AMY: Ok, up ahead of me I see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen bison. Yeah, as I come around the bend, oh my
gosh, there’s like several dozen here. Oh, it’s so good to see them again.
Welcome to Threshold, I’m Amy Martin. It’s late September, and I’m on the Bison Range at the southern end of the Flathead Reservation in Montana.
AMY: One of my favorite parts of this place is definitely the quiet. And I just love
that the bison get to be out here in this quiet all the time.
Flathead Reservation back in:
2016 RICH: We most definitely are qualified to manage the National Bison
Range. I would put our wildlife program, our department, at any level of any other
wildlife program in the state, even nationally. Why wouldn’t you have the original
stewards of the bison come back and manage the bison for the American public?
That was:
In:
RICH: These animals have have sustained us for thousands of years. Going back to the history of Indian people. And that's how we've been able to connect to them for so long. I mean, I'm just one guy, one tribal member of hundreds of thousands of Indians going back centuries.
AMY: And I mean, what was it like for you the day that the transfer back to the tribe actually happened?
RICH: It was amazing. It was very emotional day, emotional time for all of us to
finally have the land restored to its rightful, rightful place. I guess. You know, we had a great celebration with a pow wow, a feast that a lot of our membership were here that day. Just the power that you could feel, the land and the and the bison restored to its rightful place was just amazing.
RICH: They're a prehistoric animal. A prehistoric beast that's been here a long time and will be here a long time after we're gone. You know, and in my opinion, you know, we treat them with respect because they are a part of our earth, part of our culture, part of our heritage, part of many tribes, culture and heritage.
Animals rule the bison range. In addition to more than 400 bison, this land is a refuge for elk, deer, bighorn sheep, trumpeter swans and many more creatures. As Rich and I drive over the rolling hills, we see a few bulls chilling alone or in pairs, and larger pods of mothers and calves, grazing together. [....] Rich says although tribal managers still coordinate with federal and state wildlife agencies, they’ve also made some changes. For example, the bison used to get rounded up every year for a health check, but now the plan is to be a little more hands off.
RICH: We do it every two years now, not every year to be more sensitive to the bison.We do it a lot quieter, you know, and use different techniques. We don't use horses, whips and all that stuff. We just go slow, you know, and we just use flags, sticks and just kind of, you know, lead them or let them lead us.
I mean, we're not looking to hoot and holler and play cowboy or, you know. We take our time so they don't hurt themselves or hurt each other, and then we let them loose. And then a few of them we sell because we don't want the carrying capacity to get overpopulated. And we we do help supplement other Native American tribes.
They're not livestock. It's a mutual respect for the animal. We manage this as a refuge for the bison.
AMY: And just just to make it visual for folks like we're looking we're looking at these big, beautiful rolling hills, partially wooded, but a lot of open. And then, you know, in the distance, there's just this amazing silhouette of the Mission mountains and then kind of like rolling valley in between the bison range and the Mission Mountains. And I think one of the things that was so weird about being here before the management was returned to the tribes is everything we're seeing is part of the reservation except for this chunk. Is that right?
RICH: Yes. I mean, the land was taken, it wasn't sold, it wasn't offered, it was just taken. For us to get it back was just, you know, it came full circle. Yeah. Just to see the bison that we may see out there, but I mean, the 18,800 acres that we got back was just amazing. And it's done. It's over. Federal law.
ven when he and I met here in:
RICH: And I tell people, this is your land, this is your range. Get out there, see it.
RICH: You know, and they're still trying to grasp that concept, you know, because it hasn't been a welcoming feeling in so long. They’re like, what do you mean, Rich? I said, this is your land. Go out there, enjoy it. I mean, I really have my staff push that to our people, that you can go out there any time.
RICH: I have a few bison skulls at my house and what they mean in our culture, in our tribe, the connection you have, I mean, going back centuries, just knowing I'm part of a bloodline that had such a special role in saving these animals. My ancestors actually hunted for subsistence and food and clothing. I mean, all these things they did and they used the bison parts, you know, to live.
RICH: When I come on to the range and see the bison, my whole entire day is better. It's like when I drive up from Missoula and I come over to Ravali Hill and I see the bison, I'm home. I see the mountains, I know I'm home, I'm safe. I don't know why, but a lot of us feel that way.
