(Wind River Reservation, WY) – “Through the ongoing collaborative efforts led by the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative and a new partnership with Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s Buffalo Enclosure welcomed 11 yearlings,” the Eastern Shoshone Tribe recently shared following a bison release ceremony earlier this month.
The Tribe stated that the occasion marks “yet another strong commitment to our efforts for growing our buffalo herd, practicing our Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and preserving the land our ancestors cared for.”
“We are a member Tribe of the InterTribal Buffalo Council, which has 87 Tribes in total membership,” the Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s Facebook post informs. “These yearlings join a herd that is entirely ‘conservation’ buffalo, meaning there’s no cattle gene introgression. We thank Wayland Bonatsie for leading the drum group and prayer and all those who attended this special welcome.”
You can view a video of the release on the Tribe’s Facebook page, here.
“This time around, it was fascinating to see three bulls approach the enclosure that was holding the yearlings,” Alejandra Robinson, Director of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe Public Relations Office, commented of the release. “The bulls were obviously being protective. They would stand by the enclosure and also approach the people that were there.”
Robinson added that the bison came from Colorado, and that Jason Baldez, Executive Director of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, secured the animals while at the North American Bison Summit in Colorado.
In total there were nine bulls and two heifers, which were donated free of charge to the Eastern Shoshone Tribe from the Laramie Foothills Conservation Bison Herd, Robinson explained.
“The Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative supports both the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho buffalo herds and programs and covered the cost of transport for this addition to the Shoshone Tribe’s herd,” Robinson also shared. “As Jason shared with me, the Shoshone Tribe has one of the healthiest and most diverse conservation buffalo herds across the country.”
So far, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe has received bison from: Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge, National Bison Range, Fort Peck Tribes, City of Denver, Antelope Island, The Nature Conservancy, and Colorado State University.
You can learn more about the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative here.
