BEAUTIFUL BISON, BEARS & THANKS NOW

We have a deep appreciation for Native Americans. One of the many reasons is that they are helping to restore populations of endangered animals in the United States, which have important impacts for us all.

BISON

Bison have been integral to life for many Native Americans. Not only were they an important part of Native American diet, but they were central to their spirituality.

That is precisely why the “new Americans” slaughtered more than 60 million of these beautiful beasts. Also known as American buffalo, bison were almost rendered extinct in the 1800s.

Now, thanks to many Native Americans, bison have been making a comeback. It has not been an easy quest. Because although the slaughter has stopped, extreme drought, floods, blizzards, and fire, caused by climate change, have damaged the land upon which the bison roam.

The Inter Tribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), located in Rapid City, S.D., works to help tribes on 9 reservations to re-establish healthy buffalo populations, helping them to prepare for drought and mitigate its effects.

By restoring the bison, members of the tribe are now eating healthier. They are also reconnecting to their cultural traditions.

Similar programs have begun in pockets of land across the western plains and the southwest.

GRIZZLY BEARS

Native Americans have been fighting to protect and restore the populations of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park who have lost their numbers to trophy hunting and human encroachment.

Grizzlies were put on the Endangered Species List in 1975, when there were only 135 of them remaining. Since then, their population has rebounded and there are now about 750 bears living in Yellowstone.

For more than a year now, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has been pushing to delist grizzly bears. But local tribal groups consider the bears to be part of their spiritual and cultural heritage and want the protections to remain in place.

Native Americans argue that any proposal to remove protections or trophy-hunt the animals ignores tribal sovereignty and culture. Some believe that it would be tantamount to cultural genocide.

Guardians of Our Ancestors’ Legacy, a coalition of nearly 50 tribes from 6 states, have come together to oppose the grizzly bear delisting.

Now the government has offered to consult the tribe to discuss the fate of these beautiful bears. Now, thanks to Native Americans, there is hope.

Read more about Beautiful Appreciation, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including Beautiful Appreciation: Native American Vintage Portraits Now.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Neal Herbert. Courtesy of Yellowstone National Park. Bison on the Move, Lamar Valley.
2. Image: by Thomas. Tatanka.
3. Image: by Jean (Klue) Hirsch. The Sand Wallow.
4. Image: by Dan Dzurisin. American Bison.
5. Image: by Michael Matti. Bison in the River in Yellowstone.
6. Image: by Princess Lodges. Grizzly Bear in Alaska.
7. Image: by Jayson. Ursus Arctos Horribilis.
8. Image: by Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith. Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos ssp.)
9. Image: by Scott Calleja. Grizzly Bear.
10. Image: by Diliff. A Grizzly in Denali National Park.
11. Image: by Valerie. Rain - bear - bow.
12. Image: by Erwin and Peggy Bauer. Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Grizzly Bear on a Rock Overlooking.
13. Image: by BN App - Download now!
14. Image: by Lorne Sykora. Yellowstone in Winter 2009 - Bison in Snow.