The U.S. Interior Department on Friday said it is working to restore populations of American bison to tribal lands by tapping into Indigenous knowledge.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary, said restoration efforts will be funded by more than $25 million from the Inflation Reduction Act.
"This holistic effort will ensure that this powerful sacred animal is reconnected to its natural habitat and the original stewards who know best how to care for it," Haaland said in announcing her order Friday, during a World Wildlife Day event at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.
"When we think about Indigenous communities, we must acknowledge that they have spent generations over many centuries observing the seasons, tracking wildlife migration patterns and fully comprehending our role in the delicate balance of this earth," she added.
American bison, also known as buffalo, have bounced back from their near extinction due to commercial hunting in the 1800s. But they remain absent from most of the grasslands they once occupied, and many tribes have struggled to restore their deep historical connections to the animals.
Haaland said the overall recovery of bison over the last 130 years is "conservation success" but the animals remain "functionally extinct."
Across the U.S., from New York to Oklahoma to Alaska, 82 tribes now have more than 20,000 bison in 65 herds. Numbers have been growing in recent years along with the desire among Native Americans to reclaim stewardship of the animals.
Many of the tribes' bison came from U.S. agencies, which over the past two decades transferred thousands of the animals to thin government-controlled herds so they don't outgrow the land. The transfers were often carried out in cooperation with the South Dakota-based InterTribal Buffalo Council. The group's director, Troy Heinert, said Haaland's order is an acknowledgement of the work tribes have already done.
Haaland's order puts Native American interests at the center of the Interior Department's bison program. It also adds a tribal leader, yet to be named, to a group that's exploring establishing new herds on both tribal and federal lands.
About half of the $25 million announced Friday will go to the National Park Service. The remainder will be split among the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
