They will grow their community
BILLINGS, Montana (AP) – Thirty-five bison were moved from Montana to their new home in South Dakota as part of an effort to grow the herd.
The bison were a gift from the American Prairie Reserve in north-central Montana to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The newspaper “The Billings Gazette” reported that the objective of the Rosebud Sioux tribe is to expand the herd that lives near Mission, in the same North American state. The plan is to reach 1,500 individuals spread over 113 square kilometers, which would make it the largest tribe-administered bison population in the country.
The herd currently has 134 bison, and American Prairie has agreed to contribute up to 170 more.
“When the buffalo are strong, we will be strong,” says Wizipan Little Elk, CEO of the Rosebud Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the Wolakota Buffalo Range near Mission.
American Prairie has also sent four bison to One Spirit, a non-profit organization serving the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. The One Spirit website says it supports the Lakota by providing resources that “allow them to meet the needs of their inhabitants in accordance with their own culture, traditions and values.”
Since 2009, American Prairie has sent 400 bison to conservation and tribal herds in Montana, Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona, South Dakota and Oklahoma.
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