Buffalo A Nation: Bison Conservation
Since the beginning of Native American existence throughout the Great Plains of North America, the Buffalo has played an enormous role in the culture, spirituality, and day-to-day material life of the Indians. The Indians have always depended on the presence of bison in their homeland as a source of food, shelter, useful tools, and many other things. Not only do they use each part of the felled buffalo in their daily subsistence, they have a close bond with the bison, viewing them as a sort of spiritual guide to survival. (1) Since the arrival of a Euro-American presence in North America, and some say even before, the population of the bison across the Great Plains of what is now the United States, Canada, and even parts of Mexico has declined tremendously over time. Though we can be sure the European influence and the westward movement based on the principle of Manifest Destiny was partly to blame for the destruction of a large portion of the buffalo population, many argue that the decline came about before their appearance. Some say that Indian groups are to blame for the loss of bison in great numbers. This assumption or conclusion if you will is based upon the overkill theory. The proponents of this theory believe that the buffalo populations were destroyed because a lack of a sense of conservation on the part of the tribes at fault. Due to the communal hunting drives executed by the tribes as sort of a cultural ritual to increase camaraderie and provide food for their peoples, bison were thought to be slaughtered in numbers to great to be utilized all at one time by the Indian people. Because too many buffalo were killed,
their bodies were never used for good and went to waste. Also, these mass hunting practices eliminated a method for separating the female and the immature from the male buffalo, which decreased bison fertility rates, making reproduction and herd growth much more difficult. Some native tribes who didn't practice this type of communal hunting place the blame upon the others that did take part in this ritual. Environmental Historians, (such as Dan Flores, from Buffalo Nation) believe that the tribal shamans couldn't grasp the implications that their way of life would be greatly affected by the loss of the great herds they depended on for so long. I think that it is unfair to assume that the Native Americans are at fault in the issue of buffalo declination in North America. Based upon the history of the Natives taking the role of "Natural Stewards," dedicating their lives to preserving the things they considered holy; the bison above all others, it is wrong to assume that their killing practices led to the downfall of the animal. It is much safer to assume, due to the existence of indisputable historical evidence that the bison population did not begin to decline in unhealthy and dangerous numbers until the arrival of a European influence on the plains of North America. It may however be safe to conclude that the Indian people did little to protect their lands and sacred buffalo from overkill, but due to the lack of advanced weaponry and defense skills, there was little anyone could do to avoid the European invasion. In my humble opinion, Native the camp that claims it has always made an effort to conserve nature may be telling a complete truth and yet it is possible they did what they could but it still wasn't enough to succeed against the immovable forces of change.
(2) It is irrefutable the significance of the bison to the Native American people is historically much different than that of the Non-Native groups of people, specifically those of European descent. To the natives, the bison are a being that has been part of their culture for tens of thousands of years. Many native traditions even dictate that the bison predate humans, and that the first human child was born of the blood of a buffalo. This rich history of buffalo/human interaction wholly differs from the contact between nonnative peoples and the Great American Mammal. Although non-native groups such as the NBA (National Bison Association) and the ABS or American Bison Society, or even the government run National Parks Service, may have the best interest for the preservation of buffalo in mind, they do not possess the deep spiritual connection with the buffalo as Native American groups such as the ITBC, solely because their history of interaction with the animal is simply not as deep rooted. This does not however provide room for assumption that the non-native groups do any less in their efforts to preserve the existence of the buffalo. More importantly, it provides a distinction between the motives behind each group's efforts. Most likely, Native groups continuously attempt to save the buffalo population in order to save part of themselves. Indians lives have been intertwined with the lives of the buffalo for so long that their existence is viewed incomplete without their spiritual companions. This reason for the need to be a steward for the buffalo is equally as valid as that of the non-native conservationist groups. These groups mentioned before believe in saving the buffalo because of its benefits for a healthy and natural ecosystem. They believe that without such an important species, the natural ecosystem of the Great Plains that has existed for thousands of years unchanged would be greatly affected in a negative way. The attitudes
of both Native and Non-Native groups towards the buffalo are not necessarily very different. They both respect the buffalo and recognize a need for their survival. And each stakeholder has a deep concern and interest in the conservation of the species. The only real difference in the viewpoint of the Indian conservationist groups is that their culture places the buffalo on a higher level than most any other being, and they show them respect, reverence, and possess that deep spiritual bond that few have felt. In both cases, the bison mean a lot to a great deal of people, and it is a blessing to see the efforts set forth today towards bison conservation are indeed having a positive affect on the future possibilities for the survival of such a great animal. I believe that the most important thing for these separate conservationists to realize is that when all is said and done, they are fighting the same fight and need to work as a team in order to reach their similar goals of a free-ranging and thriving "Buffalo Nation."