Bison return to Rocky Boy

Rocky Boy - Tuesday was a day of celebration on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation as the area became home to bison for the first time in over two decades.

After a celebration that included dancing, prayers and food, 11 bison were released and hundreds, including many local schools' students, looked on as they ran into the reserve just west of Box Elder.

The return of the animals is an event that's been a long time coming, and is of incredible significance not just to the local environment but to the culture of Rocky Boy.

Guest speakers from the area and beyond talked that morning about the importance of the bison to the people of Rocky Boy and their ancestors, providing so much to them in the form of food, clothes, medicine and more.

Tribal Chairman Harlan Gopher Baker said the elders held an invocation earlier that morning, talking about how the animal brought them through many hard times, and now will again.

Baker said the Bison provided for them and was the protector of their people, among the most revered and respected creatures, so this is a historic day for their tribe.

"Today is good, makes me feel good," he said.

He thanked everyone involved with getting these animals to the reservation, especially members of the Rocky Boy Buffalo Project Board.

Rocky Boy Sustainability Director Jason Belcourt, one of the driving forces behind the efforts to bring bison back to the area, said this project began two years ago, through he's been interested in getting these animals back to Rocky Boy since long before then, and he wanted to thank the countless people and organizations that made all of it possible.

Shannon Clairmont, a biologist at the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes Bison Range which provided five of the 11 bison, said the animals are decedents of the original herds from their traditional hunting grounds.

Clairmont said that, after the decimation of the animal's population in the 1800s, orphaned calves were saved to try to rebuild the population, but as their lands became more and more limited the bison had to be sold to buyers in Canada.

However, he said, those bison eventually made their way back and went on to become the backbone of the National Bison Range and the herd at Yellowstone National Park.

"It has been a long journey for them but they've made a full circle, and I am glad to see these bison back," he said. "It's healing for all of us."

He said he hopes the bison will help make a strong health herd for the area.

The six other bison were provided by American Prairie, formerly known as American Praiarie Reserve, and many representatives attended the celebration including Bison Manager Scott Heidebrink who said he was honored to be there, but it's not his organization that requires praise, but the people of Rocky Boy who made all of this happen.

"You should be proud of what you've done," Heidebrink said.

He said he looks forward to seeing what effect this fledgling herd has on the area and he looks forward to future partnerships with Rocky Boy.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Division Chief of Natural Resources Ira New Breast spoke at the event as well, telling the crowd that Acting Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Johnna Blackhair, a member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, dearly wanted to be here for this but wasn't able to come.

He said she sends her best wishes and blessings and he was honored to be there in her stead.

Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, also made an appearance and talked about how his elders always told him stories, that before colonization millions of bison lived on this continent from the Bering Strait to the Everglades, and talked about how important they were to his people.

However, he said, the Montana Legislature has always harbored hostilities toward bison restoration, but thankfully recent attempts to interfere with these efforts have failed.

Chippewa Cree Language Revitalization Program Executive Director Dustin Whitford said the return of the bison and the preservation of the tribe's language and culture is not something done for him, but for the children who should have the opportunity to pray to the Creator in their own language long after he is gone.

Whitford said the bison are a part of that culture, one that provided for them for thousands of years, and now it's time to return the favor.

"The buffalo made a promise to our Creator to never leave our people, to provide food, clothing, home, tools, medicine," Whitford said. "... It's our turn to take care of them as they took care of us."

As the bison were released he asked those present to pray for each other, for themselves, for relatives who may be ill, for those who may be in mourning and for sickness to leave their land.

At the end of the celebration Whitford presented gifts to those that helped bring the bison back to Rocky Boy including members of the tribal council who supported the project, representatives of the organizations that coordinated to make it happen and everyone who worked on setting up the reserve.