Bison

Bison graze on a snow covered pasture in Corson County. (Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight)

Federal pilot project will buy local bison meat for tribal food aid

BY: - October 12, 2023

A federal pilot project to put more locally raised bison on the plates of Native American people is starting with meat produced in South Dakota. The U.S. Department of Agriculture made the announcement Thursday in Rapid City. The department has awarded contracts to four producers — totaling nearly $500,000 — with connections to tribal reservations […]

A bison grazes in Badlands National Park. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Bipartisan U.S. Senate bill aims to boost bison tribal management, restoration

BY: - October 9, 2023

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has again introduced a bill that aims to create a permanent bison program within the Department of Interior to help bolster tribal involvement in the restoration and management of the creatures on tribal lands. The Indian Buffalo Management Act, introduced Sept. 22 by Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, and […]

Riders herd bison during the 2022 Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park. (Photo by Travel South Dakota)

State says 2023 Buffalo Roundup set attendance record

BY: - October 3, 2023

A record 22,590 visitors attended the 58th annual Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park on Friday morning, according to the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks. The previous record was 22,078 visitors set in 2015 during the 50th anniversary event. This year, 60 horseback riders wrangled the herd of 1,500 bison into the corrals […]

Bison once roamed North America, from coast to coast, from Alaska to Mexico. Several groups, including the Nature Conservancy, have been working to re-establish the native grazing animals to lands owned and managed by Native Americans.

Bison return program is now helping Native American ranchers build herds

BY: - November 4, 2022

LINCOLN — For years, Wayne Frederick and his father managed a herd of bison held by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of south-central South Dakota. But now, a unique partnership between a tribal nonprofit that helps Native ranchers raise bison and the Nature Conservancy is helping Frederick start his own commercial herd. Four bison were delivered […]