Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man First Nation sees bison come home. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Making history

MGBHLM First Nation sees return of bison

Feb 21, 2023 | 1:27 PM

It was a joyous occasion for the Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man (MGBHLM) community Monday when a thundering herd of bison were released on the First Nation’s lands, off Highway 4 South.

The community and and many visitors gathered for a ceremony to welcome them home.

Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman said it’s a historic moment for the First Nation.

“We do our best to bring wealth and good to our community, for all,” she said. “We truly believe that the spirit of the buffalo is going to help us, each and every one of you, nation to nation. All our visitors that come from the North, the South, the East and the West, thanks for coming out here and supporting us.”

The MGBHLM First Nation spent the weekend preparing for the arrival of the bison.

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“We’re really excited to have bison back in our nation,” Aguilar-Antiman said.

The MGBHLM community received 22 bison from Elk Island National Park through Parks Canada.

MGBHLM made a gift application for bison to Elk Island and invested their own source revenue for fencing, feed, support from the bison crew, and transportation costs.

“Our CEO from economic development, Grant [Grant Beaudry], made a request,” Aguilar-Antiman said. “It took two years to get to this point. We’re really excited and pleased for this opportunity.”

MGBHLM Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman at the ceremony to welcome the buffalo back. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The bison will stay in a large enclosed territory of about 1,000 acres where they will be able to run freely and settle in to their new home .

“We’ve been told that they will definitely check out their territorial [area], check out the fence lines, and then we’ll see,” Aguilar-Antiman said. “You’ll get to see them when you are driving on Highway 4 South… Our knowledge keepers will definitely be a big part of any ongoing development with our bison.”

A couple of years ago bison herds were also released at Poundmaker Cree Nation and Onion Lake Cree Nation, as more First Nation communities see the return of the bison to their home lands.

The Buffalo Treaty

Many area First Nations in the North West region also took part in a signing ceremony of the Buffalo Treaty last year, during the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (BATC) three-day powwow at Sweetgrass First Nation. The treaty is described as an agreement of “cooperation, renewal, and restoration,” to return the buffalo to the Prairies and First Nation communities.

Sweetgrass First Nation Chief Lorie Whitecalf said following the signing ceremony the Buffalo Treaty has great significance to Indigenous Peoples, on many levels.

“Our people utilized the buffalo entirely, every part of the buffalo was used,” she said. “[First Nations] want to bring those teachings back – not just about using the buffalo, but our traditional way of life… This treaty is bringing all the nations together to sign and work collectively, to go forward with education, economics and health.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow