Buffalo Restoration as Reconciliation
Photo: Chuck Hoffman © Genesis+Art
Wind River Indian Reservation
Kinnear, Wyoming
As we begin to set a table of conversation about what Living Out of Time means for us, we reflect on what draws us together as a human community rather than what divides us. We recently returned from a six-week artist in residency in Wyoming where we spent our time exploring an unfamiliar landscape and its people. We found ourselves making a connection between earth, history, and spirituality and moving outside of the great human clock time. As we try to deal with climate chaos and our new search for meaning, we find it to be a socially engaged practice. We have known for quite some time and was affirmed on the high desert and mountains of Wyoming that creativity birthed from deep within our relationship with Earth can give new expression to the light that is deep in all things and draw us back into true relationship with the heart of life. And in this ancient spiritual practice find a new story to lead us forward.
Our pilgrimage in Wyoming was a passage through a time portal, suspended in another realm more closely linked with our own selves and creation. We drew closer to the Earth and the heart of all life and the sacredness of our interconnectedness. We listened and learned from the wisdom of Jason Baldes, the founder of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative. Jason sees the restoration of Buffalo to the land as a form of reconciliation. He feels called by his ancestors to land rematriation by restoring keystone species and land ownership to Tribes. Jason states, Much of what was brought here is patriarchal. The culture of Buffalo has been matriarchal. Rematriation is giving back to Mother Earth, bringing back a holistic connection, and empowering the role of women. He goes on to teach that the Buffalo species of the past played a large role in the forming of landscape we’ve come to know today. As they wallow, they help create habitat for birds and insects, spread seeds, and the depressions pool water which is important for groundwater recharge and soil nutrient cycling. They’re ecosystem engineers, setting new healthy growth in motion that we are able to measure over time. With Buffalo on the Wind River Reservation, we’re seeing the land heal with the return of birds, insects, and plants. The Buffalo helps to bring back a wellbeing to the Earth which in turn impacts all of life. For more information or to support the efforts to restore the Buffalo, go to the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative.
See more conversation in EARTH and SPIRIT.
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