The US Department of the Interior, headed by Secretary Deb Haaland, allocated $25 million yesterday to preserve American bison and called on the government to use indigenous knowledge to restore the population of animals that are a trademark of the American West.
The money provided by last year's climate protection package is intended to create new bison herds and move those animals into areas controlled by indigenous tribes, with whom new agreements will be made to manage the herds, US officials said.
The American bison, also known as the buffalo, was almost exterminated by commercial hunting during the 19th century, but the population of these animals has recovered. However, they are still absent from the fields where they once inhabited, and many indigenous tribes are trying to re-establish their deep historical connection with the bison.
More than 60 million bison once roamed North America in large herds that were central to the culture and survival of numerous Native American tribes.
During the 19th century, when they were hunted by white hunters, American soldiers and tourists to make money from using their body parts in the production of machinery, fertilizer and clothing, the population of these animals was reduced to only a few hundred, according to data from 1889.
The current US Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, is the first Native American to hold such a high position, and during her tenure she dedicated herself to correcting injustices against Natives, and among other things, she spoke in public elementary schools about systemic abuses against them.
She said yesterday, in announcing her bison order, that "this holistic effort will ensure that these powerful animals of the world are reconnected with their natural environment and original guardians, who know best how to do it."
Deb Haaland said last year that by exterminating the bison, European settlers eliminated the primary food source for many indigenous tribes, opening the door to the taking of their land.
The return of bison to some territories is seen as a conservation success, but Deb Halland believes they are still "functionally extirpated" and that more work is needed to return the animals to areas controlled by indigenous tribes, and to restore the rangelands from which they they depend.
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