Mission:
Buffalo Culture Collective as a Not for Profit that is working to help enable and allow the Buffalo to be the Buffalo again. The Buffalo was everything to many Indigenous peoples and, in many ways, still is. We aim to heal the severed relationship with the Buffalo through workshops, knowledge-sharing amongst Indigenous people, collaboration and attempt to reconcile the relationship between Indigenous people and their more than Human relations.. The Buffalo Culture Collective was founded on the principles of the Buffalo Treaty, which asserts that Buffalo rematriatiation to community helps bring healing to the land and the community itself. Buffalo needs to return home like they did at Batoche with Metis Nation of Saskatchewan to combat food insecurity, cultural disconnection, and to help decolonize landscapes.
Our goal is to bring together Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who are passionate about the Buffalo, working toward a common objective. We achieve this by rematriating Buffalo products, hosting workshops, and advocating for the return of Buffalo back home.
We have identified a gap where many Indigenous Nations either want to work with Buffalo or are already doing so but feel overwhelmed. Many people receive Buffalo and expect them to behave like cattle, which they are not. This often leads to frustration and discouragement. Buffalo Culture Collective hopes to bring Indigenous Nations together so we can learn from each other. So that Indigenous peoples can determine the best practices for managing Buffalo as sovereign nations. For comparison sake we hope to create something similar to the work that the Intertribal Buffalo Council is doing in the United States. We want to help create an Inter-Nation Cooperative of Buffalo people who come together to help one another by mentoring, teaching, and leaning on each other—by Indigenous people, for Indigenous people.
We believe that a potential partnership with Manitoba Protein, Agri Food Index, and other key players can help make this happen.
Education Opportunities;
We believe Buffalo Culture Collective has a significant opportunity to teach both inside and outside of the community. By speaking at local events like we did at the Turtle Island Science Conference and the Métis Environmental Leadership Conference, among others. The goal is to spread awareness about the historical and current importance of Buffalo. Additionally, we have partnered with Ingenium, where knowledge holders from across Turtle Island are developing an Educational Tool Kit to help enable the Buffalo as the new/old form of education. This partnership is powerful, as we are working with some of the best resources and experts on Buffalo, including Wes Olsen and Katira Crow Fox, the Education Lead for the International Buffalo Relations Institute, to name a few.
Mission and Vision;
Buffalo Culture Collective was founded to address a critical gap between Bison producers and Indigenous peoples: to help with the need for Buffalo products in Indigenous communities. Our role is unique in that we act as a liaison between Bison producers and Indigenous people. We help procure Buffalo products for Nations, schools, educators, artists, and individuals to further promote Buffalo consciousness.
The Collective operates on the principle of a circular economy—seeking to use every part of the Buffalo, honoring our relations, and finding homes for Buffalo products that would otherwise be discarded. Buffalo Culture Collective serves as an act of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and bridges the gap between Western and Indigenous ways of knowing. Historically, the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Buffalo has been severed, but this collective is working to restore that relationship in the hearts, minds, and spirits of Indigenous peoples.
Through discussions with elders, knowledge holders, and community members, we have learned that there is a critical gap in the area of hide work. This is devastating to us because we believe that hide work is crucial for decolonizing our cities, communities, and ourselves as Indigenous people. We are new to this work, but we are eager to learn with Indigenous communities on how to work with hides. When invited to collaborate, we aim to provide the tools and resources necessary to help people reengage with their culturally relevant practices. We are deeply grateful to have been invited to participate in hide work collaborations, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Reviews;
One young Métis participant, initially disgusted by the fleshy Buffalo hide, left the workshop embracing the hide in gratitude for the “Aunty Buffalo.” Participants of all ages have walked away amazed. One auntie, upon learning that women were involved in this hard, heartful work, said that the experience was something she would never forget. Indigenous students have felt empowered and connected. One student said, “Working on a hide was amazing because it was my first time connecting with Native culture, and it felt good.” Another student shared, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this, and it was exciting knowing we would be doing it today. I felt joy, thankfulness, and healing.” We believe that community-led Buffalo hide work helps heal us, scraping away layers of intergenerational trauma with every scrape.
Looking Ahead;
The mission of the Collective is to foster a relationship that allows the Buffalo to be the Buffalo again—where Indigenous peoples are able to work with the Buffalo through ceremony, including working with the hides, creating art, and using their skulls in the Sun Dance. Through the generous support and donations from Bison producers who share by-products from food production, Buffalo Culture Collective is reconnecting Indigenous peoples with their relationship to the Buffalo and the culture that comes from that relationship.
As of our one year anniversary, we have rematriated 117 Buffalo products to over 60 communities across Turtle Island.
We are also witnessing a growing demand for hides and other animal products from our Indigenous kin. This is because, we are recognizing the vast amount of waste from hunters regarding hides, which presents an opportunity for a potential partnership.
Buffalo Culture Collective has many missions and aspirations, but we believe that if we can help the Buffalo be the Buffalo again and work to reconcile our more-than-human relationships, we will have fulfilled our purpose. Historically, the Buffalo brought Indigenous peoples together, and in these uncertain times, we believe they can do so again. Through the work of like-minded organizations such as the International Buffalo Relations Institute and the Buffalo Arts Institute, and, we can achieve this goal.