More than 20 tribal nations welcomed more than 1,500 buffalo back to their lands last year as part of a growing national effort to restore the animals to Indigenous stewardship, according to the InterTribal Buffalo Council.

ITBC coordinated the transfers with support from The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver Mountain Parks, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and The Wilds in Ohio. The work expanded a tribally managed herd network that now includes more than 25,000 buffalo across 22 states.

“Buffalo remain central to the spiritual, cultural, ecological, and economic life of Native communities,” ITBC Board President Ervin Carlson said. “The restoration of buffalo is not only a natural resource effort but a profound act of cultural healing and tribal sovereignty.”