Five local institutions, including the Saint Louis Zoo, are teaming up to host the Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability Series with events Oct. 10-12 examining The Buffalo Treaty.
Bison once numbered in the tens of millions as they roamed in large herds across the plains of North America. They occupied an integral role in the culture of many Indigenous people, who for thousands of years depended on the animals for their well-being and survival, and they were also a critical piece of the prairie ecosystem in which they lived.
The Buffalo Treaty was a recognition of the profound loss for both the people and the land when bison were decimated in the 1800s. It initially brought together 13 Indigenous nations from eight reservations in the United States and Canada into an intertribal alliance to restore bison to their lands and strengthen cultural relationships with the animals. Since that time, hundreds of First Nations across North America have signed the Buffalo Treaty.
The Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability Series, first held in 2021, was created to explore what lessons about conservation today’s society might glean from Indigenous peoples, who maintained a more harmonious relationship with the world around them. The Buffalo Treaty seemed an ideal topic for series organizers.
“It's such an important conservation story,” said Aimee Dunlap, an associate professor in UMSL’s Department of Biology and the interim co-director of the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center. “Bison are a keystone species in our prairies, which means they're integral to prairies functioning as prairies should function, and prairies are one of our most at risk ecosystems in North America. They’re also such an important cultural touchstone for so many.
“That's what makes the Buffalo Treaty so cool. It's a transnational treaty that is focused on the conservation and the ecology of bringing back the buffalo but also on the cultural aspects and the educational aspects of buffalo among Indigenous peoples.”
Edward Spevak, Ph.D., Curator of Invertebrates at the Saint Louis Zoo and director of the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Center for Native Pollinator Conservation, is a co-chair of the Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability series.
“Our conservation 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, including pollinators,” said Spevak. Spevak also is the co-lead of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) SAFE North American Bison Program.
Event Series
The treaty will be the central theme running through the second Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability Series with four events held over three days, beginning Oct. 10 around the St. Louis region. The Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, the Native American Studies Program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo are collaborating to host the series.
All four events are free to attend but require online registration.
The treaty will be the central theme running through the second Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability Series with four events held over three days, beginning Oct. 10 around the St. Louis region. The Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, the Native American Studies Program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo are collaborating to host the series.
All four events are free to attend but require online registration.
1) Whitney and Anna Harris Conservation Forum – Oct. 10 at Saint Louis Zoo
The series kicks off with the annual Whitney and Anna Harris Conservation Forum, hosted by UMSL, from 5:30-9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, in the Anheuser-Busch Theater at The Living World at the Zoo and livestreamed. The event is free and advance registration is required.
The conservation forum will feature Leroy Little Bear, an attorney, professor and advocate, who helped instigate and author The Buffalo Treaty. He’ll discuss the importance of bison as a cultural keystone.
Attendees will also hear from Roxann Smith, the project director of Buffalo Nations Landmarks program, which has prepared groups of K-12 educators from across the United State to implement curriculum focusing on history and revitalization of the buffalo within lessons about Indigenous nations, and Chance Weston, the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation’s food sovereignty director. Smith will discuss how the treaty has been honored, and Weston will talk about the effects of bison health on Indigenous community health.
2) Humans, Nature and The Buffalo Treaty – Oct. 11 at SIUE
The series will continue Friday, Oct. 11, with a discussion titled “Humans, Nature and The Buffalo Treaty,” featuring the same three speakers, Leroy Little Bear, Roxann Smith and Chance Weston, from 12:30-2 p.m. at the Center for Spirituality & Sustainability at SIUE. Register here.
3) Film Festival – Oct. 11 at UMSL
Friday evening will also feature screenings of two films, “Singing Back the Buffalo” and “Iniskim – Return of the Buffalo.” Amethyst First Rider, who directed the latter, will be on hand for a discussion with Leroy Little Bear and author Wes Olson. The event is hosted by the Buder Center and will be held from 5:30-9 p.m. at UMSL’s Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. Register here.
4) Ecological Buffalo – Oct. 12 at Missouri Botanical Garden
The series will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Missouri Botanical Garden with an event exploring the “Ecological Buffalo,” from 2-4 p.m. in the Farr Auditorium in the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center. Jonny BearCub Stiffarm, who volunteers on buffalo restoration with the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes Fish & Game Buffalo Program, will deliver the keynote address on “Keystone Species & Sovereignty = Rejuvenation, Innovation and Wonder.” Olson and photographer Johane Janelle will also give a presentation and sign copies of their book “The Ecological Buffalo: On the Trail of a Keystone Species.” Register here.