Bison made a remarkable comeback over the last century.
After facing extinction in the late 1800s, nearly half a million bison, known as buffalo in some cultures, live in North America today. Most of the animals live in conservation or commercial herds, while account for about 20,000 to 30,000 of that number.
Legislators in Colorado are working to protect wild bison in the state. would classify bison as big game wildlife, making it illegal to hunt them without permission.
鈥淚n recent years, wild bison have crossed into Colorado, and have been poached,鈥� said Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Democrat representing Jefferson County and a co-sponsor of the bill. 鈥淭hough it is not a prevalent problem, it is a significant issue to a great number of Coloradans.鈥�
Prior to the discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858, millions of buffalo roamed the West. It was also home to , many who followed the migration of bison.
鈥淢ost important part about who we are as a people 鈥� we're buffalo people. That buffalo is absolutely sacred to us,鈥� said Rick Williams when speaking with Rocky Mountain PBS for, 鈥�.鈥�
Williams is a historian, community leader and a member of Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne tribes. Many Indigenous tribes relied on bison for food and supplies.
鈥淲e reached the zenith of our existence on the earth because of the buffalo. And once people started coming into our land, it started to destroy that relationship by destroying the buffalo,鈥� said Williams.
As the gold rush spurred movement west, the federal government created policies to clear the land of animals and people who would inhibit the development and establishment of a European lifestyle, like raising livestock. These policies included eradicating American Indians as well as buffalo, wolves and other animals from the landscape. Dead bison stacked up in the thousands in the West by the late 19th century.
鈥淧eople would just come out and kill as many [buffalo] as they could and just leave them laying there. There are reports of men coming out and shooting 100 buffalo in one day and doing nothing but taking their tongues,鈥� Williams said.
As settlers slaughtered the buffalo, many tribes lost a key to their way of life. At the same time, the federal government broke treaties, established reservations and Indian boarding schools and separated Native Americans from their homelands.
鈥淲hen you take the history of how buffalo/bison were eradicated to eradicate American Indians,鈥� said Raven Payment, 鈥減rotecting bison is just helping right that wrong.鈥�
Payment is Anishinaabe and the former co-chair of the American Indian Commission in Denver. She often advocates for bills in Colorado鈥檚 legislature that aim to help the state鈥檚 American Indians, despite the discomfort that comes from walking into the Capitol building.
鈥淭hey're looking at all these portraits and these memorials of almost all men, who historically tried to eradicate our ancestors,鈥� said Payment.
Payment sees the bill to protect bison as a form of atonement and reconciliation.
鈥淔or these legislators who are sitting in this building among these portraits to undo that horrible legacy of these men,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 think speaks volumes to this is another step forward to say, 鈥楾his wasn't right, but now we're going to try to do better.鈥欌��
Senate Bill 53 originated from the American Indian Affairs Interim Study Committee, a new committee in the legislature that formed late last legislative session. The committee's purpose is to address issues significant to American Indian communities and includes Danielson. She is confident this bill will pass and be signed into law.
鈥淚t is backed by the Native community, both Tribal Councils of the Southern Ute and the Ute Mountain Ute, as well as conservation organizations, and the broader Colorado community,鈥� said Danielson.
When she can, Payment will take time to visit Daniels Park, a Denver Mountain Park in Douglas County. This park is where the city of Denver keeps one half of its conservation bison herd; the other half is in a park in Genesee.
Daniels Park is also home to Tall Bull Memorial Grounds, a Native American site reserved for ceremonies or other activities. It鈥檚 a place where Payment feels the bonds to the past and present.
鈥淣ative people are reaffirming their rights and relearning and taking back their culture and their language,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's very much a reconnection for me to understand that [bison] is a relative to these lands.鈥�