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On Friday, October 11, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville hosted a public dialogue that explored the 2014 commitment signed by more than 60 First Nation North American Tribes titled The Buffalo: A Treaty of Cooperation Renewal and Restoration. Featured guests Roxann Smith, M.Ed. and Jonny BearCub Stiffarm, JD, of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, and Leroy Little Bear, JD of Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy in Alberta, shared with a roomful of attendees their thoughts on the groundbreaking agreement that helped reverse imminent extinction of the animal that for centuries was essential to the livelihood of millions.

SIUE presented this session, “Humans, Nature and The Buffalo Treaty,” in the Center for Spirituality & Sustainability at SIUE, also known as the Fuller Dome. The afternoon dialogue was a segment of the collaborative event series, “Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability:  The Buffalo Treaty.”  Gregory Fields, PhD, SIUE Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy, was co-chair of multi-institutional event, along with Ed Spevak, PhD, Curator of Invertebrates at the Saint Louis Zoo and Director of Saint Louis Zoo's WildCare Institute Center for Native Pollinator Conservation (CNPC). 

“When you ask whether those tribes who signed the treaty had buffalo in their lives, I would say, just look at the past,” said BearCub Stiffarm. “Anyone and everyone who lived in North America, who lived in possibly Central America, had some relationship with the buffalo—whether it was the trade or whether they harvested them themselves, or whatever they did. So there is no way to really put a number on how many tribes because many tribes are no longer existent.”

“By approximately 1883 the bison population was decimated due to slaughter—everything from random people shooting them to industrialization to having a means to control Native Americans and get rid of their food resources and force them onto reservations,” said Spevak. “At one point (centuries ago) there was a minimum estimate of 30 million and maximum of 60 million in population. Around 1883, it was down to about 1,000 animals.”

Spevak notes that The St. Louis Zoo also signed onto the Treaty and sees the buffalo as essential for survival for everyone in this country. He says the buffalo’s grazing patterns alone increase diverse habitats for birds, bees and other wildlife.

“The buffalo treaty came into existence in 2014 with four tribes on the American side and four on the Canadian side signing,” said Little Bear. “We've had over 60 tribes that have signed up. And the treaty itself speaks to things such as the relationship with the buffalo, and saying, hey, it almost went extinct. It's our turn. It used to take care of us, but it's our turn to take care of the buffalo.”

Smith added, “We cannot break this treaty, and why would we? Because the buffalo are us and we are them. They are our economy. They were our economy.” Smith noted that a colleague referred to the buffalo as “our Walmart.”

“That's how you go shopping. You go to the Walmarts and buy all the food. Well, our people followed all the Walmarts, and that was our economy, and we traded with other tribes.”

The group noted that tribes that are under financial stress are dependent on buffalo to provide funds that are no longer provided by state and federal programs.

“So when you’re asking the tribe about taking care of the buffalo herds, it’s spiritual and it’s cultural,” said BearCub Stiffarm. “Reality tells you that you do not want them to be a financial drain upon that tribe. You want them to be a contributor to not only the health of the tribe and the mental well-being of the tribe, but also, if possible, to create an additional small but important revenue stream where they contribute in return.”

She adds, “If you want healthy, sustainable herds, you have to have a knowledgeable community. You have to build your political base to fight for the survival of these animals. You have to make your relatives, your brothers, your sisters, your cousins, your aunts, your uncles dedicated to a deep commitment, so that they are willing to sacrifice some small, minor things in order to make sure these herds are healthy.”

In response to a question from Sheila Caldwell, EdD, SIU System Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, about differences in educating the youth in the tribal schools compared to others, BearCub Stiffarm shared that before the Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed in 1978, practicing traditional ceremonies and religion could result in imprisonment. “Because of that that, we now are having a resurgence and a revitalization where members who held our faith closely need to share that, and they are slowly doing it,” said BearCub Stiffarm.

SIUE collaborators for the series included the Harris World Ecology Center at UMSL, the Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Garden, the Buder Center for American Indian Studies at WUSTL, and the Native American Studies Program at SIUE.

"I was first interested in the treaty being a way to exercise sovereignty, and affirm sovereignty,” said Carol Samarah, SIU Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Program Director. “But I was more impacted by the idea of the treaty as a commitment. It’s a commitment to the young people, to buffalo, to the land, to the water that they even spoke about, and to traditional knowledge. To the Earth and to the people--all the people.”

Photos by Howard Ash:  (top row, l. to r.) Roxann Smith, M.Ed. and Jonny BearCub Stiffarm, JD; Ed Spevak, PhD, Curator of Invertebrates at the Saint Louis Zoo and Director of Saint Louis Zoo's WildCare Institute Center for Native Pollinator Conservation (CNPC); Julie Zimmermann, PhD, professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, introduces the program to the audience at the Center for Spirituality & Sustainability at SIUE, also known as the Fuller Dome; (bottom row, l. to r.) BearCub Stiffarm and Leroy Little Bear, JD; Smith, BearCub Stiffarm, Little Bear; Smith