Restoring coexistence with cultural keystone species: Lessons from Blackfoot-led buffalo restoration

Re-establishing society's ability to coexist with wildlife species that were historically extirpated presents a critical challenge for reintroduction. Tribal-led efforts across North America aim to restore American Buffalo (Bison bison) as an ecological and cultural keystone species. Yet low social tolerance remains a limiting factor, especially in cattle ranching communities. This article explores the Blackfoot Nations' outlook to restore coexistence with free-roaming iinnii (the Blackfoot word for buffalo) along the Rocky Mountains, across the Canada-United States border. We interviewed Blackfoot Elders and community members, government employees, conservation organizations, and livestock producers to explore the historical roots of present-day conflict and to identify promising coexistence strategies. Our results suggest that key relational and practical obstacles to restoring buffalo emerged from the colonial disruption of Blackfoot lifeways. We show how Blackfoot relationships with cattle—at once a legacy of assimilation policies and an important strategy for cultural and economic continuance—have generated complex contemporary relationships with land and wildlife. Building on this, we examine how Blackfoot-led initiatives are revitalizing kinship with buffalo and implementing creative strategies to restore positive relationships among people, livestock, and wild buffalo. Their efforts illustrate how grounding wildlife recovery in community values can help balance diverse cultural, environmental, and economic priorities in shared landscapes.