Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

May 11, 1999

To: All Tribal Presidents, Chairpersons, and Council Members

Re: Tribal Consultation Meeting on Yellowstone Buffalo May 21, 1999

Dear President,

           It is with great urgency that we appeal to at this time. On May 21, 1999, the National Park Service will hold a Tribal Consultation meeting to discuss the future management of the Yellowstone buffalo. It is critically important that your Tribe sends an official representative to this important meeting. The future of the only wild herd of buffalo remaining in the United States will depend upon the active participation of federally recognized Tribal Governments.

           As Native peoples, you are very familiar with the atrocities of the 1800's, from the massacres of thousands of Native peoples to the decimation of the vast buffalo herds for the sake of conquering the buffalo-dependent tribes. The remaining survivors of the last wild buffalo, the Yellowstone herd, is under fire and at the mercy of government guns once again. Although Montana's politicians cry that these buffalo pose a disease threat to cattle, closer examination of this unsubstantiated pretense reveals an extreme prejudice and intolerance toward an indigenous species that is so important to the cultural and spiritual lives of Native peoples. Over the past two years, the State of Montana has slaughtered more than two thirds of this wild buffalo herd, despite the fact that there is not one single documented case of a buffalo transmitting the disease brucellosis to a cow in the wild. There is also a strange absence of any risk assessments on the disease threat. In fact, many reputable scientists have raised their voices against the unnecessary slaughter. Unfortunately, active opposition over the past few years has had only a minor impact on Montana's intolerance and buffalo-killing practices. Ninety-four buffalo were killed this year. Keeping this in mind, we must act now and are hopeful that Tribal sovereignty can weigh-in heavily and put a final stop to this senseless slaughter.

           Eight years ago, the National Park service and state agencies began drafting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the future management of Yellowstone buffalo. The draft EIS was released in June of 1998. All of the proposed alternatives in the EIS call for the continued use of "lethal controls" in managing buffalo. Over 67,000 organizations and individuals officially made comment on the EIS and encouraged the National Park Service to employ a more humane management alternative.

           In August of 1998, with very short notice, the Park Service convened a Tribal Consultation meeting in Gardiner, Montana. Although many tribes of buffalo-centered cultures have an interest in this matter, only a few tribes in close proximity to Yellowstone Park were invited to comment on this very important EIS for the long-term buffalo management plan. As a result of the lack of adequate notice and breach of established federal policy mandating tribal consultation, six Tribal Councils passed resolutions demanding their right to be consulted with on this important federal action that will impact the present and future well being of their members.

           Pursuant to the above Tribal Resolutions, the National Park Service has scheduled another Tribal Consultation meeting for May 21, 1999, in Mammoth, Montana, at the Mammoth School Gym, inside the Park. It is critically important that representatives of Tribal Governments attend this meeting and express their Tribe's adamant opposition to the killing of these sacred animals. As you already know, within the context of government to government relationships, in this case, Tribal Presidents and Council Members will have strong standing in the Consultation process and hopefully, influence decisions. Thus, we urgently encourage your attendance.

           Our concern is that the National Park Service and other federal agencies, such as the Department of the Interior, will not adequately provide information to Tribal Governments to prepare for Consultation. Certainly, Tribal concern is high on this issue, but information is not always readily available. For this reason, we are proposing an afternoon gathering May 20th in Mammoth, Montana, for the purpose of information dissemination and discussion. The meeting will allow Tribes to have access to a set of resource people knowledgeable on the issues in order to assist you in preparing for the federal consultation meeting on the following day. We will contact you again with the specifics of the time, location and agenda for this meeting of Tribal Representatives. The final EIS on the future management of Yellowstone buffalo may be finalized as early as this fall, so it is critically important for your Tribe to act on the opportunity to participate. Attached is a draft resolution that your Tribe may wish to consider for submission to the Department of the Interior and National Park Service if it is impossible for you to send a representative to the consultation meeting.

Pilamayapi,

Rosalie Little Thunder
Founder, Buffalo Nations
Board Chair, Seventh Generation Fund,
Board member, Honor the Earth

Tom Goldtooth, National Director
Indigenous Environmental Network
Board Chair, Honor the Earth Campaign

WHEREAS, (Name of Tribe) considers the buffalo to be of great historical, cultural, and spiritual significance and further, considers the buffalo to have an essential role in sustaining the health of ecosystems and our tribal peoples, and furthermore, considers the Yellowstone buffalo herd, as survivors of the last wild herd, to be essential to maintaining the natural integrity of all buffalo herds, and

WHEREAS, the National Park Service is consulting impacted tribal governments on the draft Environmental Impact Study for the Long Term Management of Yellowstone Bison, and the (Name of Tribe) intends to fully participate in this consultation process, and

WHEREAS, the (Name of Tribe) is concerned that draft Environmental Impact Statement released by the National Park Service and state agencies is based on the premise that Yellowstone buffalo pose a disease transmission risk to cattle, and

WHEREAS, there is an absence of scientific evidence to support this premise and there has never has been a single case of brucellosis transmission between buffalo and cattle in the wild; and

WHEREAS, the (Name of Tribe) is concerned that each of the alternatives in the draft Environmental Impact Statement proposes the continued use of 'lethal controls' in managing buffalo; and

WHEREAS, the (Name of Tribe) adamantly opposes the ongoing slaughter of buffalo and any future plans that entail the capture and killing of additional buffalo at Yellowstone National Park,

THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED that the (Name of Tribe) calls on the Department of the Interior to institute a Moratorium to cease and desist capture and slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo;

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the (Name of Tribe) requests the representation of impacted tribes on the Environmental Impact Study Team.

THEREFORE BE IT FURHTER RESOLVED that the (Name of Tribe) requests the National Park Service schedule additional tribal consultation meetings at locations central to impacted tribes to allow for full and meaningful consultation.

For more information, contact Faye Brown, Honor the Earth Campaign (612) 721-0916. Honor the Earth (HTE) Campaign is sponsored by the Seventh Generation Fund, Indigenous Women's Network and the Indigenous Environmental Network. P.O. Box 75423, St. Paul, MN 55101 phone: 1-800-EARTH-07 - URL: http://www.honorearth.com

Please take 20 seconds and add your voice to those who speak FOR THE BUFFALO! http://www.wildrockies.org/buffpet Please pass this URL on to 96 friends,family and groups around the web in honor of the 96 buffalo have been slaughtered this year! Can we stand by and do nothing?

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New video clips have been posted for an "in the field" look at the buffalo and their plight with the Montana Department of Livestock Please stop by and see it! http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo
S. L. Gregerson, Post Office Box 4784, Missoula, Montana 59806