‘It’s prejudice’: Tribal leaders condemn GOP comments on bison

Republican lawmakers adopted a position opposing bison transfers at their party convention in Billings last month, drawing criticism from tribes across the state. 

Lawmakers argued that moving bison from national parks to Native American reservations puts cattle ranchers’ livestock at risk of disease. They accused the tribes of not fencing the animals in, and one lawmaker referred to the issue as the “idiot bison situation,” saying the Legislature should not cater to tribes “that want to play around with their sacred animals.”

Tribal leaders across the state criticized the comments made at the convention, saying they are rooted in prejudice. They said returning buffalo to their original homelands strengthens culture, bolsters the economy and combats food insecurity.

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Bison from the Blackfeet Buffalo Program graze on their winter range along the Two Medicine River. The tribe has about 700 bison in the herd, and this year they harvested about 20 to distribute across the community.

THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Since time immemorial, Native Americans have used buffalo

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