Bison hunters abandoned long-used site 1,100 years ago to adapt to changing climate, Great Plains study finds
Droughts reduced the water available for processing animals at a bison kill site in central Montana. Site abandonment was a response to environmental stressors and changing social and economic pressures.
A lone buffalo stands against a glowing horizon, its form illuminated by sweeping strokes of gold, crimson, violet, and deep blue. The textured brushwork brings out the quiet strength and ancient presence of this iconic plains animal, while the vibrant sunset creates a sense of calm, power, and open western skies. This piece blends contemporary color with timeless symbolism, making it a striking addition for anyone who loves wildlife, western landscapes, or bold, expressive art.
Sean Sherman, co-author of a new cookbook and co-founder of The Sioux Chef, explains why original North American foods and #NativeFoodways are vital to creating a healthy and #SustainableFuture
Sean Sherman
October 18, 2017
Excerpt: "Although hamburgers, pizza, and Coca-Cola are among the foods most often identified as 'American' cuisine, the truth is that over-sugared, over-salted, and fat-laden processed fare does not represent the true American diet. The original American cuisine arose from the vibrant and diverse indigenous cultures that thrived across the North American continent for thousands of years before #colonization.
"My grandparents were among the first generation to be systematically assimilated to 'American”' culture—I heard stories of children kidnapped and sent to boarding schools, their hair cut, their language forbidden. How I wish I had been taught more than the handful of recipes I learned as a child — #wasna (dried meat and berries), #taniga (tripe soup), #bapa (#bison jerky), and #wojape (#chokecherry sauce).
"When I was 13 years old, I began my working in professional kitchens, and by my early 20s, I had become an executive chef. I mastered the art of Italian, French, and Spanish cuisines until, at the height of my career, I knew I wanted to understand why there were so few #NativeAmerican restaurants across the U.S.
"As part of The Sioux Chef, I work with my partner #DanaThompson and a team of 10 chefs, plus a number of indigenous culinary partners across Indian country. Our vision is to create more than a restaurant—it will be a place where we can share our skills, knowledge, and passion, with the goal of spreading our work across the whole of North America. To help us achieve these ends, our new #NāTIFS non-profit will focus primarily on indigenous food education and access. Through NāTIFS, we have created a research-and-development team called the '#IndigenousFoodLab' to further our own research, document our work, and help us become better educators.
"We are also building a replicable model that will place an #IndigenousFoodHub in larger urban areas. The hubs will house a regionally unique indigenous restaurant that will not only make the indigenous foods available to the public, but also serve as a training center to educate students in the preparation, cooking, and preservation of #IndigenousFoods. They will also house education centers that offer classes based on the many curriculums we have been developing to help people identify, understand, and apply the knowledge of indigenous food systems."
Pastel Plains Buffalo / Buffalo Art by Lisa S Baker. Pastel hues of pink, lavender, and turquoise swirl across the great buffalo, turning this symbol of strength into a dreamy vision of the open plains. The gentle colors bring a cotton-candy softness to the rugged spirit of the West, blending whimsy with the majesty of nature. Perfect for adding a touch of magic, calm, and Southwest charm to any space, this piece celebrates the harmony between strength and serenity.
"It’s not about ownership. Right from the very beginning of the dialogues, we said, ‘No one owns the buffalo.’ We all have our part in taking care of them. They’ve taken care of us for so many generations, and it’s now our turn to take care of them. How do we work together to make sure their life is good?”
Whisper Camel-Means, member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and wildlife biologist
How Returning Lands to Native Tribes Is Helping Protect Nature
From California to Maine, land is being given back to #NativeAmerican tribes who are committing to managing it for conservation. Some tribes are using #TraditionalKnowledge, from how to support #wildlife to the use of prescribed fires, to protect their ancestral grounds.
By Jim Robbins • June 3, 2021
"Now the [Salish and Kootenai] tribes are managing the range’s #bison and are also helping, through co-management, to manage bison that leave #YellowstoneNationalPark to graze on U.S. Forest Service land. Their Native American management approach is steeped in the close, almost familial, relationship with the animal that once provided food, clothes, shelter — virtually everything their people needed.
"'We treat the buffalo with less stress, and handle them with more respect,' said Tom McDonald, Fish and Wildlife Division Manager for the tribes and a tribal member. The tribes, he noted, recognize the importance of bison family groups and have allowed them to stay together. “That was a paradigm shift from what we call the ranching rodeo type mentality here, where they were storming the buffalo and stampeding animals. It was really kind of a violent, stressful affair.'
"There is a burgeoning movement these days to repatriate some culturally and ecologically important lands back to their former owners, the Indigenous people and local communities who once lived there, and to otherwise accommodate their perspective and participation in the management of the land and its wildlife and plants.
"Throughout the United States, land has been or is being transferred to tribes or is being co-managed with their help. In California, a land trust recently transferred 1,199 acres of redwood forest and prairie to the Esselen tribe, and in Maine, the Five Tribes of the #WabanakiConfederacy recently reacquired a 150-acre island with the help of land trusts. Other recent land transfers to tribes with the goal of conservation have taken place in #Oregon, #NewYork and other states.
"The use of Indigenous management styles that evolved over many centuries of cultures immersed in nature — formally called Traditional Ecological Knowledge (#TEK) — is increasingly seen by conservationists as synergistic with the global campaign to protect #biodiversity and to manage nature in a way that hedges against #ClimateChange.
"The #NatureConservancy, for example, one of the world’s largest conservation organizations, has institutionalized the transfer of ecologically important land with its Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Program in both the U.S. and globally."