<
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-to-restore-more-bison-herds-on-tribal-lands-by-tapping-indigenous-knowledge>
"DENVER (AP) — U.S. officials will work to restore more large bison herds to
Native American lands under a Friday order from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland
that calls for the government to tap into Indigenous knowledge in its efforts
to conserve the burly animals that are an icon of the American West.
Haaland also announced $25 million in federal spending for bison conservation.
The money, from last year’s climate bill, will build new herds, transfer more
bison from federal to tribal lands and forge new bison management agreements
with tribes, officials said.
American bison, also known as buffalo, have bounced back from their near
extinction due to commercial hunting in the 1800s. But they remain absent from
most of the grasslands they once occupied, and many tribes have struggled to
restore their deep historical connections to the animals.
As many as 60 million bison once roamed North America, moving in vast herds
that were central to the culture and survival of numerous Native American
groups.
They were driven to the brink of extinction more than a century ago when
hunters, U.S. troops and tourists shot them by the thousands to feed a growing
commercial market that used bison parts in machinery, fertilizer and clothing.
By 1889, only a few hundred bison remained.
Haaland, of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, is the first Native American to serve
as a U.S. Cabinet secretary. She’s championed tribal concerns on issues ranging
from wildlife conservation to energy development and put a spotlight on past
mistreatment of Native Americans through a series of listening sessions about
systemic abuses at government-run boarding schools.
She told The Associated Press in an interview last year that the decimation of
bison by European settlers eliminated the primary food source for many tribes
and opened the way for their land to be taken away.
The return of bison in some locations is considered a conservation success. But
Haaland said they remain “functionally extinct” and more work is needed to
return the animals to tribal lands and restore the grasslands they depend on."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-heart-united-states-democracy-uruguay-nature-rights-ecuador/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
