Cherokee Nation grant writer Warren Hawk, natural resources staff Trent Holland and Intertribal Buffalo Council Technical Services Provider Trudy Ecoffey look at tribal property in Delaware County in March as a site for the tribe to raise bison. Photo from Cherokee Nation

Bison are returning to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma for the first time in four decades.

The tribe will receive 40 bison from the Badlands National Park in South Dakota and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The animals are a gift from the InterTribal Buffalo Council, which culled the excess bison from the two parks.

“Our tribe is thankful to the InterTribal Buffalo Council, who opted to place some of the excess bison from the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in our care. It is a unique opportunity to reunite our people with a prominent part of our past,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker said in a press release.

The animals will be placed on a 1,000-acre site in Delaware County.

Get the Story:
Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma gifted bison herd (AP 10/7)