Nation to Nation collaboration sees Yellowstone bison come to Canada for the 1st time

A caravan of people pull up over the Montana hills as the sun is about to rise. People get out of their vehicles to see about a dozen bison crowded together in a corral.

Four men from Blackfeet Nation pull up in trailers prepared with hay, ready to transfer the bison to their new home over 700 kilometres away in Canada.

As people stood still in awe of the bison, a woman was going back and forth non-stop to make sure everything would go right once they hit the border and cheered happily as the veterinarian gave her the approval papers needed.

Last month Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, an original signatory of the Buffalo Treaty, a growing partnership of First Nations to return bison to Plains communities, gave Mosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head-Lean Man First Nation (MGBHLM) in Saskatchewan 11 plains bison from the Yellowstone National Park herd.

It was the first time bison from the Yellowstone herd were going to Canada. 

The night before the transfer, Fort Peck's Pte Group, a volunteer group dedicated to upholding the Buffalo Treaty, held a welcoming feast to send prayers for the travellers. As people from the two nations gathered at Wolf Point's community centre to feast on cow heart stew and fresh bannock, stories of the buffalo were shared and gifts were exchanged.

Jonny Bearcub-Stiffarm, part of the Pte Group, said people on both sides of the border worked together to agree on a process to get the animals over the border, which was facilitated over three years by the International Buffalo Relations Institute.

"Our old prophecies say that when the buffalo returns, our people will become strong once again," said Bearcub-Stiffarm.

"We felt so strongly that we needed to share our buffalo. Here in the United States, we've been doing that for several years, but two and a half years ago we were saying it would be nice to share with our relatives up north. It's critical for our health of the buffalo ... that we have genetic diversity."

Bearcub-Stiffarm said she remembers hearing stories about buffalo from her grandparents, but now today's generation will experience seeing them in their communities.

"To see that transition has really been amazing and has really been exciting because we know that that's a part of our healing," said Bearcub-Stiffarm.

"We've been through so much trauma the last couple of 100 years, that bringing back the buffalo is a way for us to take a look at that hurt right in its face and say with the help of the spirit of the buffalo, we can overcome this."

She said many people remember going up to Canada to visit relatives but over the years those visits stopped due to a variety of issues. Information wasn't shared about the animals like it was before, but a renewed relationship between First Nations brings her hope.

"This renewal of opening up those relationships gives us an opportunity to find our relatives and if we can't find them, we have that privilege within our culture to make new relatives," said Bearcub-Stiffarm.

She said now the communities can revitalize ceremonies, bring back old stories and songs, and importantly, they can create new stories and songs.

A year in quarantine

The 11 plains bison were brought to Fort Peck in 2024 and spent over a year in quarantine as part of the American and Canadian government's requirements to prevent disease transmission. 

Defenders of Wildlife, a U.S. conservation organization, helped with the transfer process, hired trucks and drivers and co-ordinated disease testing, record keeping and inspection efforts. It has helped return roughly 400 buffalo to 26 different tribes in the United States.

MGBHLM Chief Tanya Stone came to Fort Peck to follow the bison to their new home.

Stone said the 11 Yellowstone bison will join 22 plains bison the community received from Elk Island National Park in Alberta in 2023. The animals will have about 400 hectares of land to roam.

Young men in the community take care of the buffalo, she said, to learn and grow from them.

She said they made many visits to Fort Peck to build a relationship with the people who were giving them the bison. She said the reconnection of the two Nakota communities was important because her nation struggles with language, culture and social issues.

"I truly believe that if we come together as a Nakota people and nation to nation and alliances, it just builds and strengthens us as a people," said Stone.

'A dream come true'

The Yellowstone bison arrived at the community about 125 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon on Jan. 31. It was cold but members surrounded the gates to welcome them with songs and drumming, after pipe ceremonies in the early morning.

Stone said the students at the community school learned about the animals all week by writing essays and creating artwork ahead of their arrival. She sees educational value to the buffalo, as well as food sovereignty that will improve the health of members.

"To bring the buffalo back was such an incredible, inspiring, and amazing feeling, it's so hard to describe," said Stone. 

"From the planning to seeing them on the road and crossing the border was a dream come true for many people, it was a vision and it became a reality." 

Vivian Stone, an elder from MGBHLM, said she went out to the buffalo pasture early that morning as she couldn't sleep and came back to join her community in welcoming the buffalo to their new home as they arrived.

She said the community has faced losses and "so much hurt" but she felt a change after the pipe ceremony.

"Isn't that joy, love, care that's being brought into our community, the strength that those buffalo are going to give us," she said.

Tanya Stone said four cows are pregnant and will be giving birth to the calves in May. They'll be celebrated with pipe ceremonies, prayers and offerings.

"I'm struggling to find the proper words, but it's so inspiring at the same time because we just planted that seed with our young generation," she said.

"They're going to grow old with these buffalo."