Buffalo Management Program

The Nation maintains a buffalo herd within the Reservation on 420 acres of Tribal land. The herd has grown to about 120 head since the introduction to their present site located on both sides of N Road, and the north side of 150 Road. The Tribe started with the donation of three Buffalo from the Kickapoo Tribe in the early eighties which were kept by the Road and Bridge Shop. In 1993 the Nation joined the ITBC (Inter Tribal Bison Cooperative) to obtain surplus Buffalo from the Nation Parks system. The initial animals, 13 head came out of the Bad Lands National Park, the following four years; two loads came out of Wind Cave National Park, both located in South Dakota. The animals are selectively harvested throughout the year for ceremonial use and to provide meat for the established priorities. Goat chee gah yuk is the Potawatomi words for a lot of Buffalo.

Studies are being conducted to improve acreage for the herd in conjunction with the Tribal Council and Kansas State University who maintain a large herd on the Konza Prairie. Most pastures in this part of the country are seasonal for cattle, the buffalo are year round and grass management has become an issue. A separation of part of the herd to another location is being worked on.

The Buffalo has been historically apart of the Nation, in culture, language and beliefs.
Though the mission statement of the ITBC, buffalo were introduced back to Indian lands.

The herd is cared for by the Lands division of Public Works, below is a snapshot of the actual care of the herd taken from the first quarter report to the General Manager;
     
During the first quarter the buffalo have been fed approximately 126 bales of native and brome big round bales.  This comes to 81.9 tons of grass fed to the herd throughout the first part of the year.  Along with the hay the buffalo have been fed 100 lbs. of alfalfa cubes per week totaling 1400 lbs. for the first quarter.  

With this winter being a rather harsh winter there has been an increase in pasture and fence maintenance.  With the freezing ice storms and strong winds there were a lot of limbs breaking off and landing on the fence which in return required some close monitoring to insure the safety of the herd.

There was an opportunity for the program to participate in donating some harvested meat to the Haskell and KU universities for the Indigenous Summit.  With pride this program was able to donate 150 lbs. of buffalo meat to show its support for not only the community within the reservation but also surrounding community as well.

Currently there is a plan being designed to ensure the highest quality of not only the lives of the buffalo but the highest standards as to lands that the herd currently is staged on as well.  Contractors are being contacted and quotes are being looked over for the possibilities to remove some if not all of the herd during certain parts of the year to make certain that these highest qualities are reached.