Professor and School of Public Service Research Director Libby Lunstrum will be co-presenting two papers at the upcoming Society for Ecological Restoration North American Conference in Vancouver, B.C.
The first paper, “Restoring Coexistence with Buffalo: Lessons from the Blackfoot-led Iinnii Initiative,” explores obstacles to restoring buffalo and identifies strategies to support coexistence. Buffalo have largely been absent from the landscape due to the colonial decimation of buffalo herds in the 1800s, and subsequent repurposing of buffalo habitat and Tribal lands into new land uses and economies. The paper explores strategies of how to “live with” buffalo, and the importance of doing so, in a world radically changed by their absence.
The second paper, “New Trends in Tribal-Park Relations: Blackfoot Buffalo Restoration and Glacier National Park,” investigates how the Blackfeet Nation and Glacier National Park are working to address the history of the Blackfeet’s eviction from Glacier through collaborative work supporting buffalo restoration. While released on the Blackfeet Reservation, the buffalo will be able to move freely into Glacier, allowing the Blackfeet a stronger presence in the park and a stronger voice in key areas of park management. The paper charts this historic event and how it offers a new model of park-Tribal relations.
Both papers bring together a wider group of Blackfoot and non-Tribal authors who are working collaboratively to support Blackfoot-led buffalo restoration through the ILER project.