Grand Portage Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa Welcome Bison To Northern Minnesota

The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are excited to be the home of 7 bison they recently received. Their goal is to bring back bison to the region and grow the herd. They worked with the Intertribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) to make this historic step possible.

The ITCB is a collection of 82 tribes from 20 different states whose mission is to bring buffalo back to Native American County. Buffalo was a huge part of the Native American culture. By bringing herds back, tribes will be able to preserve their historical, cultural, and spiritual relationships for generations.

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The Grand Portage Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa shared videos on their social media page showing the arrival of the bison. It's been a lot of work and a long time coming.

They have an area set up for the bison to get acclimated to their new location with piles of hay and water at the Grand Portage Bizhiki Ranch on old Highway 61.

The herd has bloodlines from Yellowstone. They hope to continue to grow the herd and will honor the bloodlines by bringing more in from that area.

The next day, an update was posted on the YouTube page Grand Portage Gardner showing that the bison were settling in well to the Northern Minnesota spring.

How cool is that? It's not certain how many bison used to roam Minnesota, but experts believe there were quite a few. Unfortunately, during the late 19th century the Bison were hunted near extinction. The Minnesota Zoo says that the last wild Bison observed in Minnesota was back in 1880.

There are some other places you can see bison in Minnesota, but nothing like this in Northern Minnesota. It's awesome to see these animals back in the region.