Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability Event Series
October 10-12, 2024
This collaborative event series focuses on contemporary Indigenous knowledge and environmental sustainability. Join us for presentations and dialogue with specialists on the Buffalo Treaty, habitat restoration, food security, economics, sovereignty, and culture.
This event series is made possible by the following organizations and members of the Indigenous community in the St. Louis metropolitan area: Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at University of Missouri-St. Louis, Missouri Botanical Garden, Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis Zoo and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
See below for the schedule of events. To download the event flyer, click here.
Whitney and Anna Harris Conservation Forum: The Buffalo Treaty
5:30-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10
Saint Louis Zoo
The free, in-person event takes place at the Saint Louis Zoo (The Living World/North Entrance) and is hosted by the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center and Saint Louis Zoo. The event also will be livestreamed. See more details on this event.
Featured Speakers
Leroy Little Bear, JD, OC, AOE
Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy
Leroy Little Bear is an educator, lawyer, advocate, speaker, author, and political activist. Mr. Little Bear has advised the United Nations, many First Nations, and the federal and provincial governments of Canada on matters related to the constitution, Indigenous Title, justice, and the restoration of the buffalo. Among his many accomplishments and accolades, Leroy Little Bear was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the 2014 signing of The Buffalo: A Treaty of Cooperation, Renewal and Restoration. The treaty committed four First Nations in Canada and four American Indian Tribes to restore buffalo herds. When buffalo began to arrive and thrive in Alberta and Montana, more signatories were added to the treaty and more buffalo were reintroduced.
Roxann Smith, M. Ed.
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation
Roxann Smith is a specialist in K-12 and higher education, in teaching, curriculum, and teacher education. Ms. Smith has served on the Tribal Executive Board at Fort Peck, served one term as council woman, and one term as Vice-Chairman of the Fort Peck Tribes. Roxann Smith and other dedicated Fort Peck tribal members have done considerable work and local research in supporting the Fort Peck Tribes’ buffalo restoration efforts. Their P’te Group (P’te is female buffalo in the Dakota language) consists of elders and local community members along with colleagues from Montana State University and the World Wildlife Fund. The collaboration with Montana State University and Fort Peck Community College's community-based participatory research is focused on the return of our "Buffalo Relations," and the healing impact it has on the community, land, and fourteen natural resources. The buffalo's return helped define food sovereignty, which has emerged as a common concern among tribes.
Chance Weston
Oglala Dakota
Mr. Weston is Director of the Food Sovereignty Initiative at Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, Porcupine SD. With a passion for Indigenous food sovereignty, land management, bison restoration, and rematriation, Chance Weston has played a pivotal role in transitioning the initiative to the Lakota Land Systems Initiative (LLSI). Chance integrates traditional Lakota wisdom with modern sustainable practices, emphasizing reciprocity with the land and cultural revitalization.
Chance's dedication to bison restoration and rematriation reflects his commitment to Indigenous stewardship and cultural preservation. His expertise in agroecology further enriches his approach, ensuring that sustainable practices align with Lakota traditions while promoting ecological resilience. Through public engagement, education, and hands-on projects, Chance Weston quietly champions the fusion of contemporary sustainability approaches with timeless Lakota Indigenous lifeways, shaping a future where care, respect, and sustainability can thrive for generations to come.
Saint Louis Zoo Conservation Initiative
Native Foods, Native Peoples, Native Pollinators is a Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Center for Native Pollinator Conservation initiative. The program works on Tribal and Reservation land, focusing on the intersection of wild and cultivated foods, cultural traditions and food sovereignty, healthy environments and people, and the environment (as exemplified by pollinators) and is helping develop a new direction for zoo-based conservation efforts.
Humans, Nature and the Buffalo Treaty
12:30-2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
A dialogue with Leroy Little Bear, Roxann Smith and Chance Weston
The free event takes place at Center for Spirituality & Sustainability at SIUE (the Buckminster Fuller Dome) and is hosted by the Native American Studies Program, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Film Festival
5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11
University of Missouri–St. Louis
The free event takes place at Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis and is hosted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, Washington University in St. Louis.
Singing Back the Buffalo
Directed by award winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard (Peepeekisis First Nation, Treaty 4)
Iniskim – Return of the Buffalo
Directed by Amethyst First Rider (Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy)
Dialogue with Amethyst First Rider, Leroy Little Bear and Wes Olsen
The Ecological Buffalo
2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12
Missouri Botanical Garden
The free event takes place at Jack C. Taylor Center, Farr Auditorium at Missouri Botanical Garden and is hosted by Missouri Botanical Garden.
Keystone Species & Sovereignty = Rejuvenation, Innovation and Wonder
Jonny BearCub Stiffarm, JD (Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation) Montana
The Ecological Buffalo: On The Trail Of A Keystone Species
A presentation and book-signing with author Wes Olson and photographer Johane Janelle
Kernels of Culture: Maize Around the World
11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily
Missouri Botanical Garden
Event takes place at Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, Missouri Botanical Garden. Admission to this exhibit is included with regular Garden admission.
