JASON BALDES on Buffalo and Land Rematriation /350
Photo by Hari Nanakumar of a buffalo walking through landscape with birds on their backs.
Bringing us to the Wind River Reservation, this week’s guest, Jason Baldes, shares his work to bring back wild Buffalo to Wind River and to rematriate land to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes. Jason offers his deep wisdom about the ecological, spiritual, and cultural importance of buffalo, detailing the health benefits of eating buffalo, the ecological benefits of their migration and grazing, and the healing benefits of connection to these animals.
Jason’s work with the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative has already had an immense effect. This was the first time in 139 years that the Shoshone tribe was able to take their own animals from their own lands for their annual Sundance ceremonies. A reciprocal relationship with buffalo, not one based on commodification or profit can be the base of a healthier relationship to the land.
The physical and cultural landscape of the so-called United States is steeped in a colonial worldview, but work like Jason’s is changing the tides and aligning conservation with long-standing Indigenous values. This healing work honors those ancestors who had buffalo, land, and ritual stolen from them by the United States government.
“There’s a millennia old relationship that Native people have [with Buffalo]. It’s in our DNA, it’s in their DNA, and that’s a reciprocal relationship.”
Photo of Jason Baldes
Jason, an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in Land Resources & Environmental Sciences from Montana State University, where he focused on the restoration of buffalo/bison to Tribal lands. In 2016, he spearheaded the successful effort to relocate a herd to the Wind River Indian Reservation and works with both the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes in buffalo management and expansion. He is an advocate, educator and speaker on Indigenous cultural revitalization and ecological restoration who has also served as director of the Wind River Native Advocacy Center, where he was instrumental in the passing of the Wyoming Indian Education for All Act. He currently splits time as executive director of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, and Tribal Buffalo Program Senior Manager for the National Wildlife Federation's Tribal Partnerships Program. Jason sits on the board of directors of the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council and the board of trustees for the Conservation Lands Foundation.
♫ The music in this episode is “There is More Love Somewhere” by Jayme Stone and “Cinnamon Nugget” and “Sly Grog” by A.R. Wilson.
Episode References
Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative
“Where the Bison Could Roam” - The New York Times
Migrating bison engineer the green wave
“Bison Return to Native American Lands, Revitalizing Sacred Rituals” - The New York Times
“Jason Baldes Says Buffalo Restoration Key to Wildlife Economy & Tribal Health”
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For The Wild Podcast is an anthology of the Anthropocene; focused on land-based protection, co-liberation and intersectional storytelling rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth and consumerism.