In 1987, tribal leaders on the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana began working to restore buffalo to Assiniboine and Sioux lands, reviving an animal central to their culture, spirituality and way of life. Two years later, the tribes purchased more than 100 bison from the nearby Fort Belknap Reservation and established a herd on 5,800 acres. What began as a cultural restoration effort eventually developed an economic component as the costs of managing a large, roaming herd grew and Fort Peck began allowing paying hunters from outside the reservation to hunt its bison. The hunts generated revenue, but over time tribal elders became concerned that the program was drifting away from the reason the buffalo had been brought back in the first place. Fort Peck ultimately ended the commercial hunting operation and shifted toward a system in which tribal members could hunt through a cultural lottery, allowing hunting to remain part of the herd's purpose while putting the community rather than outside customers at the centre of the program. This remarkable transformation illustrates how Indigenous communities can successfully reclaim cultural traditions while building sustainable programs that honor ancestral values over commercial interests. The decision ultimately placed cultural stewardship at the heart of the herd, ensuring the buffalo remained more than an economic resource for future generations.
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