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relationship with the Federal government, it is essential that legislative action 

 guarantees the Tribal government's ilill participation in the management of 

 fisheries, wildlife, and recreational resources on Tribal lands and within 

 ceded territories as defined by Treaty rights and associated court action 

 regarding Tribal Treaty rights cases, as well as applicable Executive Orders 

 and Congressional Acts. 



In 1991 the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe prioritized buffalo as an 

 essential wildlife resource and implemented restoration efforts based on the 

 Lakota world view, which recognizes that the inter-relationship and intrinsic 

 value of all native species is necessary for the health and harmony of the 

 environment. The recognifion of buffalo as a critical species within the 

 prairie ecosystem not only has major implications for the restoration of the 

 prairie, but also for the socio-economic, cultural, and spiritual well being of 

 the tribe. Because of the intrinsic relationship between the Plains Indian 

 culture and the buffalo culture, the near decimation of the buffalo vvas 

 mutually devastating to the Plains tribes. Because buffalo are a central 

 element to the prairie, as well as to the Lakota culture, our efforts to restore 

 buffalo to our Tribal land provides us with a culturally sound focal point and 

 spearheads our overall ecosystem approach. The Cheyenne River Sioux 

 Tribe's Bison Enhancement Project successfully integrates the importance of 

 buffalo to the Lakota culture, religion, socio-economic well-being, and 

 environmental health, which are all necessary components to sustainable 

 natural resource development. The restoration of buffalo has renewed hof)€ 

 to many tribal members and has inspired the Tribe to develop a long-range 

 restoration plan which includes the entire ecosystem within the reservation 

 boundaries. 



As a direct result of our buffalo restoration plan and in response to a 

 congressional directive for the BIA to work with Tribes and in consultation 

 with the USFWS to develop alternative plans for prairie dog control, the 

 Tribe developed the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's "Prairie Management 

 Plan." This comprehensive plan, developed by an interdisciplinary team of 

 tribal, federal, and environmental representatives, presents a dramatic 

 departure from control of prairie dogs by pwisoning and covers 2.8 million 

 acres of prairie encompassed by the reservation boundaries. The primary 

 goal of the Prairie Management Plan is to allow prairie dogs, buffalo, black 

 footed ferrets, eagles and many other wildlife species to coexist with 

 livestock production and incorporate management techniques that are 

 directed at multiple use. This alternative plan to poisoning prairie dogs will 



