{"id":37126,"date":"2022-11-22T10:09:52","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T17:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bisons-relocation-to-native-lands-revives-a-spiritual-bond\/"},"modified":"2022-11-22T17:09:52","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T17:09:52","slug":"bisons-relocation-to-native-lands-revives-a-spiritual-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bisons-relocation-to-native-lands-revives-a-spiritual-bond\/","title":{"rendered":"Bisons\u2019 relocation to Native lands revives a spiritual bond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bison
Bison roam near a pond at Bull Hollow, Oklahoma, on Sept. 27, 2022. Bryan Warner, the Cherokee tribe's deputy principal chief, says, \u201cAll these different animals \u2013 it puts you more in tune with nature. And then essentially it puts you more in tune with yourself, because we all come from the same dirt that these animals are formed from \u2013 from our Creator.\u201d (AP Photo\/Audrey Jackson)<\/span>Audrey Jackson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

BULL HOLLOW, Okla. \u2013 Ryan Mackey quietly sang a sacred Cherokee verse as he pulled a handful of tobacco out of a zip-close bag. Reaching over a barbed wire fence, he scattered the leaves onto the pasture where a growing herd of bi<\/a>son \u2013 popularly known as American buff<\/a>alo \u2013 grazed in northeastern Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

The offering represented a reverent act of thanksgiving, the 45-year-old explained, and a desire to forge a divine connection with the animals, his ancestors and the Creator.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen tobacco is used in the right way, it\u2019s almost like a contract is made between you and the spirit \u2013 the spirit of our Creator, the spirit of these bison,\u201d Mackey said as a strong wind rumbled across the grassy field. \u201cEverything, they say, has a spiritual aspect. Just like this wind, we can feel it in our hands, but we can\u2019t see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decades after the last bison vanished from their tribal lands, the Cherokee Nation is part of a nationwide resurgence of Indigenous people seeking to reconnect with the humpbacked, shaggy-haired animals that occupy a crucial place in centuries-old tradition and belief.<\/p>\n

\"Bison
Bison graze on 500 acres of fenced pasture managed by the Cherokee Nation in Bull Hollow, Oklahoma, on Sept. 27. Originally from the southeastern United States, the Cherokee were forced to relocate to present-day Oklahoma in 1838 after gold was discovered in their ancestral lands. The 1,000-mile removal, known as the Trail of Tears, claimed nearly 4,000 lives through sickness and harsh travel conditions. (AP Photo\/Audrey Jackson)<\/span>Audrey Jackson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Since 1992 the federally chartered Intertribal Buffalo Council has helped relocate surplus bison<\/a> from locations such as Badlands National Park in South Dakota, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona to 82 member tribes in 20 states.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollectively those tribes manage over 20,000 buffalo on tribal lands,\u201d said Troy Heinert, a Rosebud Sioux Tribe member who serves as executive director of the Intertribal Buffalo Council, based in Rapid City, South Dakota. \u201cOur goal and mission is to restore buffalo back to Indian country for that cultural and spiritual connection that Indigenous people have with the buffalo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ryan
Ryan Mackey speaks about his spiritual connection to bison while visiting the herd in Bull Hollow, Oklahoma, on Sept. 27. \u201cWe don\u2019t speak the same language as the bison,\u201d Mackey says. \u201cBut when you sit with them and spend time with them, relationships can be built on \u2026 other means than just language alone.\u201d (AP Photo\/Audrey Jackson)<\/span>Audrey Jackson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A herd of bison grazes during midday at a Cherokee Nation ranch in northeastern Oklahoma, on Sept. 27. Decades after the last bison vanished from their tribal lands, the Cherokee Nation is part of a nationwide resurgence of Indigenous people seeking to reconnect with bison. (AP Photo\/Audrey Jackson)<\/span>Audrey Jackson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A young bison calf stands in a pond with its herd at Bull Hollow, Oklahoma, on Sept. 27. The calf is one of the most recent additions born into the Cherokee Nation herd. (AP Photo\/Audrey Jackson)<\/span>Audrey Jackson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A bison bull wears an ear tag from the Cherokee Nation herd supervisors in Bull Hollow, Oklahoma, on Sept. 27. Since 1992, the federally chartered Intertribal Buffalo Council has helped relocate surplus bison from locations such as Badlands National Park in South Dakota, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona to 79 member tribes in 20 states. (AP Photo\/Audrey Jackson)<\/span>Audrey Jackson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This
This circa 1908 photo made available by the Library of Congress shows three Apsaalooke men gazing skyward, two holding rifles, and a bison skull at their feet. At left is Pretty Tail and at center is Goes Ahead. Their tribe is also known as Crow. (Edward S. Curtis\/Library of Congress via AP)<\/span>Edward S. Curtis<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bryan
Bryan Warner watches bison in Bull Hollow, Oklahoma, on Sept. 27, 2022. For now the Cherokee are not harvesting the animals, whose bulls can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand 6 feet tall, as leaders focus on growing the herd. But bison, a lean protein, could serve in the future as a food source for Cherokee schools and nutrition centers, says Warner, the tribe's deputy principal chief. (AP Photo\/Audrey Jackson)<\/span>Audrey Jackson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Centuries ago, an estimated 30 million to 60 million bison roamed the vast Great Plains of North America, from Canada to Texas. But by 1900, European settlers had driven the species to near extinction, hunting them en masse for their prized skins and often leaving the carcasses to rot on the prairie.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to recognize the history that Native people had with buffalo and how buffalo were nearly decimated. \u2026 Now with the resurgence of the buffalo, often led by Native nations, we\u2019re seeing that spiritual and cultural awakening as well that comes with it,\u201d said Heinert, who is a South Dakota state senator.<\/p>\n

Historically, Indigenous people hunted and used every part of the bison: for food, clothing, shelter, tools and ceremonial purposes. They did not regard the bison as a mere commodity, however, but rather as beings closely linked to people.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany tribes viewed them as a relative,\u201d Heinert said. \u201cYou\u2019ll find that in the ceremonies and language and songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosalyn LaPier, an Indigenous writer and scholar who grew up on the Blackfeet Nation\u2019s reservation in Montana, said there are different mythological origin stories for bison among the various peoples of the Great Plains.<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on what Indigenous group you\u2019re talking to, the bison originated in the supernatural realm and ended up on Earth for humans to use,\u201d said LaPier, an environmental historian and ethnobotanist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. \u201cAnd there\u2019s usually some sort of story of how humans were taught to hunt bison and kill bison and harvest them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her Blackfeet tribe, for example, believes there are three realms: the sky world, the below world \u2013 that is, Earth \u2013 and the underwater world. Tribal lore, LaPier says, holds that the Blackfeet were vegetarians until an orphaned bison slipped out of the underwater world in human form and was taken in by two caring humans. As a result, the underwater bison\u2019s divine leader allowed more to come to Earth to be hunted and eaten.<\/p>\n

In Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation, one of the largest Native American tribes with 437,000 registered members, had a few bison on its land in the 1970s. But they disappeared.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until 40 years later that the tribe\u2019s contemporary herd was begun, when a large cattle trailer \u2013 driven by Heinert \u2013 arrived in fall 2014 with 38 bison from Badlands National Park. It was greeted by emotional songs and prayers from tribe\u2019s people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can still remember the dew that was on the grass and the songs of the birds that were in the trees. \u2026 I could feel the hope and the pride in the Cherokee people that day,\u201d Heinert said.<\/p>\n

Since then, births and additional bison transplants from various locations have boosted the population to about 215. The herd roams a 500-acre (2-square kilometer) pasture in Bull Hollow, an unincorporated area of Delaware County about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of Tulsa, near the small town of Kenwood.<\/p>\n

For now, the Cherokee are not harvesting the animals, whose bulls can weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) and stand 6 feet tall (nearly 2 meters), as leaders focus on growing the herd. But bison, a lean protein, could serve in the future as a food source for Cherokee schools and nutrition centers, said Bryan Warner, the tribe\u2019s deputy principal chief.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope is really not just for food sovereignty\u2019s sake but to really reconnect our citizens back in a spiritual way,\u201d said Warner, a member of a United Methodist church.<\/p>\n

That reconnection in turn leads to discussions about other fauna, he added, from rabbits and turtles to quail and doves.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these different animals \u2013 it puts you more in tune with nature,\u201d he said as bison sauntered through a nearby pond. \u201cAnd then essentially it puts you more in tune with yourself, because we all come from the same dirt that these animals are formed from \u2013 from our Creator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally from the southeastern United States, the Cherokee were forced to relocate to present-day Oklahoma in 1838 after gold was discovered in their ancestral lands. The 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) removal, known as the Trail of Tears, claimed nearly 4,000 lives through sickness and harsh travel conditions.<\/p>\n

While bison are more associated with Great Plains tribes than those with roots on the East Coast, the newly arrived Cherokee had connections with a slightly smaller subspecies, according to Mackey. The animals on the tribe\u2019s lands today are not direct descendants, he explained, but close cousins with which the tribe is able to have a spiritual bond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t speak the same language as the bison,\u201d Mackey said. \u201cBut when you sit with them and spend time with them, relationships can be built on \u2026 other means than just language alone: sharing experiences, sharing that same space and just having a feeling of respect. Your body language changes when you have respect for someone or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mackey grew up with Pentecostal roots on his father\u2019s side and Baptist on his mother\u2019s. He still occasionally attends church, but finds more meaning in Cherokee ceremonial practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if (tribal members) are raised in church or in synagogue or wherever they choose to worship, their elders are Cherokee elders,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd this idea of relationship and respect and guardianship \u2013 with the land, with the Earth, with all those things that reside on it \u2013 it\u2019s passed down. It still pervades our identity as Cherokee people.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why he believes the bison\u2019s return to Cherokee lands is so important.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bison aren\u2019t just meat,\u201d he said. \u201cThey represent abundance and health and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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