History
Nurturing a Traditional Legacy
In February 1991, Tribes gathered in the Sacred Black Hills of South Dakota. Nineteen Tribes from all four directions attended. Lakota representatives from several of the Native Nations in South Dakota were there, as well as the Crow, Shoshone-Bannock, Gros Ventre/Assiniboine, and Blackfeet Nations of Montana. Various Pueblo representatives from New Mexico, and the Winnebago, traditionally called Ho Chunk, from both Nebraska and Wisconsin came. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and some as far west as Round Valley of California arrived. Some of these Tribes were historically enemies, but they united for a common mission...
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In February 1991, Tribes gathered in the Sacred Black Hills of South Dakota. Nineteen Tribes from all four directions attended. Lakota representatives from several of the Native Nations in South Dakota were there, as well as the Crow, Shoshone-Bannock, Gros Ventre/Assiniboine, and Blackfeet Nations of Montana. Various Pueblo representatives from New Mexico, and the Winnebago, traditionally called Ho Chunk, from both Nebraska and Wisconsin came. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and some as far west as Round Valley of California arrived. Some of these Tribes were historically enemies, but they united for a common mission…
To restore buffalo to Tribal lands for cultural and spiritual enhancement and preservation.
Buffalo (also known as the American Bison), have always held great meaning for American Indian people. To Indian people, the buffalo represent their spirit and reminds them of how they once lived free and in harmony with nature. In the 1800s the European settlers recognized the reliance Indian Tribes had on the buffalo. Thus began the deliberate slaughter of the buffalo in an effort to subjugate Tribal nations. The slaughter of over 60 million buffalo left only a few hundred remaining.
CONTINUING OUR COMMITMENT
InterTribal Buffalo Council
ITBC was originally formed as a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. Since then, ITBC has been reorganized as a federally chartered Indian Organization under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act. This was approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2009. ITBC consists of a membership that includes all the Tribes that have joined the organization and is governed by a Board of Directors, which is comprised of five elected officers and four regional representatives.
