For 20 days in February they traveled on foot and on horseback. They made their way across prairies and mountains, much the same way their ancestors journeyed more than 100 years ago. Lakota Sioux and members of other Native American tribes, including Apache, Crow and Navajo, made the 507-mile march from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the entrance of Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Their long walk, known in the Lakota language as Tatanka Oyate Mani, or the Way of the Buffalo Walk, was a protest against the killing of bison that wander out of Yellowstone.
Bison, also called American buffalo, are native to North America. These animals played a vital role in the lives of the Plains Indians. Their meat and skins provided food, clothing and shelter. Fifth-grader Wasey Kapashesit, a Chippewa, came all the way from Minnesota to join the march. "The walk was a way to get people to realize how important the buffalo are to us," she says.
Defending The Last Free-roaming Herd
One hundred years ago, illegal hunting brought Yellowstone's bison to the brink of extinction. Now native groups are afraid of the "legal" killing of the animals that make up the last free-roaming bison herd in the U.S. During the winter of 1996-97, the state of Montana killed 1,084 Yellowstone bison. So far this winter, 17 of the park's 2,400 bison have been destroyed. The bison are killed when they wander out of the park because ranchers fear that the animals will spread a disease called brucellosis to cattle.
There has never been a case of wild bison's spreading brucellosis to cattle, but ranchers believe the risk is real. "The presence of this disease can't be tolerated," said Jim Peterson of the Stockgrowers Association.
When the protesters arrived at Yellowstone's entrance, they held a ceremony honoring the bison. Joseph Chasing Horse, a Lakota leader, told the crowd, "Our prophecy says, if the buffalo disappear, the Lakota will disappear."