Indian Buffalo Management Act

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2074) to assist Tribal governments in the management of buffalo and buffalo habitat and for the reestablishment of buffalo on Indian lands, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 2074, the Indian Buffalo Management Act is sponsored by the dean of the House, Representative Don Young from Alaska, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill.

This bill will establish a permanent program within the Department of the Interior to develop and promote Tribal ownership and management of buffalo and buffalo habitat on Indian lands.

In the 1840s, the buffalo population in North America was estimated at 30 million, with approximately 60 million at its peak. Before colonization, about 7 million indigenous peoples populated the North American continent. Throughout this time, many indigenous peoples coexisted with buffalo, often through a sacred, spiritual relationship. The buffalo provided food, shelter, tools, clothing, and became an essential component of traditional beliefs and religion.

But in the 19th century, in an attempt to displace or eradicate indigenous peoples, the United States military slaughtered tens of millions of buffalo. At the turn of the century, fewer than 500 buffalo remained in this country. Similarly, the American Indian population was reduced to merely 250,000 in the early 1900s. What a loss. By the 20th century many buffalo conservation efforts were headed by President Teddy Roosevelt and frequently led to private ownership of buffalo herds.

In 1991, 10 Tribes committed to buffalo restoration efforts with 1,500 buffalo and organized the InterTribal Buffalo Council, or ITBC. The ITBC collaborates with several Federal agencies for buffalo management, and now includes 69 federally recognized Tribes in 19 States with 55 buffalo herds. I am here to report that many of the Tribes and pueblos within my district have thriving herds of their own.

The Indian Buffalo Management Act will allow Tribal nations to develop and maintain buffalo herds on Tribal lands to restore treaty obligations and the buffalo population itself. Additionally, this bill will enable the transportation of surplus buffalo from Federal lands into Tribal lands. The great Sioux Chief, Sitting Bull, summed up the atrocities surrounding the buffalo when he said, ``a cold wind blew on the prairie on the day the last buffalo fell. A death wind for my people.''

Passage of the Indian Buffalo Management Act will begin the remediation of buffalo for indigenous peoples and restore religious and spiritual practices that were stripped after the founding of this country.

Madam Speaker, I urge the swift adoption of this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am so very lucky to have on the Subcommittee for indigenous peoples, the dean of the House, Representative Don Young, as the ranking member. The amount of work that we do in that committee, that is bipartisan, that always looks at what is the issue that must be solved and works together to solve that issue, is exactly sort of epitomized by this bill.

We are recognizing that there was a tragedy in our history where we actually tried to eliminate the food source for the indigenous peoples of the Americas. And we did. We caused hunger. We caused the deprivation, but we are recognizing that today and we are going to be giving the assistance to all Tribes to be able to manage buffalo herds.

I have been very fortunate to eat bison. We love bison burgers at my

home; and I have been at Taos Pueblo when they have offered in their ceremonial way the buffalo meat and the cooking around the fire. It is indeed delicious. I completely agree with the dean of the House. But we also need to recognize that managing a buffalo herd is not simple. We need to make sure that there are no diseases that are passed between cattle or elk and buffalo. They need to make sure that there is the right genetics so that we don't interbreed so much.

So it does require a lot of work, and this bill provides the Tribes with the assistance so that they can both protect and manage these herds of these magnificent animals.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, for all of the reasons that has been stated on the floor of this glorious House today, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2074, as amended, the Indian Buffalo Management Act, and I also thank my good friend and the sponsor of the legislation, the dean of the House, Congressman Don Young, for his tireless advocacy on behalf of Indian Country.

Madam Speaker, it may come to a lot of people's surprise but in my home State of Arkansas, in my district, we actually had buffalo herds there at one time. And it lingers in many names around the State: The Buffalo National River, the Buffalo Gap. There is actually a history of buffalo in Arkansas and many other States that no longer have herds.

H.R. 2074 would authorize the Department of the Interior to establish a permanent program to develop and promote the capacity of Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations to manage buffalo and buffalo habitat.

The American buffalo, or bison, has long held importance to the United States and was officially named the national mammal in 2016. Many American Indian and Alaska Natives have also had a longstanding cultural and spiritual relationship with buffalo, which continues to this day.

By the end of the 19th century, however, buffalo were near extinction. But as a result of conservation efforts, buffalo have slowly returned, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that there are now 200,000 buffalo in the United States.

In 1991, several Tribes with buffalo herds joined together forming the InterTribal Buffalo Council. The council received a Federal charter to aid Tribes in the restoration of buffalo on Tribal lands in 2009.

Today, the InterTribal Buffalo Council is comprised of 68 member Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives with 55 buffalo herds in 19 States with the mission of restoring buffalo to Indian Country.

In 2019, the council received approximately $1.4 million from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Unfortunately, this available funding is subject to the fluctuating appropriations and it is not dedicated to buffalo management on Tribal lands. The council estimates that unmet needs are in excess of $12 million per year.

H.R. 2074 would dedicate $14 million annually for the Department of the Interior to directly support the ability of Indian Tribes to protect, conserve, and enhance buffalo populations on their lands. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into agreements with Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations to dispose of surplus buffalo on Federal land and transfer those buffalo to Indian lands.

The program is intended to help Tribes and Tribal organizations plan, conduct, or implement buffalo restoration programs, plan and execute commercial activities related to buffalo products, and carry out other activities related to buffalo restoration and management.

I again thank Congressman Young for his leadership on American Indian and Alaska Native issues, and I urge support for this measure.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the dean of the House.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I encourage passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, this is sort of a sweetheart time. I have the ranking member and I have the chairman, Chairman Grijalva, and of course, my chairman--thank you--supporting a bill, I think, that is long overdue.

I think some mentioned the fact that the demise of the buffalo was the demise of the American Indian, done deliberately. And now we are trying to restore it on Indian land. This is a bill that gives an opportunity for consumption of food that is good for the Tribe, but also economically.

The buffalo is a magnificent animal. We recognized it as a mission when we had the Buffalo nickel, and it is recognized in your State and my State. It is amazing that at one time--you may not realize it--we had tremendous herds of buffalo up there, but it wasn't man that diminished them, it was climate change that actually froze them out.

This is a bill that will give the opportunity to Tribes to reestablish the buffalo on Native lands, that history won't repeat itself, that no one will kill them like they did before, and will have a sustainable yield of a magnificent animal.

Madam Speaker, for those in this audience and this great Chamber who haven't eaten buffalo burgers, you better try it. It is one of the better meats. I am promoting this right now. I don't have a buffalo, but it is one of the better meats. It is good for the Nation. It is good for the Tribes. It is good for the buffalo. This bill is a good bill. It is a bill that should have been, frankly, passed a long time ago.

Madam Speaker, I believe what we are doing today is the right thing. I want us to recognize this act as an act that promoted my American Indian, Alaska Natives. We have three Tribes in Alaska that have buffalo already, and they are anxious for this bill to go forward.

If you haven't eaten buffalo jerky, try it. It is good, too.

Madam Speaker, I am suggesting respectfully that this is a good piece of legislation, bipartisan, working together for the first Americans, and I am proud to be the sponsor of it.

Madam Speaker, on Wednesday December 8, 2021, I was unable to cast my vote on roll call vote 427. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes'' on roll call 427, passage of H.R. 2074.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.