Canoe sign final Large.jpeg
MAKE A DIFFERENCE

CARRYING BUFFALO FORWARD

  • qoq'áalx̣ (BUFFALO) RELATIVES

    Buffalo, like our water, is strong medicine - is sacred. Nimíipuu People respected and lived with our relative qoq'áalx̣ -  the buffalo - in a very sacred fashion. Buffalo has many gifts to offer. Historically, nothing was wasted - buffalo provided meat, hides, bone and sinew, which were used for clothing, lodges, tools, sacred items, trade and food, complementing salmon, roots and berries in our living & moving with the land, waters and First Foods through the year.

  • NIMÍIPUU FOODWAYS

    Nimíipuu have a long-standing, practical and spiritual relationship with qoq’aalx (buffalo) that spans millennia as a vital thread in our lifeways, treaties, foodways and resilience. For generations, we followed First Foods across rivers, highlands, plains and coastal regions. Historically, our People followed a purposeful seasonal movement in time with First Foods and river rhythms, with buffalo expeditions extending hunting and trade networks eastward over the Lolo Trail into Buffalo Country (present‑day Montana) to hunt qoq’aalx, visit and trade with Plains Peoples.

  • TREATY ANCHOR

    1855 and 1863 Nez Perce Treaties reserved our rights to hunt, fish, gather and travel in usual and accustomed places off-reservation, explicitly protecting access to buffalo country alongside salmon rivers and root grounds. Buffalo played a key role in 1855 treaty negotiations as a symbol of Nimíipuu seasonal rights and mobility. Courts have upheld these as unlimited-time rights on federal lands exercised today in Yellowstone bison hunts - directly tying back to treaty negotiators' intent.

  • SHERMAN'S BUFFALO WAR

    19th-century colonial extermination of 30–60 million bison to starve Plains tribes severed Nimíipuu seasonal rhythms and balance, compounding dam & cannery damages to salmon, undermining food security and forcing reliance on disrupted roots, berries and fish while trade networks collapsed across disrupted lands.

  • BRINGING BUFFALO TO NIMÍIPUU COUNTRY

    Because buffalo were historically part of Nimíipuu relations, subsistence and trade, re‑establishing close relationship with buffalo today can support food security, education, language and teachings. Recent revival of treaty hunts in Yellowstone areas are reconnecting our People to qoq’aalx for ceremony, nutrition, healing and sovereignty, yet these distant hunts are expensive and inaccessible for most Nimíipuu – especially our elders and most vulnerable. Nimíipuu Protecting the Environment, Nez Perce tribal members and the Nez Perce Tribe are beginning efforts to bring herds to our homelands to affirm sovereignty, restore First Foods nutrition and ceremony and sustain our seasonal foodways. Work to reconnect with buffalo through bringing herds closer fits within our efforts to sustain treaty‑reserved lifeways, First Foods and responsibilities to all relations across our homelands and traditional territories.

POWER CHANGE

BUFFALO RELATIVES

“With the help of the creator, everything will balance out should we always honor the buffalo - honor the buffalo in every way the buffalo comes to us - what the buffalo provides. I've come to understand the buffalo as my brother & my sister. We're sacred to the buffalo. We're hoping now that we can obtain some buffalo from some herds in Montana and bring them to Nez Perce and set up a buffalo ranch. Let's not sit back and wait as a lot of our elder people have crossed over and they want to see buffalo. They want to see live buffalo; they want to see a ranch. I'm hoping and praying that our tribal leaders will look at this and provide some extra land where we can set up our buffalo ranch for our People and the economy today.” ~David Scott, Nimíipuu Elder

A black and white photograph of a bison standing in a field with trees in the background, with other smaller bison nearby.
Photograph of a handwritten document dated June 11, 1855, with elegant cursive script on light brown paper discussing original and printed copies, with additional notes from April 29, 1859.
A woman dressed in traditional Native American clothing stands outdoors, holding a burning object. She wears a patterned hat and jewelry, with trees in the background. Two children and a woman are seen in the blurred background.
Black and white photo of bison grazing on a grassy riverbank with a wooded forest and mountain in the background.
Close-up of Native American man wearing a traditional feathered headdress with serious expression.
Two men standing at a table with a microphone. One is reading from a large piece of paper, the other looking on. Both are wearing casual clothing.
A herd of bison grazing in a grassy landscape with rolling hills and a cloudy sky in black and white.
Close-up of a handwritten historical document with the section title "Article VI" in large, stylized script. An overlay text states that it is from the U.S. Constitution, Article VI, Clause 2, and mentions the supremacy of the Constitution and federa
A young man holds a tool while standing outdoors at a gathering or event with other people, some of whom are wearing hoodies and jackets, in a setting with birdhouses hanging from a line in the background.
A black-and-white photo of a bison grazing in a grassy field near a body of water with trees and a hillside in the background.
Black and white photograph of seven Indigenous people, four women and three children, wearing traditional clothing and jewelry. They are posed outdoors against a plain background.
A group photo of five people, including children and an adult, smiling and posing outdoors at dusk or night. The background shows trees and a building, with some lighting.
A herd of bison crossing a river in a natural landscape with grassy banks and rocky cliffs in the background.
Black and white portrait of a Native American man wearing a traditional feathered headdress with a stern expression.
Black and white photo of two young girls, one with long hair and the other with shorter hair, posing in front of a dark background.
Black and white photo of a lion lying on the grass with a mountain in the background.
A black and white photograph of a Native American man wearing a large feathered headdress and traditional clothing, holding a staff or walking stick, standing outdoors on dirt ground with a plain background.
A young man standing with arms crossed, wearing a T-shirt with a skull design, in front of a group of children and hanging birdhouses. The setting appears to be outdoors with a wooden structure overhead.
A herd of bison grazing in a grassy field, with some in the background, in a rural landscape.
Historical document titled 'Treaty between the United States of America and the Nez Perce Tribe of Indians,' concluded on June 9, 1863, with ratification advised on April 17, 1867, and proclamation on April 20, 1867.
A young girl with glasses smiling at the camera, wearing a dark sweater, against a black background.
A black and white landscape with a herd of bison scattered across open grassy plains, with a hillside in the background.
A Native American person wearing a traditional feather headdress and holding a drum, standing outdoors at night.
A smiling young boy with short hair in the foreground, surrounded by other children, one of whom is wearing a T-shirt with words like Respect, Responsibility, Gratitude, Service, Love, and Co-operation printed on the back, in an outdoor setting.
Black and white photo of a herd of bison grazing on a grassy plain with hills and trees in the background under cloudy skies.
A close-up of an old document with handwritten and typed names, titles, and seal marks, including the name Calvin H. Hale and Chas. Hutchins.
A young girl with wet hair standing outdoors with a subtle smile. She is wearing a button-up shirt with a butterfly design. In the background, another girl in a dark shirt is visible, along with wooden structures and trees.

CONTACT YOUR COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE

Bringing buffalo to Nimiipuu homelands is a commitment to feeding our people with strength & dignity and a powerful step toward Nimiipuu food security & sovereignty. Invest in the health of our people, the vitality of our lands and the continuation of First Foods traditions. We encourage enrolled members to express their interest in seeing buffalo restored to Nimiipuu lands and stay engaged with this initiative. Below is a link to email and call your Nez Perce Council Members and Tribal Representatives requesting a Nez Perce Tribal Buffalo Ranch in our Homelands.

TAKE

ACTION

BUFFALO FORWARD
MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.

~ Chief Joseph

POWER CHANGE