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the InterTribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC), an organization consisting of 24 

 member tribes interested in utilizing bufifalo for ecological restoration on 

 Tribal lands. Each member tribe of the ITBC has joined and expressed 

 support of the organization through formal tribal council resolutions. 

 Although each tribe has their own unique set of spiritual and cultural values 

 attached to the bison, all recognize the need for re-establishing their intrinsic 

 relationship with the bufifalo. The cooperative efifort to restore bison on 

 Indian reservations is aimed at restoring the reservation ecologies in a 

 manner that is acceptable and appreciated by the respective Tribal members. 



Most importantly, the restoration of bufifalo to Indian people renews 

 hope and is perhaps the last viable efifort that can protect tribal lands from 

 the ravages of mismanagement, and quite possibly ofifers the last opportunity 

 for "grass roots" Tribal members to recapture the spritual and cultural 

 essence of their being and re-afiQrm the traditional values that are so 

 important to the preservation of their culture. Because bufifalo were the 

 economic base of many Tribes in the past, restoration of bufifalo to the 

 Indian community also ofifers a tremendous opportunity for economic 

 development within a cultural framework. 



Although many private producers are rightfully raising bison as a 

 profitable enterprise, there is an associated move to domesticate bison, 

 strictly for commercial benefits. There is a tremendous amount of scientific 

 evidence, as well as traditional Tribal knowledge, which indicates that bison 

 must be protected as a wildlife resource in order for them to contribute to the 

 preservation of the ecosystem. Just as Indian people themselves must be 

 allowed to develop within their own cultural framework in order to 

 successfrilly interact with their environment, the membership of the ITBC 

 recognizes that buffalo have the same need,and have cooperatively agreed to 

 facilitate that efifort on their behalf Just as salmon are recognized as an 

 issue of subsistence and cultural survival to tlie tribes in the Pacific 

 Northwest, the restoration of bufifalo to Tribal lands is essential to the 

 member Tribes of the ITBC. 



Although Congress responded to our request for funding and 

 appropriated $400,000 toward our efforts in 1992 and $450,000 in 1993 it 

 falls considerably short of the $2,000,000 necessary to fund all 24 of the 

 Tribal projects submitted through the ITBC. We are grateful for the funding 

 received, but only 1 Tribes have been able to secure funding with the 

 $850,000 appropriated so far, which places the remaining projects on hold 

 until future fiinds become available. If all 24 of the Tribal projects could 

 secure initial start-up funding, the current appropriation level of $450,000 to 



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