09/01/2026
A major buffalo homecoming is underway, and Tribal Nations are helping lead it.
In 2026, Yellowstone National Park transferred 211 live bison to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, the largest annual transfer yet through the park’s Bison Conservation Transfer Program.
The program provides an alternative to slaughter for eligible Yellowstone bison. Animals must clear required brucellosis testing before being transferred to Fort Peck for additional assurance testing. From there, some bison can later be distributed through the InterTribal Buffalo Council to other Tribal Nations.
Since 2019, more than 600 Yellowstone bison have been transferred to 29 Tribes across 13 states and one Canadian province. The broader movement extends beyond Yellowstone as well. The National Park Service says it has transferred nearly 10,000 live bison from park-managed herds to Tribes over the past 30 years.
The Nature Conservancy also reports that its partnerships with the InterTribal Buffalo Council, Tanka Fund, and Indigenous communities have returned nearly 3,000 buffalo from 11 conservation herds to Native Nations and communities since 2020.
For many Indigenous Nations, buffalo are tied to food systems, ceremony, language, community responsibilities, and traditional knowledge. Restored herds can also support grassland stewardship and strengthen Tribal food sovereignty after generations in which buffalo were nearly eliminated from much of their historic range.
For the Fort Peck Tribes and many other Native Nations, these transfers are part of a long, careful process of bringing buffalo back to lands and communities where they have deep cultural and ecological significance.
What does seeing buffalo return to Tribal lands mean to you?
Sources: National Park Service; The Nature Conservancy; Greater Yellowstone Coalition; Park County Environmental Council
