Buffalo Restoration Debate

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Recommended: The destruction of the bison

Buffalo Restoration Debate

Restoration of the Bison is something that has been going on for the past two decades. As a matter of fact, several Native American tribes have come together to form the Inter Tribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) which has been set out to bring bison back onto the American plains in the midwest. Bison have an intimate relationship in the traditions and rituals of Native Americans. The importance of bison within the culture has made bringing back the bison an important issue in the preservation of wildlife. However, some of the arguments made by the ITBC show that the bison's economic value should be the main factor why they should be brought back. Yet others involved in this cause suggest that buffalo restoration could be an alternative to failing rural areas in the prairies. Opposition to this proposal comes mainly from those who reside in the affected areas. This topic does involve parties that have different interests in buffalo restoration.

Bison were considered a main part of the American economy. Prior to the Civil War, hunters would trade and sell buffalo hide. Although some were killed for meat, buffalo hide was in higher demand. However, after the Civil War, the extensions of the railroads made it easier to transport hides. The main desiccation of the bison came with the industrial revolution (Manning, WWW). Since machinery became a mainstay in factories, part of maintenance required belting. The demand of hide of bison, therefore, increased since buffalo hide could be used as belts that would drive the machines (Manning, WWW). Within a few decades only a thousand bison were left, after the slaughter of 50 million. The depletion of bison did however spark an interest in conservation and protec...

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...DE, Popper FJ. "The Buffalo-Commons: A Bioregional Vision of the Great Plains" Landscape Architecture. April 1994: 144.

Popper DE, Popper FJ. "The Reemergence of the American Frontier" Studies in History and Contemporary Culture. Forthcoming: 11 pages.

Popper FJ, Popper DE. "Great Plains: Checkered Past, Hopeful Future" Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy. Winter 1994: 89-100.

Popper FJ, Popper DE. "Where Buffalo Roam" Sciences New York. May-June 1991: 55.

Robbins, Jim. "Groups Unite to Save Bison: Yellowstone escapees sought for seed stock" Denver Post. January 21, 1997.

The Intertribal Bison Cooperative. World Wide Web: www.rapidcity.com/~itbc/

Walters, Mark J. "Can Bison Claim The Range?" Animals. May-June 1996: 15-19,33.

Welker, Glenn. "Buffalo Help Heal the Spirit" World Wide Web. January 7, 1996: www.indians.org/welker/buffalo.htm

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