The Tribal Buffalo Lifeways Collaboration

On March 3, 2023, the Secretary of the Interior issued Order 3410, Restoration of American Bison and the Prairie Grasslands, directing all Department of the Interior Bureaus to work to restore wild and healthy populations of American (plains) bison and prairie grassland ecosystems through collaboration among the Department’s Bureaus, states, other federal agencies, and Tribes. The Department also challenged non-governmental organizations to collaborate on strategies to implement Tribal buffalo restoration and enhancement. In response, the Tribal Buffalo Lifeways Collaboration (TBLC) was created in 2024. TBLC’s mission is to stabilize, establish, and expand buffalo (bison) restoration on Tribal lands, while fostering cultural, spiritual, ecological, and economic revitalization within Native communities.

TBLC aims to increase awareness, advocate for, and mobilize resources in support of Tribal buffalo programs within the United States. The Collaboration respects the Indigenous values of buffalo restoration and supports the establishment, stabilization, and expansion of each unique, sovereign Tribal buffalo program for cultural, spiritual, ecological, and economic revitalization.