Latest news with #NorthernArapaho
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tribes propose bold change in how bison are managed across the US: 'It's about our relationship with them'
A tribe in Wyoming is advocating for a change in the way bison are treated on the plains that could lead to a new relationship between the once-endangered species and Indigenous people. In April, the Eastern Shoshone voted to reclassify bison (or buffalo, as tribes refer to them) as wildlife instead of livestock, according to The Associated Press and Grist. The Northern Arapaho, who share land with the Eastern Shoshone, are expected to make a similar vote soon. "Buffalo as wildlife allows the animals to exist on the landscape, rather than livestock based on economic and Western paradigms," Jason Baldes, executive director of the Wind River Buffalo Initiative, told the AP. Once near extinction, there are now roughly 20,000 wild plains buffalo, but most are actually raised in private operations for the meat industry and are seen as a market beyond cows. The beef industry contributes a significant amount of planet-warming emissions, with cows accounting for 10% of those, per Scientific American. Buffalo emit methane as well, but they can have a positive impact on the environment by increasing biodiversity through their grazing and movement. If they are treated more like wildlife rather than livestock, their positive impact can grow. According to the World Wildlife Fund, their wallows — or areas where bison roll around on the ground and pack down the soil — fill with rainwater and provide breeding grounds for amphibians and a drinking source for wildlife, and grazing on different grasses can help nesting birds. Redesignating buffalo is also a means to restore tribal sovereignty, including allowing the animals to roam free and be hunted. Buffalo were hunted to near extinction when European colonizers took over tribal lands, targeted as part of the effort to remove Native American peoples from their land. Baldes wants buffalo treated as they were before Western expansion, saying, "Bringing the buffalo back is about our relationship with them, not domination over them." Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Turtle building added to national 'endangered places' list
NIAGARA FALLS — A grassroots effort to reawaken the building commonly known as 'The Turtle' in downtown Niagara Falls has picked up support from a 75-year-old nationwide preservation organization that specializes in saving unique places across America. The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced Wednesday that it has named the turtle-shaped former Native American Center for the Living Arts building to its 2025 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The group's designation describes the Turtle as a 'powerful symbol of Indigenous heritage,' while noting, 'Unfortunately, the building has been vacant for almost 30 years, and the owner previously shared plans for demolition. A coalition has formed in hopes of 'reawakening' the Turtle once again.' Sites are selected by the trust based on historical significance, architectural importance and severity of threat faced. Placement on the list can help raise awareness about a site, which can help mobilize financing and support for local preservation efforts. 'As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, we must acknowledge and support the Indigenous history that has so often been hidden and forgotten,' said Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 'The plans to 'reawaken' the Turtle would provide exactly the celebration of tribal heritage and culture that we need more than ever.' Di Gao, senior director of research and development for the National Trust, joined members of the local group, Friends of the Niagara Turtle, in formally announcing the building's designation during a press conference on Wednesday at Cataract House Park across the street from the former Native American arts center in downtown Niagara Falls. She likened the designation to 'an act of hope' aimed at spurring wider interest in the effort to preserve and reopen the Turtle. 'Over it's four decades of existence, the list has become a highly effective tool for sharing the stories of some our nation's most captivating sites and galvanizing public support for over 350 places and we're proud to say, after they've been included on this list, only a handful have been lost,' Gao said. Opened in 1981 as a center for celebrating Native American arts, the Turtle building has been closed and vacant since 1995. Northern Arapaho architect Dennis Sun Rhodes designed the building in the shape of a turtle to honor the Haudenosaunee creation story that the Earth was built on the back of a Great Turtle. The three-story, 67,000-square-foot building, located at 25 Rainbow Blvd., features a geodesic dome roof 'shell' and large porthole 'eye' windows. 'The Turtle is a powerful symbol of Indigenous heritage and was once a hub for fostering education, cultural preservation and community healing,' Gao said. 'We've included the Turtle on the endangered list because it has now been vacant for nearly 30 years and is not yet a locally designated landmark. Yet these walls hold community memories and promise for future generations.' The building is currently owned by the private company, Niagara Falls Redevelopment, which previously opposed efforts to have the building designated by the city as a local landmark. NFR did not immediately respond to a request for comment, however, the company has previously indicated through its spokesperson that any potential for future renovation would depend entirely on the proposed use and that the company has not received 'viable interest' in redeveloping the site since it acquired it from the city in 1997. The local non-profit group Friends of the Turtle was formed in the wake of the Niagara Falls City Council's decision to reject a request by the city's Historic Preservation Commission to have the building designated as a local landmark. The Friends are receiving support in their efforts to 'reawaken' the Turtle from Preservation Buffalo Niagara, a local group that works to preserve historic and culturally significant sites across Western New York. Supporters of the preservation effort say the building embodies the self-determination and preservation of the Haudenosaunee who, in the mid-1970s, embarked on the Turtle's construction as part of an effort to preserve their arts and culture after the negative impact of the Indian boarding schools and centuries of the United States Government controlling nearly every aspect of tribal life. They also view the building as a prime and exceedingly rare example of a cross between Postmodern and Indigenous architecture. Preservationists say the building's design blends Postmodern approaches to anthropomorphism in conjunction with meaningful Haudenosaunee symbols and practices embodied in the function and form of the building. Friends members say their coalition includes more than 1,000 Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and that they have engaged extensively with the Haudenosaunee Nations and other Indigenous communities who are interested in revitalizing the building as a cultural resource. Plans for the building could include re-establishing it as a cultural center offering exhibitions, dance and music performances, and educational experiences highlighting Native American heritage, culture, and languages. Shaun Wilson, a member of the Mohawk and Turtle Clan who serves as the chairman of the board for the Friends of the Niagara Turtle, said he believes the Turtle could come alive and thrive once again as a center for celebrating Indigenous culture and arts, partly because times have changed a lot since the building closed in 1981. Wilson believes a new group of operators would greatly benefit from something the earlier operators did not have: Access to the world through marketing and promotion on the internet. He said he believes operators of the building would be in a much better position today to attract visitors and support for an Indigenous cultural center inside a unique building that would be unlike any other attraction of its kind, not just in New York but in the United States. 'I think, historically, the Turtle was, looking back on it, it probably could have been welcomed by the community more,' he said. 'It was a different time when it did operate. It was the first building of its kind and something like this here in New York state could have the Indigenous community re-learning its culture in this building. We have the community today that could operate this building.' Wilson said his group is working with local architect John Baptiste from Anowara Architecture as it moves forward with the preservation initiative. He said a key step in the process will likely involve a walk-through that would allow for a closer examination of the building's condition, which Wilson said Friends of the Turtle members have been unable to do to date. While he acknowledged the potential cost of renovation may be high, Wilson said Friends members are hoping that by increasing the public's understanding of the significance of the Turtle, they will be able to put together a 'viable' plan that the building's owners have said no one has been able to produce. 'We had to start somewhere, so we started with community awareness and that there's potential to save the building,' Wilson said.
San Francisco Chronicle
21-04-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
In Wyoming, the Eastern Shoshone tribe decided to classify buffalo as wildlife. Here is why
Jason Baldes drove down a dusty, sagebrush highway earlier this month, pulling 11 young buffalo in a trailer from Colorado to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. His blue truck has painted on the side a drawing of buffalo and a calf. As the executive director of the Wind River Buffalo Initiative and Eastern Shoshone tribal member, Baldes has helped grow the number of buffalo on the reservation for the last decade. The latest count: the Northern Arapaho tribe have 97 and the Eastern Shoshone have 118. 'Tribes have an important role in restoring buffalo for food sovereignty, culture and nutrition, but also for overall bison recovery,' he said. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between The Associated Press and Grist. ___ The Eastern Shoshone this month voted to classify buffalo as wildlife instead of livestock as a way to treat them more like elk or deer rather than like cattle. Because the two tribes share the same land base, the Northern Arapaho are expected to vote on the distinction as well. The vote indicates a growing interest to both restore buffalo on the landscape and challenge the relationship between animal and product. Tribes and locals tend to say buffalo while scientists use bison to describe the animal. While climate change isn't the main driver behind the push to restore buffalo's wildlife status, the move could bring positive effects to the fight against global warming. Climate change is shrinking Wyoming's glaciers, contributing to drought, and increasing wildfires. Like cows, buffalo emit methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, by belching, though it's not clear if buffalo give off the same levels. Those emissions contribute to climate change, but what buffalo bring in increased biodiversity can promote drought resilience and some buffalo herds have been shown to help store carbon. Baldes argues buffalo should be able to roam on the plains to bolster biodiversity and restore ecological health of the landscape — but that has to come with a change in relationship. 'Buffalo as wildlife allows the animals to exist on the landscape,' Baldes said. 'Rather than livestock based on economic and Western paradigms.' Wildlife is broadly defined as all living organisms, like plants and animals that exist outside the direct control of humans. When it comes to how different states define wildlife, it can vary. But in general, animals that are not domesticated — as in selectively bred for human consumption or companionship — are typically classified as wildlife. 'Bison have a complex history since their near extinction over 100 years ago,' said Lisa Shipley, a professor at Washington State University who studies management of wild ungulates, which are large mammals with hooves, including buffalo. During the expansion of settlers, a combination of overhunting, habitat destruction, and government policy aimed at killing Indigenous peoples' food supplies eradicated the animal. Around 8 million buffalo were in the United States in 1870, and then in the span of 20 years there were less than 500. Today, in North America there are roughly 20,000 wild plains bison — like the ones Baldes works to put on the Wind River. But most reside in privately owned operations, where many are raised for the growing bison meat industry. In 2023, around 85,000 bison were processed for meat consumption in the U.S., compared to the 36 million head of cattle. It's not a lot compared to cattle, but some producers see buffalo as an interesting new addition to the global meat market. The numbers are similar for other kinds of wildlife — there are typically more livestock on the land than wildlife. According to one study, if all the livestock of the world were weighed, the livestock would be 30 times heavier than the weight of all the wildlife. Reducing the world's collective reliance on cows — a popular variety of livestock — is seen by many as a path forward to combating climate change. Eating less beef and dairy products can be good for the planet; cows account for around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. And having too many cows on a small patch of pasture can have negative effects on the environment, causing soil erosion and affecting the amount of carbon the land can absorb. Buffalo are good to have on a landscape because they tend to move around if given enough room. One study found that cattle spent half their time grazing, while buffalo only around a quarter of the time — buffalo even moved faster and had an affinity for more varieties of grasses to munch on. Still, even buffalo can damage the landscape if they are managed like cattle. 'Too many animals on the landscape can lead to rangeland degradation and health concerns,' said Justin Binfet, wildlife management coordinator for Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The state has classified the buffalo as both livestock and wildlife, which means they can be privately owned or managed in conservation herds. However, different places in the state have different rules regarding the animal. Currently, Wyoming issues around 70 buffalo hunting tags a year. The National Park Services manages the oldest untouched population of buffalo in Yellowstone National Park, which intersects with both Wyoming and Montana. Montana has sued the National Park over their buffalo management plan, citing potential negative effects as the park grows the herd and aims to let the buffalo push the boundaries in the park like other wildlife do. The Montana Stockgrowers Association – a group that advocates for the sale of beef – said the management plan in the National Park for buffalo 'did not adequately represent all management options that should be considered' like more population control and increased tribal hunting. Ranchers in Wyoming and Montana, including tribal members who raise cattle, often cite the disease brucellosis as a reason to keep buffalo and cattle strictly away from each other. The management plan for buffalo says that there has not been a recorded case of bison-to-cattle disease. Wyoming has a history of contesting tribal hunting rights. In a 2019 U.S. Supreme Court case, Herrera vs. Wyoming, the court ruled in favor of treaty-protected hunting rights within the state. But how this history will intersect with buffalo's classification as wildlife remains to be seen. On the Wind River Reservation, the tribes have control of wildlife management and hunting regulations. The choice to designate buffalo as wildlife is a matter of tribal sovereignty. For Baldes, he wants to eventually hunt buffalo like someone would any other wildlife. He's in the process of buying property to allow buffalo to roam like they did before the arrival of settlers. He doesn't like when people call the Wind River Buffalo Initiative a "ranch," because it has too much of an association with cows and cattle. He says buffalo should be treated as they were before settler contact. 'Bringing the buffalo back is about our relationship with them, not domination over them,' Baldes said. ____
Associated Press
21-04-2025
- General
- Associated Press
In Wyoming, the Eastern Shoshone tribe decided to classify buffalo as wildlife. Here is why
Jason Baldes drove down a dusty, sagebrush highway earlier this month, pulling 11 young buffalo in a trailer from Colorado to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. His blue truck has painted on the side a drawing of buffalo and a calf. As the executive director of the Wind River Buffalo Initiative and Eastern Shoshone tribal member, Baldes has helped grow the number of buffalo on the reservation for the last decade. The latest count: the Northern Arapaho tribe have 97 and the Eastern Shoshone have 118. 'Tribes have an important role in restoring buffalo for food sovereignty, culture and nutrition, but also for overall bison recovery,' he said. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between The Associated Press and Grist. ___ The Eastern Shoshone this month voted to classify buffalo as wildlife instead of livestock as a way to treat them more like elk or deer rather than like cattle. Because the two tribes share the same land base, the Northern Arapaho are expected to vote on the distinction as well. The vote indicates a growing interest to both restore buffalo on the landscape and challenge the relationship between animal and product. Tribes and locals tend to say buffalo while scientists use bison to describe the animal. While climate change isn't the main driver behind the push to restore buffalo's wildlife status, the move could bring positive effects to the fight against global warming. Climate change is shrinking Wyoming's glaciers, contributing to drought, and increasing wildfires. Like cows, buffalo emit methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, by belching, though it's not clear if buffalo give off the same levels. Those emissions contribute to climate change, but what buffalo bring in increased biodiversity can promote drought resilience and some buffalo herds have been shown to help store carbon. Baldes argues buffalo should be able to roam on the plains to bolster biodiversity and restore ecological health of the landscape — but that has to come with a change in relationship. 'Buffalo as wildlife allows the animals to exist on the landscape,' Baldes said. 'Rather than livestock based on economic and Western paradigms.' Wildlife is broadly defined as all living organisms, like plants and animals that exist outside the direct control of humans. When it comes to how different states define wildlife, it can vary. But in general, animals that are not domesticated — as in selectively bred for human consumption or companionship — are typically classified as wildlife. 'Bison have a complex history since their near extinction over 100 years ago,' said Lisa Shipley, a professor at Washington State University who studies management of wild ungulates, which are large mammals with hooves, including buffalo. During the expansion of settlers, a combination of overhunting, habitat destruction, and government policy aimed at killing Indigenous peoples' food supplies eradicated the animal. Around 8 million buffalo were in the United States in 1870, and then in the span of 20 years there were less than 500. Today, in North America there are roughly 20,000 wild plains bison — like the ones Baldes works to put on the Wind River. But most reside in privately owned operations, where many are raised for the growing bison meat industry. In 2023, around 85,000 bison were processed for meat consumption in the U.S., compared to the 36 million head of cattle. It's not a lot compared to cattle, but some producers see buffalo as an interesting new addition to the global meat market. The numbers are similar for other kinds of wildlife — there are typically more livestock on the land than wildlife. According to one study, if all the livestock of the world were weighed, the livestock would be 30 times heavier than the weight of all the wildlife. Reducing the world's collective reliance on cows — a popular variety of livestock — is seen by many as a path forward to combating climate change. Eating less beef and dairy products can be good for the planet; cows account for around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. And having too many cows on a small patch of pasture can have negative effects on the environment, causing soil erosion and affecting the amount of carbon the land can absorb. Buffalo are good to have on a landscape because they tend to move around if given enough room. One study found that cattle spent half their time grazing, while buffalo only around a quarter of the time — buffalo even moved faster and had an affinity for more varieties of grasses to munch on. Still, even buffalo can damage the landscape if they are managed like cattle. 'Too many animals on the landscape can lead to rangeland degradation and health concerns,' said Justin Binfet, wildlife management coordinator for Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The state has classified the buffalo as both livestock and wildlife, which means they can be privately owned or managed in conservation herds. However, different places in the state have different rules regarding the animal. Currently, Wyoming issues around 70 buffalo hunting tags a year. The National Park Services manages the oldest untouched population of buffalo in Yellowstone National Park, which intersects with both Wyoming and Montana. Montana has sued the National Park over their buffalo management plan, citing potential negative effects as the park grows the herd and aims to let the buffalo push the boundaries in the park like other wildlife do. The Montana Stockgrowers Association – a group that advocates for the sale of beef – said the management plan in the National Park for buffalo 'did not adequately represent all management options that should be considered' like more population control and increased tribal hunting. Ranchers in Wyoming and Montana, including tribal members who raise cattle, often cite the disease brucellosis as a reason to keep buffalo and cattle strictly away from each other. The management plan for buffalo says that there has not been a recorded case of bison-to-cattle disease. Wyoming has a history of contesting tribal hunting rights. In a 2019 U.S. Supreme Court case, Herrera vs. Wyoming, the court ruled in favor of treaty-protected hunting rights within the state. But how this history will intersect with buffalo's classification as wildlife remains to be seen. On the Wind River Reservation, the tribes have control of wildlife management and hunting regulations. The choice to designate buffalo as wildlife is a matter of tribal sovereignty. For Baldes, he wants to eventually hunt buffalo like someone would any other wildlife. He's in the process of buying property to allow buffalo to roam like they did before the arrival of settlers. He doesn't like when people call the Wind River Buffalo Initiative a 'ranch,' because it has too much of an association with cows and cattle. He says buffalo should be treated as they were before settler contact. 'Bringing the buffalo back is about our relationship with them, not domination over them,' Baldes said. ____ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
