A local group has recently brought buffalo back to the mighty animal’s homeland on the Menominee Reservation.
The Menikanaehkem Community Rebuilders helped to spearhead the effort to bring the buffalo back. Caretaker Donavan Waupoose said that 130 or more years ago buffalo roamed all across North America. The herd includes 10 Wind Cave strand buffalo, meaning they are a pure, conservation strand with no genetic hybrids with other animals, like cattle.
“Thirty to 60 million were said to have roamed here — through western expansion and colonization, those numbers got depleted down to 281,” said Waupoose. “Most people think that buffalo just belong to the western plains area. We discovered that Wisconsin is in that roaming zone.”
Waupoose went on to explain that the Menominee Tribal ancestral land crosses over into that buffalo roaming area.
“A lot of our people don’t know that buffalo had value to us as Native American people,” said Waupoose.
Through his research, Waupoose described buffalo as a cultural keystone species, because they directly or indirectly impact the lives of all living organisms that they share space with. He explained that more than just humans, buffalo play a part in the lives of millions of insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, small animals and plants.
He went on to explain that buffalo grow new hair every winter and with as much hair as the buffalo have, they can survive in extreme weather longer than animals like cattle. Throughout the winter time, the buffalo spread dung across the ground to fertilize the ground, attracting insects, and supporting the other animals in the environment. Waupoose explained that the shedded fur from the buffalo is also used by birds to help build nests, providing an incubation-friendly temperature for eggs.
“They have that contribution to a whole wide variety of species and organisms that depend on that buffalo,” said Waupoose. “That is our vision and goal is to go after that learning and how to live with that — to learn everything that they have to offer us.”
Michael Fish Jr., who helped to restore buffalo back in their homeland, said that a representative from the group attended an Intertribal Buffalo Council gathering in Wyoming this past spring.
“He met some pretty influential people there, and one person that he actually met was Jason Baldes, who is the vice president of the Intertribal Buffalo Council, and he knew we had a movement to get the buffalo here and we had our youth group,” said Fish. “We took them on a trip out west and let them visit his ranch when we were there. It was quite moving for us. That is kind of what got the ball rolling on this.”
Fish explained that Baldes had ties to the Nature Conservancy, which helped obtain the buffalo from Yellowstone National Park. He said what helped to get the plan in motion was a group of people coming together to get fencing up for the buffalo. This was the first time that the group had fenced, something that they knew they wanted to do, in order to give something to the future, for those people to have a better life and natural environment around them.
“We were all moving on it, putting in hundreds of hours a week on it,” said Fish. “It was really good — it was a really good bonding time for us as brothers. One thing led to the next, and the Intertribal Buffalo Council and Nature Conservancy played a big part on bringing them here.”
Fish also noted the cultural significance of the buffalo to the Menominee people, reiterating the point that buffalo roamed Wisconsin and had a relationship.
Brian Grignon Jr., who also helped in restoring buffalo to their homeland, said that another reason why the group has put together a strong effort to bring buffalo back, is to bring tribal members and other community members closer together to learn more about the animal that that land was shared with.
With a push starting nationwide to restore buffalo to tribal lands, the Intertribal Buffalo Council has been working together with non-tribal members and others in this movement, something the local group is doing, as well.
Waupoose said it has been both an amazing and an emotional experience. Explaining the emotions behind bringing the animals back, Waupoose said that it stems from bringing an animal back that was almost wiped off of the face of the Earth.
“Our group, our guys here, our youth group here that are involved in it — we are helping to restore that relative,” said Waupoose. “We want to conserve them as conservation and wildlife and not treat them like livestock. We just let them be and let them be buffalo. It was our youth group who inspired us to do this.”
The group said that they are nonprofit and are willing to take support from volunteers or donations. More information can be found at www.menomineerebuilders.org.
Buffalo returned to Menominee tribe
