.916 --> 00:59:47.791
introduced since
everything changed.

00:59:47.875 --> 00:59:50.083
(panels clanking)

00:59:59.583 --> 01:00:02.291
The buffalo at Wind Cave
National Park are undergoing

01:00:02.375 --> 01:00:04.000
genetic and
disease testing.

01:00:05.958 --> 01:00:08.166
They will soon travel
in different directions

01:00:08.250 --> 01:00:10.500
to several
Indigenous nations.

01:00:17.625 --> 01:00:20.000
Some are going to
the Rosebud Reservation

01:00:20.083 --> 01:00:22.083
for their
Wolakota Buffalo Range.

01:00:30.666 --> 01:00:34.000
Wolakota is an ambitious
model of buffalo restoration.

01:00:36.000 --> 01:00:38.750
They have received buffalo
from over 10 different herds

01:00:38.833 --> 01:00:40.750
across North America,

01:00:40.833 --> 01:00:44.000
placing them on
28,000 contiguous acres.

01:00:49.041 --> 01:00:51.166
They have
extensive partnerships,

01:00:51.250 --> 01:00:53.458
including the
World Wildlife Fund

01:00:53.541 --> 01:00:55.791
and the US Department
of the Interior.

01:00:58.625 --> 01:01:02.500
This Buffalo herd will soon be
the largest in North America

01:01:02.583 --> 01:01:05.041
that is cared for
by indigenous people.

01:01:05.125 --> 01:01:07.125
(gentle music)

01:01:09.208 --> 01:01:11.041
Their goal is
to create a space

01:01:11.125 --> 01:01:13.250
where genetics can
be mixed naturally.

01:01:14.750 --> 01:01:17.625
The buffalo here will
once again have agency

01:01:17.708 --> 01:01:19.625
in their own
breeding health.

01:01:19.708 --> 01:01:23.375
(uplifting music)

01:01:45.833 --> 01:01:48.041
(hooves clanking)

01:01:59.833 --> 01:02:03.833
- [Wizipan] Our hope for them
is to provide a place

01:02:03.916 --> 01:02:08.083
where they can be their
full selves as, as buffalo,

01:02:08.166 --> 01:02:10.000
their full
and authentic selves.

01:02:10.083 --> 01:02:12.458
Where they're, where they
have an opportunity

01:02:12.541 --> 01:02:14.833
to live and to act
like buffalo,

01:02:14.916 --> 01:02:19.000
to structure themselves
according to their own unique

01:02:19.083 --> 01:02:21.333
culture and
societal systems.

01:02:23.625 --> 01:02:25.000
We emerged.

01:02:25.083 --> 01:02:26.833
And we emerged from

01:02:26.916 --> 01:02:29.666
a place called Wind Cave
in the Black Hills.

01:02:29.750 --> 01:02:31.416
And some of us
came out as human

01:02:31.500 --> 01:02:33.250
and then others
came out as buffalo.

01:02:33.333 --> 01:02:36.250
And so we're really the
one in the same people.

01:02:36.333 --> 01:02:38.416
We have the same root,
the same ancestor.

01:02:40.708 --> 01:02:42.541
And from
that perspective,

01:02:42.625 --> 01:02:45.750
in order for us to be
who we are in our full,

01:02:45.833 --> 01:02:48.583
authentic,
full selves as Lakota,

01:02:48.666 --> 01:02:51.416
we have to be, have a
relationship with the buffalo.

01:02:51.500 --> 01:02:54.833
And we would also say
that in order for Buffalo,

01:02:54.916 --> 01:02:58.375
for Tatanka to be their
full and authentic selves,

01:02:58.458 --> 01:03:01.125
they have to
do their, their duty,

01:03:01.208 --> 01:03:03.208
their work to
help take care of us.

01:03:05.208 --> 01:03:06.833
- [Nick]
Generations before

01:03:06.916 --> 01:03:09.666
they dreamed of moments
like this for us.

01:03:09.750 --> 01:03:11.416
And they dreamed that
one day there would be people

01:03:11.500 --> 01:03:14.291
that would have
the courage, you know,

01:03:14.375 --> 01:03:16.375
to step out
and do something

01:03:16.458 --> 01:03:18.500
even if people didn't
think it was possible.

01:03:18.583 --> 01:03:21.166
Some of you might have
seen land back t-shirts,

01:03:21.250 --> 01:03:23.916
land back flags,
you know,

01:03:24.000 --> 01:03:26.041
that whole movement
of land back is about

01:03:26.125 --> 01:03:29.500
rebuilding the relationship
between the people and the land

01:03:29.583 --> 01:03:31.125
and the people
and our way of life

01:03:31.208 --> 01:03:34.041
and the people
and the buffalo.

01:03:34.125 --> 01:03:36.083
And I ask us
in the next generation

01:03:36.166 --> 01:03:39.291
to actually ask ourselves
this question is that,

01:03:39.375 --> 01:03:42.500
is it possible that
the best days of our people

01:03:42.583 --> 01:03:45.708
are actually in front of us
and not behind us?

01:03:47.958 --> 01:03:49.041
(speaking Lakota)

01:03:49.125 --> 01:03:50.208
Think about that.

01:03:50.291 --> 01:03:53.333
If we actually
believe that

01:03:53.416 --> 01:03:56.291
it requires to
take action today

01:03:56.375 --> 01:03:59.166
and today
on days like this

01:03:59.250 --> 01:04:01.750
and what's happening here,
I believe that.

01:04:01.833 --> 01:04:03.041
(gentle music)

01:04:03.125 --> 01:04:05.125
And it's an
honour to be here.

01:04:21.041 --> 01:04:24.083
- [Wizipan] If we were
to go back to the 1800s,

01:04:24.166 --> 01:04:27.750
the plain's ecosystem
was comprised of these vast

01:04:27.833 --> 01:04:31.083
seas of prairie grass
that were tall and lush

01:04:31.166 --> 01:04:33.166
and vibrant
with root systems

01:04:33.250 --> 01:04:36.083
that went down into the
ground six feet or more.

01:04:37.541 --> 01:04:41.166
That acted as an
incredible carbon sink.

01:04:41.250 --> 01:04:43.708
And so when we
reintroduce buffalo

01:04:43.791 --> 01:04:45.333
back into
the environment,

01:04:45.416 --> 01:04:49.208
what happens is the
revitalization of that

01:04:49.291 --> 01:04:52.166
original plains
prairie ecosystem.

01:04:55.125 --> 01:04:56.916
So in that scenario,

01:04:57.000 --> 01:04:59.833
buffalo become
climate change fighters.

01:05:05.208 --> 01:05:07.125
- [Narrator] Buffalo are
an integral part of

01:05:07.208 --> 01:05:08.916
climate change
mitigation.

01:05:12.041 --> 01:05:13.750
They support
biodiversity,

01:05:13.833 --> 01:05:16.000
increasing
grasslands resilience.

01:05:20.791 --> 01:05:24.000
They also improve the soil's
ability to retain water.

01:05:26.125 --> 01:05:28.583
This matters, as the
grasslands ecosystem

01:05:28.666 --> 01:05:31.416
is one of the most
threatened in the world,

01:05:31.500 --> 01:05:33.458
yet its ability
to hold carbon

01:05:33.541 --> 01:05:35.666
rivals
The Amazon rainforest.

01:05:39.000 --> 01:05:42.166
Buffalo are also part
of climate change adaptation,

01:05:42.250 --> 01:05:44.958
especially for Indigenous
people's food sovereignty.

01:05:46.583 --> 01:05:49.083
Restoring buffalo
as a food source,

01:05:49.166 --> 01:05:52.125
done through sacred
protocols and agreements,

01:05:52.208 --> 01:05:54.458
is integral
to the restoration

01:05:54.541 --> 01:05:56.250
of our health
and wellbeing.

01:06:05.958 --> 01:06:07.166
- [Sage] We talked to
the Buffalo Nation

01:06:07.250 --> 01:06:09.250
and told them what
we're gonna do today.

01:06:09.333 --> 01:06:12.666
And we offered offerings
and we sang songs

01:06:12.750 --> 01:06:14.750
in celebration
and we danced.

01:06:21.500 --> 01:06:22.958
- [Narrator]
The Wolakota Buffalo Range

01:06:23.041 --> 01:06:24.750
is hosting
a buffalo harvest

01:06:24.833 --> 01:06:26.375
for the Lakota
Immersion School

01:06:28.583 --> 01:06:29.833
(indescernible)

01:06:31.208 --> 01:06:33.000
These five
and six year olds,

01:06:33.083 --> 01:06:35.541
and their families,
are working together

01:06:35.625 --> 01:06:37.500
to secure their
food for the year.

01:06:44.000 --> 01:06:45.375
- [Katrina]
How do I do this one?

01:06:47.583 --> 01:06:49.500
Part of our history

01:06:49.583 --> 01:06:52.333
in terms
of colonization,

01:06:52.416 --> 01:06:56.541
has really broken those
connections between ourselves

01:06:56.625 --> 01:06:59.250
and our identity
as Lakota people,

01:06:59.333 --> 01:07:00.916
our life ways,

01:07:01.000 --> 01:07:03.458
the ways we even
perceive animals,

01:07:03.541 --> 01:07:05.625
the ways we cook,

01:07:05.708 --> 01:07:07.416
the ways we use food.

01:07:07.500 --> 01:07:11.500
All of that has been,
has been interrupted.

01:07:11.583 --> 01:07:13.541
- But I'm just gonna wait
for that to stay right there.

01:07:13.625 --> 01:07:14.833
- You wanna cut
it right here?

01:07:14.916 --> 01:07:16.458
- [Man] You should build
a cooking shack down here.

01:07:16.541 --> 01:07:17.750
- You can just leave it out.

01:07:17.833 --> 01:07:19.166
Yeah, you can just leave it.

01:07:19.250 --> 01:07:21.375
- That one that I got was
like a thick piece like this.

01:07:23.000 --> 01:07:23.916
- Right there.
- Yeah.

01:07:24.000 --> 01:07:25.250
- Good job.

01:07:25.333 --> 01:07:27.875
- [Katrina] This is my first
time harvesting a buffalo.

01:07:27.958 --> 01:07:31.375
And I loved how it
was one of the kids

01:07:31.458 --> 01:07:34.166
that it's actually
teaching me how to butcher

01:07:34.250 --> 01:07:36.875
who has a lot more
butchering experience than I do.

01:07:36.958 --> 01:07:38.791
And she's
a great teacher.

01:07:38.875 --> 01:07:40.583
I can't wait
for her to grow up

01:07:40.666 --> 01:07:42.666
and teach this
to other people.

01:07:42.750 --> 01:07:43.833
I mean,
she's teaching now.

01:07:43.916 --> 01:07:45.208
- Now come down.

01:07:48.791 --> 01:07:50.416
- [Katrina] Oh, good job.

01:07:50.500 --> 01:07:51.750
Oh my god.

01:07:51.833 --> 01:07:53.125
- And that's
how it's done.

01:07:55.250 --> 01:07:56.375
- But you're doing it.

01:07:56.458 --> 01:07:58.041
- No, I don't think so.

01:07:58.125 --> 01:08:00.458
- Yeah, you are.

01:08:00.541 --> 01:08:03.541
Okay, lift it up on
the bottom right there.

01:08:03.625 --> 01:08:05.458
See?
Get it straightened out.

01:08:05.541 --> 01:08:06.875
- Eww.

01:08:06.958 --> 01:08:08.166
- There we go.

01:08:08.250 --> 01:08:09.375
- Yeah, we're going to.

01:08:22.208 --> 01:08:24.208
(indescernible)

01:08:28.875 --> 01:08:30.166
- The one time. Anyway.

01:08:30.250 --> 01:08:31.333
- All that stuff
you can peel off.

01:08:31.416 --> 01:08:32.666
It goes back in the soup
to thicken the soup.

01:08:32.750 --> 01:08:35.291
- Mmmmm. It's good.

01:08:35.375 --> 01:08:37.916
- This here is
just meat that.

01:08:38.000 --> 01:08:40.125
- You need to take it off.

01:08:40.208 --> 01:08:43.208
- Some of it's really thick
and that's what that tool's for.

01:08:43.291 --> 01:08:44.541
Lemme see
this real quick.

01:08:46.666 --> 01:08:50.333
(singing)

01:09:05.875 --> 01:09:08.250
- Don't stop.
- Looks good.

01:09:15.958 --> 01:09:19.208
- [Robbie] This year
we'll be doing 40 names

01:09:19.291 --> 01:09:22.875
and this year
is really unique

01:09:22.958 --> 01:09:25.833
as it has grown
through the years.

01:09:25.916 --> 01:09:29.250
And this year,
358 people applied.

01:09:29.333 --> 01:09:30.666
- Holy moly.

01:09:30.750 --> 01:09:34.041
- [Robbie] They come from
12 different states.

01:09:36.000 --> 01:09:38.375
- [Narrator] It's time for
Fort Peck's annual lottery

01:09:38.458 --> 01:09:40.625
for tribal members
chance to hunt.

01:09:40.708 --> 01:09:42.416
- [Robbie] Number one.

01:09:48.166 --> 01:09:50.250
- 19.

01:09:50.333 --> 01:09:51.916
- Number 19.

01:09:54.750 --> 01:09:56.083
- 21.

01:09:57.166 --> 01:09:58.375
- 2, 1.

01:10:01.458 --> 01:10:03.125
- That's your pick
for this year.

01:10:03.208 --> 01:10:04.916
- Yeah.
- Thank you very much.

01:10:05.000 --> 01:10:06.208
(clapping)

01:10:06.291 --> 01:10:09.000
- [Narrator] One of the chosen
numbers goes to the family

01:10:09.083 --> 01:10:12.583
of Jonny BearCub Stiffarm,
from the Pté Group.

01:10:12.666 --> 01:10:14.583
- [Jonny] We want
your prayers

01:10:14.666 --> 01:10:17.875
and we ask you
to take these,

01:10:17.958 --> 01:10:19.208
for us to do
our ceremony.

01:10:19.291 --> 01:10:21.208
And what we
want done is,

01:10:21.291 --> 01:10:24.500
I want a blessings for
their buffalo hunt tomorrow.

01:10:24.583 --> 01:10:26.583
They're gonna
be hunting and

01:10:26.666 --> 01:10:30.750
we're going to ask Frankie
to shoot for us because,

01:10:30.833 --> 01:10:33.125
you know,
we lost Kip, our son Kip,

01:10:33.208 --> 01:10:36.166
and this will be our first
buffalo hunt that we're doing,

01:10:36.250 --> 01:10:38.250
that we don't
have him with us.

01:10:38.333 --> 01:10:41.541
And so Frankie will be shooting
on behalf of the family.

01:11:11.750 --> 01:11:13.833
- [Robbie] They're getting
in a protective mode.

01:11:13.916 --> 01:11:15.625
They sense
something's wrong.

01:11:15.708 --> 01:11:19.083
So they're getting
in a tight group.

01:11:19.166 --> 01:11:21.666
- [Jonny] I think that
going after the buffalo

01:11:21.750 --> 01:11:25.083
and doing it
as a family group

01:11:25.166 --> 01:11:28.583
and going through all of our
ceremonies the night before,

01:11:28.666 --> 01:11:30.583
getting everyone ready
in the right set of mind

01:11:30.666 --> 01:11:34.208
to be thankful and
to actually do the hunt

01:11:34.291 --> 01:11:37.250
and that, it's really
a healing experience.

01:11:37.333 --> 01:11:41.791
I think it brings back
a lot of balance back

01:11:41.875 --> 01:11:45.375
to families who are,
and going through grief.

01:11:45.458 --> 01:11:48.791
Um, and it brings back a
lot of really good memories.

01:12:04.458 --> 01:12:06.083
- Okay. That second one.

01:12:06.166 --> 01:12:08.083
- Okay.
Can I get closer?

01:12:08.166 --> 01:12:10.291
- Yeah.

01:12:10.375 --> 01:12:12.083
I see the far right one.

01:12:14.375 --> 01:12:15.666
- The smaller group
on the far right?

01:12:15.750 --> 01:12:16.875
- Yeah.

01:12:20.041 --> 01:12:21.833
When she comes open.

01:12:21.916 --> 01:12:22.958
(gun shot)

01:12:26.458 --> 01:12:28.541
You had that quick opportunity
and you got it.

01:12:28.625 --> 01:12:29.791
(Robbie laughs)

01:12:29.875 --> 01:12:30.875
- Thank you, Robbie.

01:12:32.208 --> 01:12:35.791
(gentle music)

01:14:17.458 --> 01:14:19.291
- [Narrator] These little
buffalo are going to

01:14:19.375 --> 01:14:21.666
the Blood Tribe
or Kainai,

01:14:21.750 --> 01:14:24.000
Leroy and
Amethyst's home.

01:14:26.666 --> 01:14:30.083
This has been the dream since
the buffalo dialogues began.

01:14:41.916 --> 01:14:44.458
- My tears are frozen.
- Really?

01:14:44.541 --> 01:14:46.208
- Yeah, my tears are frozen.

01:14:48.958 --> 01:14:51.791
- Today, is a
very historic day

01:14:51.875 --> 01:14:57.500
because our relatives,
the buffalo, have come home.

01:14:57.583 --> 01:15:00.333
(speaking Blackfoot)

01:15:14.916 --> 01:15:18.583
- [Mike] I'm one of
the original people

01:15:18.666 --> 01:15:23.375
that signed the
original iiníí treaty, 2014.

01:15:23.458 --> 01:15:27.583
I had a dream about
this back in 1980,

01:15:27.666 --> 01:15:33.458
seeing buffalo here and now
I know what that dream meant.

01:15:33.541 --> 01:15:35.916
(speaking Blackfoot)

01:15:59.208 --> 01:16:02.583
So I just told the
buffalo children,

01:16:02.666 --> 01:16:04.250
you're not gonna
go away again.

01:16:05.666 --> 01:16:11.666
Not, uh, to be decimated
like in 1860, 1870,

01:16:11.750 --> 01:16:12.958
they're here to stay.

01:16:14.500 --> 01:16:16.750
And so they're
gonna grow here

01:16:16.833 --> 01:16:19.541
and they're gonna have
their children here.

01:16:19.625 --> 01:16:22.583
They're never gonna
go away again.

01:16:22.666 --> 01:16:26.416
Times have changed and
we're gonna protect the buffalo.

01:16:27.833 --> 01:16:30.500
(strong winds blowing)

01:17:01.250 --> 01:17:02.208
(horn honks)

01:17:02.291 --> 01:17:04.291
(fence rattling)

01:17:13.416 --> 01:17:14.583
- [Narrator]
Fort Peck is sending

01:17:14.666 --> 01:17:18.458
Yellowstone Buffalo
to new homes.

01:17:18.541 --> 01:17:20.541
Robbie Magnan is
joined by the director

01:17:20.625 --> 01:17:23.708
of the Intertribal Buffalo
Council, Troy Heinert.

01:17:37.875 --> 01:17:40.041
- Big bull! Big bull!

01:17:43.125 --> 01:17:45.958
- [Narrator] Previous transfers
have often been bulls,

01:17:46.041 --> 01:17:47.666
but this is one
of the first times

01:17:47.750 --> 01:17:50.000
they've sent off
a kinship group,

01:17:50.083 --> 01:17:54.666
families of buffalo,
including the older cows.

01:17:54.750 --> 01:17:57.333
This allows the herds
collective wisdom

01:17:57.416 --> 01:18:00.000
to remain intact
in their new homes.

01:18:06.958 --> 01:18:09.833
- Yeah, one calf got
in with the others,

01:18:09.916 --> 01:18:12.125
so we'll just put
him on the back with,

01:18:12.208 --> 01:18:13.833
with those
other yearlings.

01:18:13.916 --> 01:18:14.916
Yeah.

01:18:29.708 --> 01:18:32.958
(gentle music)

01:18:56.041 --> 01:18:59.083
(music fades)

01:19:03.666 --> 01:19:07.791
(gentle music)

01:19:47.041 --> 01:19:49.041
(music fades)

01:19:51.875 --> 01:19:54.250
- [Narrator] It's now been
five years since the buffalo

01:19:54.333 --> 01:19:56.250
first arrived
in Banff.

01:19:57.750 --> 01:19:59.208
I'm going to
visit the herd

01:19:59.291 --> 01:20:01.250
with four other
Indigenous women.

01:20:01.333 --> 01:20:02.791
- Oh Yeah, yeah.
- You have to fold it.

01:20:02.875 --> 01:20:05.541
- [Narrator] All of us work
for the buffalo in some way.

01:20:05.625 --> 01:20:06.916
- This is taller than me.

01:20:07.000 --> 01:20:07.916
- I know.

01:20:08.000 --> 01:20:09.833
(laughing)

01:20:11.625 --> 01:20:12.875
- [Narrator]
It's a long way in

01:20:12.958 --> 01:20:14.791
to where we
expect to find them.

01:20:16.500 --> 01:20:20.083
Hikers can spend two weeks
looking and not see them at all.

01:20:21.708 --> 01:20:23.625
I came two years ago

01:20:23.708 --> 01:20:27.000
and while some of our group
got to see them, I did not.

01:20:28.333 --> 01:20:29.875
- We good?
- Yeah. Okay.

01:20:29.958 --> 01:20:31.083
- [Narrator]
Two of the women,

01:20:31.166 --> 01:20:33.458
Kyra Northwest
and Glenda Abbott

01:20:33.541 --> 01:20:35.750
have buffalo
ceremony songs

01:20:35.833 --> 01:20:38.375
and they cannot
be recorded.

01:20:38.458 --> 01:20:42.250
We sing them the day before
we leave, when we arrive,

01:20:42.333 --> 01:20:44.291
and two more times
throughout the hike.

01:20:57.166 --> 01:21:00.000
On our first full day,
we come upon the herd.

01:21:01.333 --> 01:21:03.500
I don't know who
is more startled

01:21:03.583 --> 01:21:05.541
and they run back
into the hills.

01:21:07.458 --> 01:21:10.041
We are worried
we won't see them again.

01:21:10.125 --> 01:21:13.166
But it's gratifying to see
how much the herd has grown

01:21:13.250 --> 01:21:16.083
from the original
16 buffalo.

01:21:16.166 --> 01:21:19.041
(indescernible)

01:21:19.125 --> 01:21:21.833
We're joined by
Marie-Eve Marchand,

01:21:21.916 --> 01:21:25.583
she coordinated the campaign
to bring buffalo back to Banff

01:21:25.666 --> 01:21:27.250
and continues to
work for the buffalo.

01:21:28.250 --> 01:21:29.291
- ...frequently.

01:21:29.375 --> 01:21:30.916
- Yeah, the transformation.

01:21:31.000 --> 01:21:31.916
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

01:21:32.000 --> 01:21:32.916
- [Narrator]
Two years ago

01:21:33.000 --> 01:21:35.125
there were only
a few small wallows

01:21:35.208 --> 01:21:37.041
and it's a
huge surprise to see

01:21:37.125 --> 01:21:39.750
how extensive
the wallow system is

01:21:39.833 --> 01:21:41.666
now that the buffalo's
numbers are climbing.

01:21:42.666 --> 01:21:45.166
- Man, it must be like
so full of minerals

01:21:45.250 --> 01:21:46.333
and like all
the good things.

01:21:46.416 --> 01:21:48.958
- So much,
so much nitrogen.

01:21:52.750 --> 01:21:54.291
- Too awesome.

01:21:55.291 --> 01:21:56.541
- I think it's
the other one.

01:21:56.625 --> 01:21:57.958
- Yeah, it's like
a steel wool.

01:21:58.041 --> 01:21:59.750
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

01:21:59.833 --> 01:22:00.791
- Yeah, we can do dishes.

01:22:00.875 --> 01:22:02.875
(laughing)
- Yeah.

01:22:04.250 --> 01:22:05.750
- Or I can exfoliate.

01:22:05.833 --> 01:22:07.000
(laughing)

01:22:07.083 --> 01:22:08.458
- Actually, yeah.

01:22:08.541 --> 01:22:09.875
- That's better.

01:22:31.416 --> 01:22:33.375
- Yeah.
(laughing)

01:22:33.458 --> 01:22:35.375
Just one foot
in front of the other.

01:22:42.625 --> 01:22:43.875
- [Narrator]
Crocuses are growing

01:22:43.958 --> 01:22:46.458
everywhere
along our path.

01:22:46.541 --> 01:22:49.416
They weren't
here last time.

01:22:49.500 --> 01:22:51.791
In Cree belief,
a crocus grows

01:22:51.875 --> 01:22:54.166
where a baby buffalo
has been born.

01:22:57.333 --> 01:22:59.333
- (whispering)
Don't scare the buffalo.

01:23:09.333 --> 01:23:10.958
- They're doing exactly
what we're doing.

01:23:11.041 --> 01:23:12.666
(laughing)

01:23:12.750 --> 01:23:13.916
- But maybe not so creepy.

01:23:14.000 --> 01:23:14.916
- Right.
- They're watching us.

01:23:15.000 --> 01:23:18.291
(laughing)

01:23:18.375 --> 01:23:20.250
- Aww, the babies.

01:23:31.708 --> 01:23:34.583
- [Narrator] The wallow
system is now under water.

01:23:34.666 --> 01:23:37.541
The beaver has released
water from its dam

01:23:37.625 --> 01:23:40.791
and the benefits to
different species are multiple,

01:23:40.875 --> 01:23:43.375
including the creation
of a shallow wetland,

01:23:43.458 --> 01:23:46.083
that the boreal toad
needs in order to mate.

01:23:46.166 --> 01:23:48.500
(toads croaking)

01:23:56.541 --> 01:23:58.625
(sawing wood)

01:24:13.000 --> 01:24:15.291
- Just waiting patiently
with my spoon in my hand.

01:24:15.375 --> 01:24:17.458
(laughing)

01:24:29.083 --> 01:24:31.916
- [Kyra] I think for me
was when we got up early

01:24:32.000 --> 01:24:34.833
and it was really
kind of windy but quiet

01:24:34.916 --> 01:24:37.041
and we got to just
sit and watch them

01:24:37.125 --> 01:24:39.166
and they were just
slowly waking up

01:24:39.250 --> 01:24:40.583
and kind of
moving around,

01:24:40.666 --> 01:24:42.625
but just laying down,
and resting, relaxing.

01:24:42.708 --> 01:24:44.041
- Yeah.

01:24:44.125 --> 01:24:48.125
- [Glenda] My favourite
thing was actually

01:24:48.208 --> 01:24:52.666
the wallows and how
quickly they changed.

01:24:52.750 --> 01:24:56.375
Like if we had
just gone once,

01:24:56.458 --> 01:24:58.208
we would've
remembered it that way.

01:24:58.291 --> 01:25:02.375
But because we had
the coming back,

01:25:02.458 --> 01:25:05.041
I just felt
like that was,

01:25:05.125 --> 01:25:08.458
it made me wanna be here
for a whole season.

01:25:08.541 --> 01:25:11.916
It made me want
to see all the changes

01:25:12.000 --> 01:25:14.916
in all the species,
in all the things,

01:25:15.000 --> 01:25:16.791
because if that
was just happening

01:25:16.875 --> 01:25:19.416
in like that
amount of time,

01:25:19.500 --> 01:25:22.750
like what takes place
back here all season.

01:25:22.833 --> 01:25:24.416
- [Everyone] Yeah.

01:25:24.500 --> 01:25:26.291
- I look
forward to the day

01:25:26.375 --> 01:25:27.958
where young people
can come out here.

01:25:28.041 --> 01:25:29.208
- Mm-Hmm.
- Yeah.

01:25:29.291 --> 01:25:31.791
- And see it,
and experience it.

01:25:31.875 --> 01:25:34.041
- That's been it
since the first time I came.

01:25:34.125 --> 01:25:37.875
I'm like (gasp) just to
have our children come

01:25:37.958 --> 01:25:41.375
and learn to
observe and reflect

01:25:41.458 --> 01:25:44.500
and also that
spiritual element, right.

01:25:44.583 --> 01:25:47.708
That some of us
didn't get growing up.

01:25:47.791 --> 01:25:51.583
And that's really what
this is been for me, right.

01:25:51.666 --> 01:25:55.333
Is just
a space to feel that

01:25:55.416 --> 01:25:58.541
amongst, amongst
you all, right.

01:25:58.625 --> 01:25:59.625
So...

01:26:09.625 --> 01:26:11.458
- [Narrator]
A week after we return

01:26:11.541 --> 01:26:13.750
the park staff
have something to tell us.

01:26:15.125 --> 01:26:18.083
Their monitoring system
shows the buffalo came to us

01:26:18.166 --> 01:26:21.416
when we sang our
songs at the entrance

01:26:21.500 --> 01:26:23.625
and stayed with us
right until we left.

01:26:34.750 --> 01:26:38.250
(drumming and singing)

01:26:41.541 --> 01:26:44.083
The Buffalo Treaty
continues to grow

01:26:44.166 --> 01:26:47.416
numbering almost
50 sovereign signatories

01:26:47.500 --> 01:26:49.416
as well as hundreds
of supporters.

01:26:49.500 --> 01:26:51.791
(clapping)

01:26:54.416 --> 01:26:57.541
Leroy, Amethyst,
Kyra, Marie-Eve and I

01:26:57.625 --> 01:26:59.750
decide to
start a non-profit

01:26:59.833 --> 01:27:03.208
called the International
Buffalo Relations Institute

01:27:03.291 --> 01:27:06.500
to assist in implementing
the treaty's principles

01:27:06.583 --> 01:27:09.125
and to connect Indigenous
nations in their efforts

01:27:09.208 --> 01:27:10.541
in buffalo
rematriation.

01:27:10.625 --> 01:27:12.208
- First signatory over...

01:27:15.791 --> 01:27:18.500
- [Narrator] We include youth
as one of our main priorities.

01:27:21.291 --> 01:27:23.750
- Come stand by me and
she'll take a picture of us.

01:27:39.833 --> 01:27:42.833
(Leroy singing)

01:28:08.416 --> 01:28:11.083
- [Narrator] The International
Buffalo Relations Institute

01:28:11.166 --> 01:28:14.500
has organized a gathering
in Grasslands National Park.

01:28:16.166 --> 01:28:19.000
- [Leroy] Us being
over here today,

01:28:19.083 --> 01:28:22.708
we're renewing that
connection with the land

01:28:22.791 --> 01:28:26.166
by wandering
around this territory.

01:28:26.250 --> 01:28:29.291
So we're
renewing that,

01:28:29.375 --> 01:28:32.708
that connection
we had with the land.

01:28:32.791 --> 01:28:35.583
So it really
makes us feel good.

01:28:35.666 --> 01:28:38.708
I bet you these rocks
really feel good.

01:28:38.791 --> 01:28:43.583
I bet you the territory,
the land, really feels good.

01:28:43.666 --> 01:28:46.833
See there's some buffalo
hair here right here.

01:28:46.916 --> 01:28:48.208
See?
Right there.

01:28:49.416 --> 01:28:51.250
- Do you wanna pick it up?
- Yeah, pick it up.

01:28:51.333 --> 01:28:52.791
- No.
- You can.

01:28:54.875 --> 01:28:57.041
He's very
tentatively touching.

01:28:57.125 --> 01:28:58.458
There we go.

01:29:07.333 --> 01:29:09.875
- [Narrator] Establishing
intertribal buffalo herds

01:29:09.958 --> 01:29:14.791
on publicly held lands is an
act of true reconciliation.

01:29:16.500 --> 01:29:19.083
This is especially important
to Indigenous peoples

01:29:19.166 --> 01:29:21.333
on the Canadian side
of the border

01:29:21.416 --> 01:29:25.625
as our reserves are too
small to support large herds.

01:29:25.708 --> 01:29:29.375
- [Leroy]
The idea has been

01:29:29.458 --> 01:29:33.916
can we get
the government

01:29:34.000 --> 01:29:39.916
to allow
us to use

01:29:40.000 --> 01:29:44.666
some of those
public lands

01:29:44.750 --> 01:29:47.208
to bring
buffalo back

01:29:47.291 --> 01:29:52.791
and actually
bring ecological

01:29:52.875 --> 01:29:56.708
and environmental
restoration

01:29:56.791 --> 01:30:00.500
to those
public lands

01:30:00.583 --> 01:30:03.833
and also bring

01:30:03.916 --> 01:30:08.375
cultural restoration
to our people.

01:30:08.458 --> 01:30:11.041
- [Glenda] This journey has been
a lot of finding the pieces

01:30:11.125 --> 01:30:14.083
of the puzzle and
realizing what we lost.

01:30:14.166 --> 01:30:16.916
And so it's, it's really
emotional to be able

01:30:17.000 --> 01:30:21.166
to walk the land with,
um, you know, like with Wes

01:30:21.250 --> 01:30:24.000
and Leroy who,
you know, they helped us

01:30:24.083 --> 01:30:26.291
to piece together
our system again.

01:30:26.375 --> 01:30:28.333
And the buffalo were
our original teachers

01:30:28.416 --> 01:30:30.041
and those plants
are original teachers.

01:30:30.125 --> 01:30:33.791
And um, you know,
as we're like, uh,

01:30:33.875 --> 01:30:36.291
what happened in
colonization is it's like

01:30:36.375 --> 01:30:38.666
someone took this
big cup and like

01:30:38.750 --> 01:30:40.375
spread those
teachings out all over

01:30:40.458 --> 01:30:42.291
and there's
pieces here and there

01:30:42.375 --> 01:30:44.208
and we have to go
around and pick them up

01:30:44.291 --> 01:30:45.833
kind of all over.

01:30:45.916 --> 01:30:49.083
And that's why we need
intertribal gatherings

01:30:49.166 --> 01:30:52.125
'cause they have a piece
and they have a piece

01:30:52.208 --> 01:30:53.125
and they have a piece.

01:30:53.208 --> 01:30:56.125
And that's what
we were doing before.

01:30:56.208 --> 01:30:59.541
- It's really an amazing
experience to be here

01:30:59.625 --> 01:31:02.291
with everyone
and to be here

01:31:02.375 --> 01:31:05.166
to listen and participate
in all the activities

01:31:05.250 --> 01:31:06.708
that we're
doing around here

01:31:06.791 --> 01:31:11.083
and how meaningful
it is to me because,

01:31:11.166 --> 01:31:13.708
well, it gives me more
experience learning out here

01:31:13.791 --> 01:31:16.333
instead of, you know,
inside of a classroom

01:31:16.416 --> 01:31:18.666
where you have to
sit there for hours

01:31:18.750 --> 01:31:23.083
just basically not learning
much about my culture.

01:31:23.166 --> 01:31:27.750
And well,
it's like

01:31:27.833 --> 01:31:33.583
emotional and
it's well beautiful to,

01:31:33.666 --> 01:31:36.000
you know,
be here with everyone.

01:31:37.708 --> 01:31:38.916
Ekosi.

01:31:39.000 --> 01:31:41.000
(gentle music)

01:32:00.250 --> 01:32:02.250
(trailer rattling)

01:32:04.916 --> 01:32:06.791
- [Narrator]
In a historic move,

01:32:06.875 --> 01:32:08.916
the Blackfeet release
some of the buffalo

01:32:09.000 --> 01:32:11.958
near Chief Mountain.

01:32:12.041 --> 01:32:15.125
These buffalo can cross
the international border

01:32:15.208 --> 01:32:18.875
and can begin to move freely
within their territory

01:32:18.958 --> 01:32:21.000
as sovereign
buffalo people.

01:32:21.083 --> 01:32:24.000
(gentle music)

01:32:41.875 --> 01:32:44.083
- [Leroy] You may
be young today,

01:32:44.166 --> 01:32:50.000
but it won't be long
into the distant future.

01:32:50.083 --> 01:32:53.041
You people are
gonna be the teachers,

01:32:53.125 --> 01:32:55.916
you're gonna be
the leaders and so on.

01:32:56.000 --> 01:32:59.083
But you're gonna be
playing an important role

01:32:59.166 --> 01:33:04.916
in our communities
and young people unborn now.

01:33:05.000 --> 01:33:08.041
Hey, they're gonna
be coming to you

01:33:08.125 --> 01:33:10.125
and asking
you questions.

01:33:10.208 --> 01:33:12.250
Hey, what's
this all about?

01:33:12.333 --> 01:33:14.958
What's this story
about the buffalo?

01:33:15.041 --> 01:33:20.208
It becomes a responsibility,
becomes a responsibility

01:33:20.291 --> 01:33:22.666
that you have to
carry forward

01:33:22.750 --> 01:33:26.458
for children unborn

01:33:26.541 --> 01:33:29.125
'cause they'll
come into existence.

01:33:57.708 --> 01:34:00.458
The buffalo
never left, you know,

01:34:00.541 --> 01:34:02.875
its spirit
is still there.

01:34:02.958 --> 01:34:07.375
It's us humans
that have to come back

01:34:07.458 --> 01:34:11.625
to the partnership, to the
relationship with the buffalo.

01:34:11.708 --> 01:34:15.291
(gentle music)

01:34:15.375 --> 01:34:18.875
(buffalo grunting)

01:34:29.250 --> 01:34:30.666
- [Narrator]
A beautiful constellation

01:34:30.750 --> 01:34:33.458
of Indigenous people
are returning buffalo

01:34:33.541 --> 01:34:36.875
to the land in
a profound act of justice.

01:34:38.291 --> 01:34:40.875
We are creating
a collective future

01:34:40.958 --> 01:34:43.125
where buffalo
and Indigenous people

01:34:43.208 --> 01:34:45.458
can reclaim
our true selves.

01:34:57.083 --> 01:35:00.000
This film is
a gift for my son,

01:35:00.083 --> 01:35:02.625
other
Indigenous children,

01:35:02.708 --> 01:35:05.000
and for
the buffalo.

01:35:06.208 --> 01:35:10.375
(drumming and singing)

01:35:17.750 --> 01:35:22.041
(buffalo grunting)

Main content

Singing Back the Buffalo

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Distributor subjects

Keywords