Native News
Buffalo Return: New Herd Report Shows More Than 25,000 Buffalo On Tribal Lands
1,500 Buffalo Returned To Tribes In 2025
The InterTribal Buffalo Council, which represents 89 member nations, has spent decades rebuilding buffalo herds after federal extermination campaigns and land dispossession nearly wiped the animals from tribal homelands. The group’s 2025 transfers included animals from public, private and tribal lands to nations such as the Blackfeet Nation, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Modoc Nation, Osage Nation, White Earth Nation and others across the Plains, Midwest and West.
More than 20 tribal nations welcomed more than 1,500 buffalo back to their lands last year as part of a growing national effort to restore the animals to Indigenous stewardship, according to the InterTribal Buffalo Council.
ITBC coordinated the transfers with support from The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver Mountain Parks, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and The Wilds in Ohio. The work expanded a tribally managed herd network that now includes more than 25,000 buffalo across 22 states.
“Buffalo remain central to the spiritual, cultural, ecological, and economic life of Native communities,” ITBC Board President Ervin Carlson said. “The restoration of buffalo is not only a natural resource effort but a profound act of cultural healing and tribal sovereignty.”
ITBC, which represents 89 member nations, has spent decades rebuilding buffalo herds after federal extermination campaigns and land dispossession nearly wiped the animals from tribal homelands. The group’s 2025 transfers included animals from public, private and tribal lands to nations such as the Blackfeet Nation, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Modoc Nation, Osage Nation, White Earth Nation and others across the Plains, Midwest and West.
The Nature Conservancy provided more than 500 buffalo from preserves in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma.
“The restoration of buffalo to tribal nations is essential for their communities and for the health of our remaining prairies and grasslands,” said Corissa Busse, director of TNC’s Buffalo Restoration Program.
The ecological benefits of buffalo have become a central part of restoration efforts. Their hooves aerate soil, their droppings feed microorganisms and their movement spreads native seeds across the prairie. Tribal herd managers have repeatedly pointed to these functions as climate resilience tools, especially as drought and extreme weather reshape grassland ecosystems.
ITBC’s work also reflects a broader movement among tribes to reclaim food systems and rebuild cultural practices tied to buffalo. In previous reporting, tribal leaders described buffalo herds as anchors for community nutrition programs, youth education and cultural revitalization. Several nations have used herd growth to expand meat distribution to elders and families, while others have built intertribal partnerships to share animals, training and infrastructure.
That momentum has continued even as tribes navigate uneven federal support. Tribal Business News reporting on the Indian Buffalo Management Act highlighted long-standing concerns about inconsistent funding and the need for stable federal policy. Those concerns remain relevant as tribes look to expand herds in 2026.
Best practices from 2025 centered on early-season planning, expanded veterinary coordination and stronger partnerships with conservation groups, per the ITBC and Nature Conservancy press release. Several tribes also emphasized the importance of youth and cultural programming to build long-term capacity for herd management and processing, such as at Sacred Storm Buffalo, a combination butchering apprenticeship and clean living program at the Lakota Sioux reservation in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Barriers remain. Many nations face limited land bases, fencing and water infrastructure needs and the high cost of transporting animals across long distances. Some tribes have also raised concerns about federal grazing regulations that do not always align with buffalo behavior or cultural priorities.
Even with those challenges, ITBC leaders say the growth of tribally managed herds shows what is possible when tribes lead restoration work and federal partners provide consistent support. The organization plans to continue surplus buffalo translocations in 2026 while expanding technical assistance and cultural programming for its member nations.
The council described buffalo restoration as a sovereign expression of cultural renewal and ecological healing, a process that reconnects communities with a relationship disrupted by federal policy and historical trauma.