The Blackfoot Confederacy and their buffalo...

It's always amazed me how statist environmental bureaucracies are more than willing to all but halt the forward movement of civilization to protect an obscure sub-species of an amphibian or fish found in a puddle in some backwater strip mall development, but when it comes time to step up and make a positive difference across potentially hundreds of thousands of square miles of the Great Plains, offer nothing but red tape and legal barriers to those seeking to reestablish wild bison herds.

Here's a short video illuminating the relationship that the Blackfeet have with the buffalo, along with a little history of how the Wildlife Conservation Society (the Bronx Zoo folks) reintroduced the practically extinct pure bison lineage back into the wild.



I covered most of this territory in my first two books, The Third Revolution and Middle America. They remain fine, still-relevant liberty tales, and prominently feature the very spiritual relationships between the Blackfeet and the bison. Check them out to see what can be done when those Washington-based statist environmental bureaucracies finally get pushed out of the way.

A New Look for an Old Friend...

The Third Revolution - New Cover!

Since it was first published in 2004, the trusty buffalo on the cover of my first novel, The Third Revolution, has been confounding fan and foe alike:

"Why is it there?"
"Is it a book about buffalo?"
"Is it some sort of environmental screed?"
"Is it about the politics of bison management?"
"Patriotic buffalo?"

"Why is it there?!!!"

Those of you who've pushed past the issue and actually read the book know that it's a tale about freedom and liberty, a story that cuts to the core of why groups of individuals decide to form governments in the first place. There are bison (lots of 'em!) featured in the plot, but it's not about them. They just live there...

The argument could (easily) be made that they serve a metaphorical presence in the story, but metaphors don't make very compelling visual hooks when you're competing in a crowded book market, where most consumers do indeed judge a book by its cover. Hence the change.

For now you'll see the new cover on the Kindle edition only; changing the cover on the print edition is a big production and hardly seems worth it given the rising primacy of ebooks. As always, thanks for your support, and your feedback is always welcome.  

The original cover - Still gracing the print edition

American Bison... "The Return"

If you follow my Twitter feed, you're aware that I'm fairly obsessed with the return of bison to the Great Plains. The legal kerfuffle kicked up over the recent high-profile move of a herd of genetically pure bison from Yellowstone National Park to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation even managed to catch the attention of the NY Times:

"Sioux and Assiniboine tribe members wailed a welcome song last month as around 60 bison from Yellowstone National Park stormed onto a prairie pasture that had not felt a bison’s hoof for almost 140 years.

 That historic homecoming came just 11 days after 71 pureblood bison, descended from one of Montana’s last wild herds, were released nearby onto untilled grassland owned by a charity with a vision of building a haven for prairie wildlife. Some hunters and conservationists are now calling for bison to be reintroduced to a million-acre wildlife refuge spanning this remote region".

My interest in the subject started with research that I did for my first two books, The Third Revolution and its sequel, Middle America. Both were "liberty" stories, and I found that including the return of the bison to the Montana grasslands not only added color to the story, but nicely amplified the theme.

Here's a recently produced video documenting the reintroduction of the bison to the Fort Peck Reservation:



Read the entire Times article here: As Bison Return to Prairie, Some Rejoice, Others Worry

And while you're at it, please consider reading The Third Revolution and Middle America as well...

"He's not a circus act." Family resists temptation to turn white buffalo into a sideshow attraction...

I saw this coming:

"Little Soldier says he's getting a lot of offers to take Lightning Medicine Cloud on the road to stock shows and the like. But, for now, he and his wife have decided it's best for the calf to stay home for scheduled events and by-appointment group outings.

The Little Soldiers have been determined that the animal not become a tourist attraction but rather a pilgrimage of sorts and a celebration of Indian culture. They say Lightning Medicine Cloud's birth is a blessing.

"It's been an honor and a privilege to share our honor and privilege with everybody else. Letting everybody see him," said Little Soldier."

Lone Star Adventure: Lakota Ranch: MyFoxDFW.com

 I anticipated such crass commercial pressure in my novel Middle America (sequel to The Third Revolution).  Here's an except on the subject from Middle America:

“Tommy, we heard about the white buffalo. That’s quite a big deal up in your neck of the woods, no?”

Running Wolf nodded. “Big Smoke, we call him. About two months old now. Doing well, very healthy. He’s not an albino; he’s got blue eyes, not pink. That’s good, albinos have many health problems.”

“Good for business, I would think,” Joe said.

“Yeah, that’s what our white partners say,” Running Wolf agreed, somewhat reluctantly. “It’s much more than that for us, though.” He sat back and drained his glass. Joe caught the bartender’s eye and pointed to the chief’s glass.

“Thanks,” Running Wolf said, as a fresh, frosty glass quickly appeared in front of him. “The white buffalo is a sacred symbol to many of the tribal nations. Each tribe has their own story, but they all involve the appearance of a beautiful woman, dressed in white, who presents the tribe with a pipe, or a parchment inscribed with tribal law, and instructs the people in the ways of prayer, and in the ways of nature, and of survival. When the woman leaves the people, she turns into a white buffalo.”

“So the birth of a white buffalo signals her return?” Ben asked.

“That’s right,” Running Wolf said. “The birth is a messenger of creation, a symbol of rebirth for the Native American community. Some say it means we’re on the verge of a cultural awakening; for others, especially in troubled times, it symbolizes the coming together of humanity into a spiritual unity. Unfortunately, for our white partners, it represents a one-in-ten million dollar marketing opportunity.”

“It doesn’t sound like something a true believer would be looking to cash in on,” Ben said.

“For us it would be like Christians charging admission to witness the Second Coming of Christ.”

“You gotta have T-shirts at least, right? You know, ‘I Saw the White Buffalo’ and stuff like that?” Joe said, half joking.

“Sure, why not.” Running Wolf shrugged and took another sip of beer. “I’m sure somebody will be selling T-shirts at the Second Coming, right?

“The crowds have already started,” he continued. “The word spread quickly among the tribal nations. That we don’t mind. It’s the television and radio commercials, all that. They’ve already signed some kind of contract with the Nature Channel. If it were up to them they’d have him appearing in a nightclub at one of the big casinos, or at least keep him penned up in one spot so he’d be easy for the general public to get to. It’s important to us that Big Smoke is allowed to live free, to find his place with the rest of the herd. He’s not a circus act.”

“How do you keep track of him out there? Though I suppose spotting a white buffalo in a sea of black ones can’t be all that tough,” Joe asked and answered his own question.

“We keep a close eye on him, to let the visitors know where he is, but mostly to protect him from predators. Buffalo calves are born with protective coloration … sort of a reddish-gold that’s difficult for the wolves and big cats to see. A white calf stands out like a neon dinner sign.”

“Well … let’s hope the legends are right, Chief,” Ben said. “Let’s hope you’re right and something good happens.” Ben raised his glass and the other two joined him in a toast.

Much more on the birth of Lightning Medicine Cloud here: White Buffalo born on Texas ranch...

White Buffalo born on Texas ranch...

From the AP: A rare white buffalo runs into a corral after a Native American naming ceremony was held in Greenville, Texas Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

 But the real action doesn't start until the fourth is born...

"American Indian leaders around the nation are contemplating the birth of a white buffalo calf. The male, born on May 12th during a thunderstorm, is said to be only the third on record to be born without any active breeding efforts. The last verified white buffalo, named "Miracle," was born in 1994 and gave birth to four calves before dying in 2004.

Several American Indian cultures believe this type of bison portends future events, and therefore, tribal leaders will soon descend upon Little Soldier's ranch to determine what the calf's purpose and message is. The prophecy could be exceptionally important, given the fact that the calf was born during a thunderstorm.

Because this is, according to several tribes, the third white buffalo born, it means the next one born will portend the end times. So, at least the world is not going to end any time soon. Harold Camping, take note. Nothing is happening, at least not until that fourth one is born."

Sacred White Buffalo Born in Texas: MyFoxDFW.com

Read more here: Sacred White Buffalo Born on Texas Ranch

"One day you'll be speaking to us, and your words will be strong."

 

Update (June 30, 2011): The Brit's take a look at the new white buffalo, Lightning Medicine Cloud, complete with some great pics and a short video. The incredibly rare sacred white buffalo who's one in TEN MILLION

Lightning Medicine Cloud at six-weeks old

More here: Native Americans Gather For Ceremony Naming White Buffalo Calf 
And here: Lightning Medicine: Rare white buffalo calf named

And from Fox News: 

Here's the link to Lightning Medicine Cloud's official webpage: Lakota Ranch.
And here's Lightning Medicine Cloud's Facebook page. Welcome to the 21st Century, little one...

Update (July 4, 2011):  Here's your chance to spend a few tranquil minutes with Lightning Medicine Cloud. They grow up so fast...

Things you can't do in New York...

Follow the herd! No, not Wall Street, the real herd...

Another white buffalo enters the world...

There are only about 50 white (non-albino) bison in the U.S. Here's the latest addition taking its very first steps...




Reminds me of the opening chapter in Middle America (except for the fence):

He’d traveled barely another 150 yards when something bright, in the thick of the herd, caught the corner of his eye. A large bull had been blocking whatever it was from his line of sight. The sun was glaring; he adjusted the brim of his hat to shade his eyes. It appeared white, or at least very light, certainly the wrong coloration for a calf, though from what he could see the size appeared about right.

A sheep maybe? He already knew that just wasn’t possible—coyotes would have taken a lost sheep long ago. He maneuvered Sierra around, kept her still, and reached for his binoculars. A dog?

Damn! The languid bull had again wandered into his line of sight. A cow also looked to be tending the thing, maybe even nuzzling it. “What the hell is that?” he asked aloud. Sierra snorted. He looked for the survey team but they were already out of view, lost in the undulating sea of knee-high grass.

“Let’s go girl. Easy … easy … walk slow, pretty girl. Walk slow.” He guided the horse cautiously into the outer fringe of the herd.

Though as a group the herd was slowly making its way southward, as individuals the animals were mostly grazing, standing in place for minutes at a time. Yearlings were the most active, nipping each other on the hind legs, running around, playing tag; some frisky young bulls were skirmishing, armed with horns still too short to do any damage. Cows were keeping a close eye on their calves, trying to squeeze in as much quality grazing time as possible in between their offspring’s unrelenting nursing demands. The grass was thick with flies.

Running Wolf slowly threaded his way to the edge of the herd, where the animals were sparsely collected, most standing hundreds of feet apart. This was dangerous, even foolhardy, and he knew it; he kept a sharp eye to his right flank, where he would turn his horse and bolt if any of the animals took offense at his presence. He halted the horse every 30 feet or so, both to temper his presence and to see if his view had improved any.

The bull was still blocking the frontal view, the cow the back. The whiteness was sitting in a heap in a crushed flat of grass; now he thought he could see some red, but not enough for a messy kill. He’d proceeded to a point where he just didn’t feel comfortable going any farther…he was now surrounded by more buffalo than he could safely keep an eye on. He eased Sierra back to the right, started moving ever so slowly, out and away from the herd. Then the big bull moved.

“Whoa.” He stopped his horse and reached again for his glasses.

He gasped. Really gasped. He gasped like he needed the air; like there was a big, gaping hole punched in his chest and he needed the air to fill it.

The creature, now clearly being licked and cleaned by the cow, struggled uneasily to its feet; its long, gangly legs splayed oddly trying to find a way to support its weight. Another bison calf had just entered the world.

But this calf was special. This calf could change everything. This calf was a white buffalo. A blue-eyed, white buffalo.

Running Wolf sat silently in the saddle, silently among the herd.

The meat of the future...

Interesting video about raising bison out on Long Island. Substituting the American Bison for traditional cattle has many advantages: they're better for the land, better for the other native wildlife and produce a healthier meat. I covered this subject in great detail in my first two books, The Third Revolution and Middle America.

Here's a passage on the subject from The Third Revolution:

“What’s the difference? Don’t buffalo graze like cattle?”

“The bison are native to this land,” the chief said. “They’ve been here for tens of thousands of years. Cattle are from, I don’t know, Southeast Asia somewhere. Lowland animals. You have to encourage the grasses they like to eat, shelter them in the winter, kill all of the predators on the prairie, shoot the prairie dogs so they don’t step into their holes and break their legs. You have to fuss with the water access—cattle will hang out by their water source, they’ll crap in the same water they drink. They’re not very bright.”

He continued. “The bison, this is their land. They eat the native grasses. They’re fine on their own year round—even in the winter. They find their own food and water, and the rain and cold and snow don’t bother them. Prairie dogs don’t bother them; they don’t step in the holes. We don’t have to poison or shoot the wolves or the cougar or the coyote. They all live on their land together—the bison can handle the predators, and the predators know better than to attack a healthy bison herd. Especially when there are cattle around,” he laughed.

“The return of the bison lets us restore the balance to the land. They were here long before my people were, and a long, long time before your people were. All we really have to do is make sure they’re current on their brucellosis vaccinations, and only because the government makes us do it. Brucellosis doesn’t bother the bison. It only bothers cattle and cattle ranchers. And government inspectors.”

It's nice to see the world is catching up, however slowly... Read the entire article here: Farming Bison to Regenerate a North American Breed (Video)

American Bison at the Bronx Zoo...

Well, I like bison, and I like the Bronx Zoo, so this post was a no-brainer. I spent a lot of time at the zoo, observing these very critters, when I was writing my first novel, The Third Revolution.



From The Third Revolution:

"Running Wolf took enormous pride in the herd. His people, the Blackfeet, had roamed the North American plains for over 5,000 years, as best anyone could tell, and had been calling this particular part of the country home for over 300 years. They’d lived in harmony with the bison and its Great Plains grassland ecosystem for all but about the last 100 of those years. They had been left no say in the matter; the buffalo were effectively exterminated around the turn of the 20^th century, predominately for their tongues, hides and horns, but also to “encourage” the native peoples to give up their traditional way of life and adapt an imposed version of a civilized lifestyle. The strategy was unquestionably successful in extinguishing the native people’s way of life—the world as they knew it was forever laid to waste. So successful was the Great Slaughter, that in the fall of 1907, the Bronx Zoo sent 15 of its New York City bison to the federally-owned Wichita Game Preserve at Cache, Oklahoma, followed in 1913 by an additional 14 animals sent to the Wind Cave National Game Preserve in the Black Hills of South Dakota, as part of an effort to re-establish a public breeding herd in the wild."

Read more here: The Third Revolution Excerpts. And read more on the Bronx Zoo's (the Wildlife Conservation Society) role in the restoration of our bison herds here: The American Bison Society, and here: The American Bison Society Timeline. 

A Quiet Moment from the American Serengeti...

Here's a quiet, contemplative moment with American's largest native mammal, the bison:



From Bringing Bison back to North America:

"The next 10 to 20 years could be extremely significant for restoring wild populations of American bison to their original roaming grounds. But for this to happen, more land must be made available for herds to roam free, government policies must be updated and the public must change its attitude towards bison."


I'm doing what I can. Please read the whole article here: Bringing Bison back to North America

Yellowstone Bison are ready to rumble...

It's that time of year again. The bulls are lookin' for love, and are making their intentions clear. Give the big guy with the horns a little room...

The poor bison can't win...

Animal activists vs. conservationists. Stand back... From today's Wall Street Journal:

AVALON, Calif. -- Conservationist Carlos de la Rosa still likes to see buffalo roaming Southern California's famed Santa Catalina Island.

Just not so many of them.

His employer, the Catalina Island Conservancy, has taken hardcore positions with all kinds of other nonnative animals, including goats and pigs.

But earlier efforts to rid island canyons of goats and pigs sometimes involved hiring sharpshooters to hang from helicopters and pick them off. They turned out to be public-relations disasters.

This time, conservancy officials are turning to a more high-tech solution: bison birth control. For weeks, conservancy staff members have been laying trails of alfalfa to lure bison into pens in the island's Cape Canyon. Starting Friday, they plan to inject females with porcine zona pellucida, or PZP, a vaccine that works by creating antibodies that glom onto eggs, blocking fertilization.

Read the entire article here: A Discouraging Word Isn't Enough to Control Catalina's Fertile Buffalo

Buffalo vs. Montana...

Here's a comprehensive and up-to-date look at the depressing political machinations involved in wild bison moving out of Yellowstone Park and into Montana cattle grazing lands. This issue, of course, is brucellosis, a disease carried by wild bison that doesn't harm the bison, but can cause spontaneous abortions in domestic cattle.


In The Third Revolution, they solved this problem by getting rid of all of the cattle in the state (this was precipitated a trade embargo related to the little dust-up Montana was having with the U.S. federal government at the time). Unlike domestic cattle, bison are native to the land, eat the native grasses, can deal with predators on their own and don't need to be sheltered in the winter. And yes, they make better burgers...

More bison return home...

After 140 years, bison are returning to the Kansas prairie:

"From a biologic perspective, the bison add a critical variable to restoring the land to a more natural state. The brawny beasts work as sort of natural prairie tenderizers, trampling taller grasses to allow shorter varieties to bloom, bruising the ground in summer dust baths that turn to insect breeding grounds when the rains turn those depressions to puddles, and scattering their own special fertilizer. ...

There was, of course, a time when the ground shook under the bison thundering across the continent. Estimates of their numbers in North America run from 30 million to 70 million in the late 1500s. By the start of the 20th century, perhaps fewer than 1,000 survived, hunted by whites for tongues and humps, hides and sport — and to break the Plains Indians of their way of life."

I covered most of this territory in The Third Revolution and Middle America, along with more human aspects of freedom and self-determination. The article even gives a passing nod to the Bronx Zoo, whose involvement in the restoration of the buffalo I covered in a bit more detail below, in last Friday's post.
Read the entire article here: After 140 years, bison are back on Kansas’ Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

Bison, baseball and the Bronx Zoo...

This should be interesting. I'll keep you posted...



As an aside, it was in the fall of 1907 that fifteen bison were sent from the Bronx Zoo (then the New York Zoological Society) to the federally-owned Wichita Game Preserve at Cache, Oklahoma, followed by an additional fourteen bison sent to the Wind Cave National Game Preserve in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1913. These donations, organized by the American Bison Society (itself born in the Bronx Zoo, but a separate organization) are generally credited with bringing the bison back from the brink of extinction.

From Gathering of Animals (William Bridges, 1974):

"Their arrival was a sensational event to the Indians, cowpunchers, and ranch owners of the region. Fifty years later Frank Rush's widow (Rush was the first superintendent of the Wichita Game Preserve) told the Wildlife Management Biologist then in charge of the range how the Indians flocked to see the buffalo return to their old home, with the squaws dressed in their brightest dresses, many carrying babies, and the old Indians gathering days in advance on their ponies or the open wagons called Indian hacks. Old men peered into the crates as they arrived and told excited young boys about their own hunting of the buffalo in their youth.

The Wichita herd prospered, and before the end of the year two calves were born, one of which was named Hornaday (after the Zoo's then director), the other Oklahoma."

Cool...

Pure bison bloodlines...

I knew that bison had been cross-bred with cattle for decades, but I had no idea that the bloodlines were so mixed. I suppose it comes from starting from such a small number of specimens at the turn of the last century and the unavoidable, rampant inbreeding that followed:

The Wind Cave park herd’s roots come from 14 bison donated in 1913 by the New York Zoological Society in the Bronx. Six more buffalo were imported from Yellowstone National Park in 1916. The herd is one of several conservation herds established by the American Bison Society.

Now, scientists are newly interested in the Wind Cave herd because of a recent discovery involving their pedigree – the Wind Cave bison are one of only two public herds in the nation that lack evidence of cattle genes, according to this story in today’s Rapid City Journal. (The other is in Yellowstone National Park.)

“It’s the closest thing to what used to wander the prairies for thousands of years,” says Tom Farrell, chief of interpretation for Wind Cave National Park. “This is the closest in going back in time and seeing what the Great American Desert was like.”

Read the entire article here: Biologists in South Dakota strive to preserve bison bloodlines

Check out this article as well: Biologists fight to save rare bison bloodlines

Yellowstone Bison increasing...

It looks like the bison population of Yellowstone National Park now stands at 3,300 individuals (2,800 adults and 500 calves). You can read the short article here: Yellowstone’s Bison population booming.

In the latest Ben Kane novel (tentatively titled Manifest Destiny) I think I pegged the wild bison population of the five Middle American States (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and North and South Dakota) at around three million, wandering around the prairies in three separate, free-ranging herds. The story is set roughly 25 years in the future. I'm not sure if it's physically possible to get to 3,000,000 bison from the estimated 350,000 that exist in the country today. I know I spent a lot of time on the math when I brought their numbers up 500,000 in Middle America. I guess that's why they call it science fiction...

White Buffalo in the news...

You really hate to see stuff like this:

FARMINGTON, Pa. – At the Woodland Zoo in Farmington, a refuge for abused and mistreated animals, owners Jill and Sonny Herring, can no longer afford to stay in business. Two sacred animals born under miraculous circumstances, a white and black buffalo, are in jeopardy of being sold to the highest bidder. Two potential bids are coming from commercial enterprises that may exploit the sacred animals. ...

Many Native people, including Goodfire, claim miracles surrounded the births of these buffalo. The birth, according to numerous accounts, happened when “Barney and Betty,” two black buffaloes first birthed a normal black male in May 2006. Five months later, four months short of a normal buffalo’s nine-month gestation period, Betty again gave birth, this time to a white male buffalo.

“Just having a white buffalo is one in 10 million,” Goodfire said. “But if you add in the fact that this buffalo was born in five months, immediately after the other black male, the odds are impossible.”

Other unusual events have occurred since the birth of the white buffalo. Two red tail hawks living in the area turned white in one day. The female was killed on the highway, the red tail hawk chose a new mate and that female also turned white. In 2007, a bald eagle, which is extremely rare to the area, flew directly to the white buffalo and spent the day with the animal. In 2008, a white deer was born at the zoo and would commonly break free from its enclosure to join the white buffalo and was never harmed.

The owners of the zoo have never claimed the buffalo are from virgin births, but Native elders and spirituals have...

The birth of a white buffalo at the beginning of Middle America had a significant impact on the story and its characters.

Read the whole story here: Sacred white and black buffalo in danger.

For more information about the sacred buffalo or to donate visit: www.buffalomessengers.org.

Ripped from the headlines...

Back when I wrote The Third Revolution, and later in Middle America, I postulated the existence of the American Serengeti Project - a business partnership of tribal, private ranching and corporate investors promoting the profitable, earth-friendly restoration of large, wild bison herds to the vast grasslands of the American West.

So here's today's headline out of Billings, MT:

Quarantined bison from Yellowstone attract interest.
By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Writer BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Wildlife officials say a Montana Indian tribe, an Illinois zoo and a North Dakota landowner are seeking to take a small herd of wild bison that have been held in quarantine outside Yellowstone National Park for the last several years.

The animals were spared from a government program to capture and slaughter most bison leaving the park, to prevent the spread of the animal disease brucellosis to cattle.

Wildlife officials want to use the quarantined animals as seed stock to form new bison herds in parts of the country where the animals once thrived.

An earlier plan to transfer the animals to the Northern Arapaho Tribe in central Wyoming collapsed this spring when tribal members voted to keep the animals out.

The approximately four dozen bison could be slaughtered if no home is found.

Not quite visionary, but close enough for an early Sunday morning...

Sturgis and bison...

Throw in some beer and a political beef with Washington, and you have my first book...