There was a time, not long ago, when the buffalo roamed freely across the Great Plains in numbers so vast they seemed to stretch beyond the horizon. Historical estimates place the pre-colonial buffalo population between 30 and 100 million, a living force that sustained prairie ecosystems, supported biodiversity, and held together entire economies, spiritual practices, and ways of life for Métis and First Nations Peoples.
This was more than environmental abundance; it was a relational system. For the Métis, the buffalo were at the centre of trade, food security, culture, and kinship. Buffalo were not “resources,” they were relatives. The buffalo economy was communal and guided by principles of care, respect, and reciprocity. It brought together families, communities, and Nations in mutual reliance with the land.
Then came the destruction.
In the late 1800s, colonial governments initiated a calculated and systematic extermination of the buffalo. The goal was not just to clear the land for settlement, but to remove the source of life and autonomy for Indigenous Peoples. By destroying the buffalo, colonial powers aimed to starve First Nations and Métis Peoples into submission, forcing them into treaties, reserves, and colonial dependency. From tens of millions of buffalo, the population was reduced to fewer than 300. This genocide of the buffalo created intergenerational trauma that still reverberates today, not just ecological devastation, but cultural, spiritual, and social loss.
For Métis families like Colin Arlt’s, this history is personal. As a child, Colin visited Regina, where he first encountered the buffalo not on the land, but through a sculpture in the city’s downtown. He remembers standing before that statue, inexplicably drawn to it, not knowing why. That moment planted a seed.
As Colin grew older and learned about his Métis heritage, he discovered that he descends directly from Métis buffalo hunters who lived in close relationship with the herds, following migrations, harvesting sustainably, and providing for their family and communities within a framework of care, ceremony, and respect. That knowledge transformed Colin’s life. The buffalo became more than a symbol of the past; they became his relatives, his teachers, and his responsibility.
Colin also learned a history not often taught in classrooms. “During the era of buffalo genocide, it was Indigenous stewards and leaders, not colonial governments, who made the bold decision to protect and preserve the last remaining buffalo.” With foresight, care, and deep spiritual commitment, Indigenous families and communities took in the buffalo, nurturing them in secrecy and hardship, keeping alive not only the animals themselves but the spirit and culture tied to them.
Many of the buffalo that roam today are descendants of those early protected herds. The DNA of the buffalo cared for by Indigenous Peoples flows through the bloodlines of countless buffalo across North America. Colin often shares this with pride, reminding young and old alike that it was Indigenous Peoples who ensured the buffalo would survive, grow, and one day return in abundance to their ancestral lands. In a time of near extinction, when the environment and social conditions were hostile, Indigenous communities chose to nurture life, ensuring that future generations, both buffalo and human, would not only survive but thrive. For Colin, this is not just a historical fact, it is a teaching. It is a legacy of stewardship, resilience, and relational responsibility that continues today.
What Is Buffalo Culture?
Today, Colin is one of many Indigenous leaders calling for the restoration of what he and others refer to as buffalo culture. Buffalo culture is not just about the physical animal; it encompasses a comprehensive worldview. It is a relational system that includes:
- The ecological role of buffalo as land stewards and climate indicators
- The cultural practices tied to buffalo, including ceremonies, stories, and material culture such as hide preparation.
- The spiritual bonds between people, buffalo, and land are based on reciprocity and respect.
- Economic systems rooted in balance, trade, and sustainable use
- Inter-Nation collaboration and kinship building through buffalo care and shared responsibility.
Buffalo culture teaches us that humans are part of a larger web of life, not at its pinnacle. When the buffalo were nearly eradicated, this entire worldview was threatened. Reviving buffalo culture is about healing the land, the people, and the relationships between them.
Buffalo as Ecological Regulators: The Environmental Rewards of Restoration
Buffalo are not passive inhabitants of the land; they actively shape and regulate ecosystems. When properly stewarded, they restore life in profound and measurable ways. Here are just a few of the environmental rewards buffalo bring:
Grassland Regeneration
Buffalo grazing stimulates grass growth and prevents over-dominance of any one plant species. Their unique grazing habits maintain open grasslands, which are among the world’s most endangered and carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
Soil Health and Aeration
The weight of buffalo hooves breaks up soil crusts, allowing air and water to penetrate the earth. This supports plant diversity, water retention, and overall land resilience.
Biodiversity and Habitat Creation
Buffalo wallows, the depressions they create by rolling in the earth, collect rainwater, creating micro-habitats for insects, birds, amphibians, and other wildlife. Their dung fertilizes the land, contributing to a richer web of life.
Climate Indicators
Buffalo migrations, calving patterns, and movement behaviours are direct reflections of environmental shifts. Buffalo are living climate witnesses, teaching us how the land is changing.
The Buffalo Culture Collective: Restoring Kinship and Ecology
Based in Saskatchewan, the Buffalo Culture Collective is a growing community of stewards, Elders, knowledge holders, and educators dedicated to revitalizing buffalo culture in the modern world. For the Collective, buffalo restoration is not just about repopulating herds; it’s about reviving the cultural, ecological, and spiritual relationships that have always existed between the buffalo and Indigenous Peoples.
The Collective’s mission is to reconnect people with the buffalo in ways that heal the land, rebuild kinship, and foster cross-cultural education. Through workshops, hide rematriation, storytelling, and buffalo-centred teachings, the Collective works to bring the buffalo back into the heart of community life, not just as animals, but as relatives, teachers, and guardians of ecological balance.
Colin, alongside his mentors and peers, envisions the Buffalo Culture Collective as a space where people from all backgrounds, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, can come together to learn, collaborate, and build a future rooted in shared care for the land and its more-than-human relatives.
The Collective focuses on:
- Education: Reintroducing buffalo knowledge to Métis, First Nations, and settler communities about the ecological, cultural, and spiritual significance of the buffalo
- Rematriation of Buffalo: bringing home buffalo by-products such as hides, skulls, bones, horns, hooves, and hearts, these items reconnect First Nations and Métis communities to the sacred responsibility of utilizing all parts of the buffalo, both edible and non-edible, for preparation, cultural practices, and land stewardship.
- Cultural Unity: envisioning a future relationship between First Nations and Métis Peoples rooted not in politics but in the shared care of the buffalo. Buffalo Culture Collective believes buffalo stewardship is a unifier, bringing people together in celebration, love, and kinship, beyond hardship and division.
- Environmental Stewardship: The Collective promotes the buffalo’s role in land health, teaching how herds support ecosystem regeneration, climate resilience, and community wellness
- Healing and Ceremony: Buffalo work is about restoring not just the land, but the spiritual and emotional balance of communities. It’s about bringing back the songs, ceremonies, and teachings that were nearly lost.
A Call to Action: Funding, Research, and Restoration
If we are serious about reconciliation, ecological restoration, and cultural resurgence, Canada must invest in buffalo restoration at all levels of government. This means:
- Funding buffalo-focused research that centers Indigenous knowledge systems and lived experiences, not just biology, but the full spectrum of buffalo culture.
- Investing in repopulation programs to expand buffalo herds and return them to their Indigenous lands and stewardship.
- Supporting the rematriation initiatives to reconnect communities with cultural practices and sacred responsibilities.
- Creating buffalo-based economies that respect the balance of nature while fostering local jobs, community well-being, and food security.
- Promoting cultural continuity by supporting Métis and First Nations teachings about the buffalo, ensuring these teachings thrive for future generations.
Buffalo restoration is not just an environmental issue; it is an act of nation-building, cultural healing, and ecological resilience.
Walking Forward Together
Across the prairies and beyond, Indigenous-led efforts to restore the buffalo are gaining momentum. From herd repopulation initiatives to the work of the Buffalo Culture Collective, a new era of buffalo-centred stewardship is emerging. For thousands of years, the buffalo cared for the people, providing food, shelter, tools, and teachings about how to live in balance with the land. Now, humanity has a responsibility to return that care. As one of Colin’s mentors reflected, it’s our turn to step forward. We must care for the buffalo, just as they once cared for us.
Colin believes that it’s time for all Canadians to step into this circle “the buffalo are calling us back into a relationship, the invitation is open.” He goes on to say, “Even if you’ve never seen a buffalo in its natural habitat, you are still part of this story. I encourage you to learn about the buffalo, to travel if you can, to stand in their presence, and to listen to the teachings they offer.” Leave with a sense of shared care and responsibility.
His final words are to “expand your understanding of what it truly means to be a steward of the land, not just to take from nature, but to give back, to protect, and to sustain life for the generations yet to come. This is not only about the buffalo’s future. It’s about yours, too.”
Get Involved
- Donate or advocate for Indigenous-led buffalo restoration projects.
- Support buffalo hide rematriation and cultural teaching programs through the Buffalo Culture Collective.
- Learn about the Buffalo Treaty and support its signatory Nations.
- Fund research that centers Indigenous science, culture, and ecological knowledge.
- Join the movement to restore buffalo culture, ecology, and economy for the land, the people, and future generations.
Want to learn more about the Buffalo Culture Collective or collaborate on buffalo preservation and education initiatives? Reach out to Colin at colin@buffaloculturecollective.ca.
You can also listen to Colin Arlt’s interview on the Indigenous Climate Hub Podcast on Spotify – Returning Buffalo, Restoring Kinship: A Conversation with Colin Arlt.
Blog by Colin Arlt and Rye Karonhiowanen Barberstock
Image Credits: Colin Arlt
The post Buffalo Are Not Just History: Restoring Kinship, Ecology, and Culture Through the Buffalo appeared first on Indigenous Climate Hub.
Buffalo Are Not Just History: Restoring Kinship, Ecology, and Culture Through the Buffalo
With the U.S. bombing Iran and the Strait of Hormuz closed, energy experts say countries transitioning to renewables will be more resilient in the “face of the shock.”
The United States’ war on Iran could fundamentally alter how countries consume and generate energy and hamper international progress in combating climate change, a panel of energy experts said today.
The Global Energy Supply in a Decade ‘Is Not a World We’re Going to Recognize’
One month into the US and Israel’s war on Iran, at least 60 countries have taken emergency measures in response to the subsequent global energy crisis, according to analysis by Carbon Brief.
So far, these countries have announced nearly 200 policies to save fuel, support consumers and boost domestic energy supplies.
Carbon Brief has drawn on tracking by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and other sources to assess the global policy response, just as a temporary ceasefire is declared.
Since the start of the war in late February, both sides have bombed vital energy infrastructure across the region as Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz – a key waterway through which around a fifth of global oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) trade passes.
This has made it impossible to export the usual volumes of fossil fuels from the region and, as a result, sent prices soaring.
Around 30 nations, from Norway to Zambia, have cut fuel taxes to help people struggling with rising costs, making this by far the most common domestic policy response to the crisis.
Some countries have stressed the need to boost domestic renewable-energy construction, while others – including Japan, Italy and South Korea – have opted to lean more on coal, at least in the short term.
The most wide-ranging responses have been in Asia, where countries that rely heavily on fossil fuels from the Middle East have implemented driving bans, fuel rationing and school closures in order to reduce demand.
‘Largest disruption’
On 28 February, the US and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, triggering conflict across the Middle East and sending shockwaves around the world.
There have been numerous assaults on energy infrastructure, including an Iranian attack on the world’s largest LNG facility in Qatar and an Israeli bombing of Iran’s gas sites.
Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint in the Persian Gulf, is causing what the IEA has called the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
A fifth of the world’s oil and LNG is normally shipped through this region, with 90% of those supplies going to destinations in Asia. Without these supplies, fuel prices have surged.
Governments around the world have taken emergency actions in response to this new energy crisis, shielding their citizens from price spikes, conserving energy where possible and considering longer-term energy policies.
Even with a two-week ceasefire announced, the energy crisis is expected to continue, given the extensive damage to infrastructure and continuing uncertainties.
Asian crunch
Carbon Brief has used tracking by the IEA, news reports, government announcements and internal monitoring by the thinktank E3G to assess the range of national responses to the energy crisis roughly one month into the Iran war.
In total, Carbon Brief has identified 185 relevant policies, announcements and campaigns from 60 national governments.
As the map below shows, these measures are concentrated in east and south Asia. These regions are facing the most extreme disruption, largely due to their reliance on oil and gas supplies from the Middle East.
Nations including Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and India are already spending billions of dollars on fuel subsidies to protect people from rising costs.
At least 16 Asian countries are also taking drastic measures to reduce fuel consumption. For example, the Philippines has declared a “state of national emergency”, which includes limiting air conditioning in public buildings and subsidising public transport.
Other examples from the region include the government in Bangladesh asking the public and businesses to avoid unnecessary lighting, Pakistan reducing the speed limit on highways and Laos encouraging people to work from home.
Europe – which was hit hard by the 2022 energy crisis due to its reliance on Russian gas – is less immediately exposed to the current crisis than Asia. However, many nations are still heavily reliant on gas, including supplies from Qatar.
The continent is already feeling the effects of higher global energy prices as countries compete for more limited resources.
At least 18 European nations have introduced measures to help people with rising costs. Spain, which is relatively insulated from the crisis due to the high share of renewables in its electricity supply, nevertheless announced a €5bn aid package, with at least six measures to support consumers.
Many African countries, while also less reliant on direct fossil-fuel supplies via the Strait of Hormuz than Asia, are still facing the strain of higher import bills. Some, including Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia, are also facing severe fuel shortages.
There have been fewer new policies across the Americas, which have been comparatively insulated from the energy crisis so far. One outlier is Chile, which is among the region’s biggest fuel importers and is, therefore, more exposed to global price increases.
Tax cuts
The most common types of policy response to the energy crisis so far have been efforts to protect people and businesses from the surge in fuel prices.
At least 28 nations, including Italy, Brazil and Australia, have introduced a total of 31 measures to cut taxes – and, therefore, prices – on fuel.
Even across Africa, where state revenues are already stretched, some nations – including Namibia and South Africa – are cutting fuel levies in a bid to stabilise prices.
Another 17 countries, including Mexico and Poland, have directly capped the price of fuel. Others, such as France and the UK, have opted for more targeted fuel subsidies, designed to support specific vulnerable groups and industries.
These measures are all shown in the dark blue “consumer support” bars in the chart below.
Such measures can directly help consumers, but some leaders, NGOs and financial experts have noted that there is also the risk of them driving inflation and reinforcing reliance on the existing fossil fuel-based system.
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, spoke in favour of short-term measures to “smooth the shock”, but noted that “broad-based and open-ended measures may add excessively to demand”.
Measures to conserve energy, of the type that many developing countries in Asia have implemented extensively, have been described by the IEA as “more effective and fiscally sustainable than broad-based subsidies”.
So far, there have been at least 23 such measures introduced to limit the use of transport, particularly private cars.
These include Lithuania cutting train fares, two Australian states making public transport free and Myanmar and South Korea asking people to only drive their cars on certain days.
Clean vs coal
At least eight countries have announced plans to either increase their use of coal or review existing plans to transition away from coal, according to Carbon Brief’s analysis. These include Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Germany and Italy.
These measures broadly involve delaying coal-plant closure, as in Italy, or allowing older sites to operate at higher rates, as in Japan – rather than building more coal plants.
There has been extensive coverage of how the energy crisis is “driving Asia back to coal”. However, as Bloomberg columnist David Fickling has noted, this shift is relatively small and likely to be offset by a move to cheap solar power in the longer term.
Indeed, some countries have begun to consider changes to the way they use energy going forward, amid a crisis driven by the spiralling costs of fossil-fuel imports.
Leaders in India, Barbados and the UK have explicitly stressed the importance of a structural shift to using clean power. Governments in France and the Philippines are among those linking new renewable-energy announcements with the unfolding crisis.
New renewable-energy capacity will take time to come online, albeit substantially less time than developing new fossil-fuel generation. In the meantime, some nations are also taking short-term measures to make their road transport less reliant on fossil fuels.
For example, the Chilean government has enabled taxi drivers to access preferential credit for purchasing electric vehicles (EVs). Cambodia has cut import taxes on EVs and Laos has lowered excise taxes on them.
Finally, there have been some signs that countries are reconsidering their future exposure to imported fossil fuels, given the current economics of oil and gas.
The New Zealand government has indicated that a plan to build a new LNG terminal by 2027 now faces uncertainty. Reuters reported that Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup has told the government it wanted to abandon a plan to build a new LNG-fired power plant in Vietnam, in favour of renewables.
The post Iran war analysis: How 60 nations have responded to the global energy crisis appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Iran war analysis: How 60 nations have responded to the global energy crisis
Seven Senate Democrats launched the probe over controversial tax credits to the country’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.
Seven Democratic U.S. senators have launched a probe into a $370 million “alternative fuel” payout to Cheniere Energy, made earlier this year by the IRS, that critics say the liquefied natural gas export company never should have received.
US Senators Investigate $370 Million IRS Payout to Cheniere Energy
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