Program Details
Virtual Science on Tap - Land Rematriation with Tribal Buffalo Restoration with Mr. Jason Baldes
When bison were nearly exterminated from the United States, and Tribes forced onto reservations, colonial land use systems were imposed to break up communal ownership and privatize reservation lands. Productive river bottoms were opened to homesteading by settlers and pioneers to promote agriculture and livestock production. Today, there is a paradigm shift towards more holistic land use and keystone species restoration. Through acquisition of privatized properties for buffalo habitat, these lands are being restored and ultimately transferred into Trust status, adding land back to the Tribes and Reservation as a whole.