White Earth Nation is expanding its bison herd in northwestern Minnesota

The White Earth Nation’s bison program recently expanded its herd with the arrival of 45 new bison, which include juveniles, mature cows and a cow-calf pair. In August, The program welcomed its first bison calf.

“Since that time, our three other breeding-age cows have had a healthy newborn calf,” said bison foreman Jack Hessler.

With the recent addition of bison and those already in the program, he says the tribal nation has a total of 55 bison between a breeding herd near Naitahuash and a harvesting operation near Mahnomin. Both pasture sites are described as meadows.

Hessler says the White Earth Nation acquired the bison through the InterTribal Buffalo Council, a partnership of more than 80 tribes that aims to return bison herds to tribal lands in order to promote culture, spirituality and conservation.

“This is where all our animals came from, except for the calves that were born here,” Heisler said.

With the help of the InterTribal Buffalo Council, Hessler says they were able to obtain surplus bison from two Minnesota parks: Minneba State Park near Mankato and Blue Mounds State Park south of Pipestone.

Sixteen of the new bison are allocated to pastures near Mahnomin for harvest, which will begin again in the spring of next year.

“We want to be in a position to continue our program to provide a high-quality, healthy protein source to people,” Heisler said.

Food sovereignty and security are goals of the Bison programme. Hessler says the bison have already been introduced to a school located on the White Earth Nation reservation, the tribal nation’s elder feeding program, and for special events such as ceremonies and captive shows.

Nicole Lafrenière is the Sovereignty and Food Security Coordinator at White Earth. The Tribe’s food sovereignty program works to increase access to seasonal produce and traditional foods. It also aims to grow the local food economy of the White Earth Nation.

“We’re just trying to give people another healthy protein that they can use in traditional foods,” Lafreniere said. “I think it took some people getting used to it, as it smells and tastes a little different from cattle.”

Over the summer, the InterTribal Buffalo Council held a traditional harvest on the White Earth Nation, she says. Members of the tribal community were invited to participate in the bison harvest. Lafrenière says about 100 people showed up to participate.

“We’re very proud of that, and that our people are really interested in how these animals are traditionally broken down and how every part of them is used,” she said.

While food and consumption are often the first things that come to mind regarding the program, Hessler also points out the comments on it Posted on social media by White Earth Nation.

“There is a cultural and spiritual aspect to what we do here,” he said. “If you read some of the comments, there are people just commenting on how great it is to see them back in their traditional natural habitat, and it’s nice to see them in White Earth.”

“These additions represent an ongoing commitment to bison recovery and herd health across the lands we manage,” the post states. Comments below the post share their thoughts on the meditation, and others share that they were happy to see bison in the area.

“I think it gives everyone — I don’t know, ‘hope’ is a good word — but it definitely makes people feel good to see,” Lafreniere said.

Bison, or Mashkod-Biziki in the Ojibwe language, once roamed the prairies of Minnesota in large numbers. By the 19th century, settlement and poaching had created a small population of captive bison. The White Earth Nation is among other tribal nations in the state working on conversation and revitalization efforts.

The program team plans to monitor the herd for health concerns and interactions between each other as they adapt over the winter. Heisler says precautionary checks have begun and will continue again in the spring.

Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News viaReport for Americaa national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on issues and underground societies.