They looked after us for thousands of years, and right now, it’s our turn to look after them.” Photo by Team The Tatanka Oyate (Buffalo Nation), we wouldn’t exist without them. “We do this partly for ourselves, and partly for them. “They were here before us, and they will be here after us,” said Little Elk. But it wasn’t just our land, it was also the buffalo’s land,” said Wizipan Little Elk of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe during the event. “Our ancestors roamed this area and it had everything we needed. After the range is fully stocked in 5 years, buffalo will be sold wholesale to provide working capital and jobs, pay leases on the land, and reclaim the link between the Tribe’s identity and the health of buffalo living on their territory. The Wolakota Buffalo Range, a project of the Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO), the economic development arm of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, is the largest Native owned and managed buffalo range in the world. So today, we’re fulfilling a dream and a vision.” Nick Tilsen with Sicangu Lakota students from Rosebud. “Our ancestors dreamed of moments like this for us. “It’s a momentous day and an honor to witness the buffalo return to Sicangu Lakota lands,” said Tilsen. Today, 60 buffalo from Wind Cave National Park were released onto the land, joining an existing herd on the Wolakota Buffalo Range and Wildlife Sanctuary. The group gathered to speak about Rosebud’s land usage and regeneration efforts, the Tribal bison restoration effort that began last year, and the spiritual and cultural significance of Wolakota (to live the Lakota way of life). “Now, coming full circle, we have reclaimed these lands and we’ve put the tatanka (buffalo) back on the land.”
“Not long ago, settlers attempted to kill off the buffalo as a mechanism to steal our land, and they tried to steal our land as a mechanism to colonize our people and assimilate and destroy us– but they couldn’t,” said Nick Tilsen, President and CEO of NDN Collective. Pictured: Duane Hollow Horn Bear, Sicangu Spiritual Leader and Jillian Waln, Community Engagement Coordinator for REDCO and Sicangu CDC.
2 of 60 Buffalo that were released onto Sicangu Tribal Lands.
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