WEBVTT

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[sil.]

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Major funding for The Buffalo War
was provided by the Corporation

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for Public Broadcasting
and by Dennis Wiancko,

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Medora Woods, Gilman Ordway,

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and The New-Land Foundation. With
additional support provided by.

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[music]

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[sil.]

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They’ll never get my leg out of here.
I can’t even get it out. I’m serious.

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Yeah. I don’t know what happened.
It’s strange.

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Is there something around your neck, ma’am?

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Oh, it seems to be. All right. I’m gonna give you
the opportunity to free yourself. Damn. I can’t.

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Otherwise you will be arrested. She is padlock
with a… looks like a bike lock kind of a U.

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Okay, we’re gonna be coming up
with the cutter to get her loose.

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Okay. Everybody’s got to be up the road.

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All right. I want you two back
away so we can do this safely.

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We have to watch her with the camera. Stay back over right there so
we don’t have (inaudible). We will stay right here, we won’t leave.

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You’re gonna hurt her. There’s sparks and
fire right under her neck will burn her.

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(inaudible) down, will you?
Ready? Don’t hurt her.

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That’s it.

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(inaudible) (inaudible)

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[music]

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[music]

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[music]

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We have video footage of everything going on
here. We have footage of all the buffaloes

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being scared into facility.

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[music]

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You’ll find that they generally
transport very well,

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so as you can see it’s pretty quiet.
We have cattle

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that act a lot worse in these times.
Should we roll? Yeah. Okay.

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In the past, we have encountered

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the activists that have attached
themselves with kryptonite bicycle locks

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to the trailers and themselves in an
attempt to shut the operation down.

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So that’s why the law enforcement escorts.

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(inaudible) producers
within the state, 50 years,

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$30 million to eradicate
brucellosis from their livestock.

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This is basically the
last heard of these bison

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of brucellosis, and, yeah,

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there needs to be a long-term solution
to get that disease eradicated.

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[sil.]

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Easy, easy, easy, easy,
easy, easy, easy. Big one.

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The ones that test negative
for the disease will…

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will be released back on Horse Butte, will
no later tonight after the… the tests around

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how many that will be released but whatever that
amount is, those are bison that we save today.

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(inaudible) if I was up here to (inaudible).
If we didn’t have these capture facilities,

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those bison could have been
taken in another manner,

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they would had been shot.

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[sil.]

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And she is bread, feels like about
seven and a half and eight months.

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On her, I felt both the
calf, felt the legs,

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as well as the cartilage, you know? All of the…
the pregnant females will go to slaughterhouse

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(inaudible) regardless

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of what the brucellosis test are.
Did you get her a new tag?

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(inaudible).

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[sil.]

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(inaudible), the cattle. Are you ready?

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[music]

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Yellowstone National Park is one of the most
inhospitable climates in North America.

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And bison in winter tend to migrate

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to lower elevations where the
snow cover is not quite so deep,

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and where there’s more
easily accessible forage.

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In the winter of ‘96-’97,

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we had about 3,500 bison in
Yellowstone National Park.

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We had a very tough winter.
There was a great deal of snow

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and then freezing rain that
sealed the snow under ice layers.

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It made it very, very difficult for bison
to reach below the snow to get to forage.

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Bison in large numbers started
moving outside the park.

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And the response of the
agencies was to start capturing

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them and then start
sending some to slaughter

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or simply killing them right where
they stood outside the park.

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About 1,100 bison were killed
that particular winter.

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[music]

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That winter, I saw the slaughter.

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I think it was probably the
hardest time in my life.

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You know, there’s so much
connection in our history,

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our existence, our origin, our future,

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you know, we share that inseparable
destiny with the buffalo.

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Our prophecy says as long as there
are buffalo, we will survive.

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[sil.]

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Tell me a little bit about the traditional
relationship the people have with the buffalo.

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For thousands of years, our
people depended upon the buffalo

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for… not only for food, shelter, clothing,

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but medicine and spirituality.
So this is a humble walk,

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a spiritual walk for our people.

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So you can log in on the Internet

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at Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
As they will be tracking

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the progress along this walk.

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These slaughter has been happening and I think
people are very deeply concerned about it,

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but have no way of expressing that concern,

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any action of substance. And so I
think this walk is providing the help

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for a lot of people. I think we have

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a lot to say about this. We’re not driven

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by economics or politics.

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All we’re concerned about
is that this herd survive.

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[music]

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Sacred mountain (inaudible)

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where we go today on our first
day of our sacred journey.

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[music]

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Buffalo Field Campaign.
For the last six years,

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I’ve been tracking all the DOL maneuvers
and chasing them around essentially

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with the video camera to document
what they’ve been up to.

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And I always noticed that as long as there’s a video
camera around, they’re not real proud of their work.

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If you take one more picture, then you’re gonna eat
that thing. I have every right to document this,

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sir, don’t arrest me again. But
if he touches my (inaudible).

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I won’t touch your… I won’t. Yeah, we have people
that get arrested, but what we’re really here to do

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is let the world know what
is going on out here.

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After the atrocity of
the ‘96-’97 slaughter,

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when they wiped out approximately a third of the herd,
we realized that they were going to stop at nothing.

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And that if we had a frontlines
presence that held them accountable

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for every deed that they do,
some change was going to occur.

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[music]

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We’re just inside of west boundary
of Yellowstone National Park.

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I’m standing here ‘cause there are about,

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I think, 46, well, 3 more just wandered up,

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so close to 50 bison right here
on (inaudible). These bison

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are just coming down out of the
park for a winter grazing habitat,

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which is scarce in the part of this here. The snow levels
get to a point where it’s difficult for them to graze,

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and it’s about 300 yards over there
the Montana Department of Livestock

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is operating a bison capture
and testing facility

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where they said that they needed to capture any bison
that are leaving the park to test them for brucellosis,

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which they say is a threat to
the cattle industry in Montana

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which is debatable. We’ve got the
facility over there faded with,

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I don’t know, how many
bells(inaudible) ahead,

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they’ve got it spread out. Just real attractive to these guys because
right now snow is running about four or four and a half feet.

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There’s snow on that (inaudible)
and they want to get over there.

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Go. Get out of here. You have to go.

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Come on. Come on. Don’t turn around.

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[music]

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I don’t like the looks of this.

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I’m just watching this big guy. What
we were stopping earlier was a junior,

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it’s not, you know, he was a little
guy, and they follow the big guys.

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And, you know, he’s old
and smart, you know,

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I mean… So now you can…

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you can see, after that big
guy made it over here,

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look at how much movement we got now.

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Really (inaudible).

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They’re going.

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There you go.

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Yeah! Yeah!

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Get back. Get back. Go! Go! Get going.

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Four one, alpha. Um, everything going okay

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as far as the (inaudible) movement over there,
over. As far as the buffalo over, yeah.

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[music]

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Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can
cause animals to abort their first calves,

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and that’s really the threat
that brucellosis poses,

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decrease production in animals.
Brucellosis is transmitted

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primarily through birthing
material, cattle could come up

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and nose around that material
and pick up the disease.

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Let’s go and check on these cattle, bud.

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That’s a constant threat. We
have to test our herd before

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we can come from one state to
another, where I winter in Idaho

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and bring to Montana for summer range.

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We have to test those
cattle nearly every spring.

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We have to put these both in their pen.

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We vaccinate our replacement heifer
calves and so it’s an expense

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as well as it’s hard on the cattle.

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I’ve been involved in

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liquidating several herds
that… that had brucellosis

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and it just wipes the guy out of business.
He has to start over somehow.

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We’ve been a family that,
say, live and let live

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and tried to deal with
buffalo on that basis,

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so if they’re… they’re
wild and they stay away

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from the domestic cattle, there’s no problem. The
problem is when they’re carrying the disease

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and they start to intermingle.

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We’ve spent 60 years in the United
States trying to eliminate brucellosis.

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It was a onetime of very serious human health problem
in addition to being an animal health problem.

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The only heard remaining in the United States of America that has
a large incidence of brucellosis is in Yellowstone National Park.

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Maintaining the two great
pillars of our food supply,

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meat and milk, means guiding our
livestock against infectious disease.

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And each year, brucellosis extract to this toll.
Nearly one million dairy cows, over two years of age,

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infected causing an estimated 20%
milk loss in the infected animals,

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15% loss in the infected animals
through abortions and sterility.

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Equivalent of $100 million are lost each year
to the food supply of the American people.

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Brucellosis must go so that in time,

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the entire country will be a
nation 100% brucellosis-free.

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[music]

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Well, there’s no question that when federal

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and state agriculture officials
assess the last 60 years struggle

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to ultimately conquer
brucellosis, they look at a map

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of Yellowstone and they say, \"Ah, this
is… this is like a region taunting us.

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We’ve come so far. We’re so close
to eradicating the disease,

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let’s use whatever means is
necessary to get on top of this.\"

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The Department of Agriculture realizes that the
bison are potential threat to Montana cattle.

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The key difference now is that we think, we
believe, we have scientific evidence that says

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we can protect Montana cattle from this threat
without having to kill dozens or hundreds of bison.

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We’ve made this clear to Montana.

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We’ve had numerous discussions with
Montana about how to minimize the need

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for lethal control bison. In large measure,
we found Montana interestingly backs away.

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[sil.]

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The Department of Livestock wanted to put another
capture facility up here on Horse Butte.

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And really the only way into the
proposed site is along this road,

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this 610 road. So in order to keep
them from building the facility

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we’ve erected these tripods,
five interlocking tripods here,

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and we’re blockading the road, there’s really
no way for them to get the vehicles through

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until they deal with the person
who’s dangling in the tripod.

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(inaudible), you (inaudible)? (inaudible).

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Tripods are generally used to go ahead and
block roads, it’s pretty standard practice.

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But we’re pretty much on the cutting edge
of road blocking with this whole setup.

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If the Department of Livestock decides to come in and
go ahead and try to get through the blockade here,

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they’d have to pull up to the
front, bring a cherry picker up,

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you’ve got to do some serious dismantling
to get through to this point.

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Basically if the cherry
picker does ever get to here,

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you go ahead and use these
bracelets right here,

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stick them on,

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and then we’ve got this
piece of steel pipe here

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with rebar welded on the inside as well
and it’s looped around two of the posts.

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And basically you lock in

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to here and here you are.

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We don’t think there’s any way for law enforcement
to get a person out of this position safely.

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I really appreciate the presence

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of Buffalo Field Campaign. They’ve
been very effective in their job,

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but the native people are
trying to do something else.

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(inaudible)

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Everybody are sleeping.

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(inaudible)

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We’re in for a long day. Nick, your wife called. Get up. If
you ask for (inaudible), today is the day. Yeah. I know.

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Especially in that storm blows,

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(inaudible) buffalo always faces the wind.
So (inaudible) if it’s windy,

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you just keep your face in
towards that wind. Yeah.

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[music]

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The pipe in this buffalo hide wrapping

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was what the bundle was, what (inaudible)
referred to as the sacred bundle.

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It wasn’t there, the bundle
itself had any power,

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but people who carried it…
carried it had power.

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And so that’s what we took
is basically prayers,

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people’s prayers to the buffalo.

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[music]

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Drink. Okay.

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Cigarettes. Yep, it’s cold.
Isn’t it, (inaudible)?

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How come you’re eating my sandwich?

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We’re almost out. This one is the
(inaudible). I’ll save you (inaudible).

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[music]

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When we talk about buffalo people,

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we’re not talking about buffalo
and Lakota separately.

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It’s all one. Our creation stories

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or origin says that we
come from the buffalo.

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That’s no different than the way (inaudible)
you come from the monkey or from Adam and Eve.

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Naturally they would become very
central for our spirituality.

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[music]

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The original herd of buffalo (inaudible)

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were decimated to bring the
Indians to their knees.

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So we have very common histories

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and our prophecies talk about
a very inseparable destiny.

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Depending on the estimate, 60
to 80 million bison inhabited

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this North American continent.
They were systematically hunted

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for their hides and for their tongues.
Over a succession of decades,

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this great mass of wild bison soon
was found only in domestic captivity

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
and here at Yellowstone. I
think it was down to about 23.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
This is a genetically unique
population, it’s behaviorally unique.

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
It’s the free-ranging herd
that moves with the elements,

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
now reacts to predators, unlike
anywhere else in the United States.

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
So it’s very, very special.

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
(inaudible) bison are not an endangered species.
The concern we have is that if you don’t have

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
a minimum herd size below which
you will not kill those animals,

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
you’re at risk of affecting the variability
that genetic viability of that herd.

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
[sil.]

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
This is how everybody works together.

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:40.000
Everybody participate in doing something.

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:55.000
[music]

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:13.000
[music]

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
are surrounded by seven national forests. Many
of those national forests have grazing lands

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
and they’re leased to local ranchers.

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
Around Yellowstone and particularly bison
go, there are about 2,000 head of cattle,

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
45% of those are grazed on public lands.

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
We already have our own private grass here

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
that borders are for us to permit.
Then it’s just an ideal situation.

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
We don’t have to trail or haul those cattle
from the private ground or the forest ground.

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
It’s just a one day job to move
cattle from one pasture to another.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:18.000
[music]

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
You know, I have no problem with the ranchers and
their way of life and what they want to do with life.

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
But when they start
manipulating everyone’s future

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
for their 172 cows that go out on Horse
Butte, I have a serious problem with that.

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
I feel like, at times,
people do point their finger

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
at the Horse Butte ranches.
(inaudible) brothers

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
were really the thorn in their side

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
because we own the ranch and
raise livestock or cattle.

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
The bison in Yellowstone National Park

00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
generally exit one of two ways.
One is to the north

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
and they come along the Yellowstone River.

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
On the west side, the herd comes out onto the forest
service lands just outside of West Yellowstone.

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
On the west side, the area of most concern

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
is the Horse Butte area. What
bison are doing in the winter

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
is simply moving out to places
where there is more exposure

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
and that they can get to their grasses easier. That’s what’s happening
at Horst Butte. That’s why it’s such an important area for bison.

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
Virtually all cattle are gone from the
west Yellowstone area by November.

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
And that’s about the time the bison
may start trickling out of the park.

00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
They only move out in the winter.
Well, there are no cattle present.

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
So why in November, December,
January, February, March…

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
For sure, there are no cattle present for five
months. Why are we killing bison on federal land,

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
a national forest which
has a legislative mandate

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
to provide wildlife habitat when they’re
no cattle present? You can’t justify that.

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
Bison and cattle can use the public lands

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
at different times of the year. Bison can use it
in winter and cattle can use it in the summer,

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
and there should be no conflict. I think if we
looked at a couple of 100 miles south of here

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
to the Jackson or Teton County, Wyoming area, we would
see a much different approach to bison management

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
and bison intolerance.

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
Both livestock and wildlife have been sharing the lands
in the Jackson area for a long time, for many decades,

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
and no transmission has occurred
that there’s no reason why bison

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
and cattle can’t use some of those
same lands. The conservationists

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
are not looking for cattle to be thrown
off the lands nor our ranchers are saying

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
that bison can’t use the public lands.

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
[music]

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
We just decided to have a reunion up here

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
because the older kids have grown up and have been out for
years and a lot of their kids haven’t even seen the ranch.

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
So we thought \"Gosh, we’ll
just throw together a party,

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
have everybody come, and just have a
big beat and play games and have fun.\"

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
This is Keith’s mother and dad. This
is who started this mess up here.

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
And this is Keith when
he was in high school.

00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
He’d (inaudible) if he knew
I was showing this picture.

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
This is just Keith’s Mom and Dad and his
whole family, all the boys and his sister.

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
One smile, boys. There are six brothers

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
and they inherited the ranch
when their father died,

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
and they are the ones
that control the ranch.

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
And then these are just some pictures

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
of the buffalo right here
on the ranch in our field,

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
as far as to just see them
grazing in that, you know,

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
they’re kind of unique and… and I don’t object to that that
much, it’s just that the fact that they become a nuisance.

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
They tear your fences out and they’re
eating grass that are your cattle’s.

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
I came out here, there
were 200 head of them here

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
on this ranch one time. Well,
what does that do to my grass?

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
You know, I’d hate

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
to have 200 head to somebody else’s cows come
in here. I don’t like saying shoot the buffalo

00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
but I don’t like them out here either.
I’d like seeing kept

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
where they belong wherever that is.
We don’t know how much longer

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
we’ll be able to really keep it as a
cattle ranch. Taxes have increased

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
because of… of people building
summer homes close-by.

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
We’ve had people try to buy out
to turn it over to conservation

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
and we’ve had others try
to buy it for development.

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
Sooner or later, I expect
development will take over.

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
I’m getting too old to hang
on to many more years.

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
And I don’t know how many of these young
guys are gonna step in and takeover.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
You’ve worked all your life to do

00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
what you do and get what you got

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
and then it’s got to go some other way.
Well, it’s the odds are a little tough.

00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
[sil.]

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
The antagonists of Keith
Munns failed to acknowledge

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
that were they to drive Keith
Munns off the open ranch

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
so that he would have to sell his ranch,

00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
that there are realtors circling in the waters
waiting to carve that parcel of land up,

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
which would further complicate
the management of bison

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
because we don’t know what
those new homeowners now,

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
what kind of sentiment
they’d have for bison.

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
Where would we like to be right now?
Let’s figure that out.

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
Wow! It’s 97 (inaudible).

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
(inaudible) something nice, 44.
That’s still kind of chilly.

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
It’s as cold here as it is in Anchorage.

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
I can’t remember what it
feels like to be warm.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
[sil.]

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
Can you speak to why the park

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
or the… or the Field
Campaign wouldn’t attempt

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
to feed them artificially? The
park itself is trying to maintain

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
the wild ecosystem of the Yellowstone
region within the borders. And you know,

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
our problem, like the Field Campaign,
we’re not here to feed the buffalo

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
but we’re just here to help them survive the
(inaudible) and the slaughterhouses of the livestock.

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
It’s a choice between letting
them run out of food here

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
or they’re going to walk around the facility and be
taken to slaughterhouse and get a bullet to their head.

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
You got to stop. Please.

00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
Come on. Go on back.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
Going through. Please go back.

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
Go back. Go. Come on. Go back.

00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:03.000
[music]

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
We didn’t what to do to stop it, really. They were
hungry. It was… it was like cow and three calves

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
and they were going for the food.
Hopefully, they’ll…

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
they’ll test negative and they’ll let go.

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
I know that four buffalo get in
today and that’s pretty sad.

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
And it’s real important that we understand
we’re going to have limitations

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
and we can only do so much, so just be proud to
be here. You know, everyone knows about the year

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
where they killed almost 1,100
of them, but every year

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
before that which was 4 or 5
years, they killed 500 a year.

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
Last year, they killed 11. This
year, they’ve killed a total of 17

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
with these 9, including these 4 new ones. But
there’s been 100 out of the park all winter long

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
and we have been the reason why
they’re not all dead right now.

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
[sil.]

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
When a bison is in the field and captured,

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
they do what’s called a culture test. And that means they draw a little
blood and you do a serology test to see whether there are antibodies

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
that were developed in that animal. Those antibodies
can occur because at one time or another,

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
they were exposed to the disease.
It doesn’t mean they’re infectious.

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
Culture tests are needed in
order to do the actual analysis

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
of whether an animal is infected. That
can only happen if the animal is killed.

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
So what we have is a very inaccurate blood test, and that’s what the
agencies had been relying on to decide which animals are killed.

00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
The fact of the matter is that
in the field, first of all,

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
you have to utilize what is
scientifically available to you.

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
And there are false negatives that show up in
later testing. There’s no question about that.

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
So there’s room for argument, I would grant you that. But we
don’t have any more definite and certain science to guide us

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
and direct us other than
that that’s available.

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
What we have here now is a double standard at work. There was a
domestic cow that field tested positive, culture tested negative,

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
they would release the herd (inaudible).

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
With bison now what you’re seeing is they’re field testing positive,
culture tested negative, Montana’s refused to accept that.

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
It continues to insist on their right to slaughter these
animals. And we’re not saying that they should be turned loose

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
to go wherever they want, we’re simply saying,
there’s no need to kill these animals.

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
Let’s maintain the separation between cattle
and bison. Let’s keep these bison alive.

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
I think the federal agencies
have made so many adjustments

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
that protect Montana’s
brucellosis-free status,

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
that you have to wonder, \"What is the real agenda with a
Departmental of Livestock? Do they just not like bison?\"

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
They say that they don’t want to kill
bison, but at every opportunity,

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
they either harass bison
or kill bison, they take.

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
For a culture that lets to be in
control of everything, you know,

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
the natural world can be threatening,
buffalo can’t be confined.

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
That can cause some frustration to
people who are used to domestic animals.

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
This is an issue about
wildlife populations,

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
their ability to migrate onto
public lands outside the park,

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
and competition for use of those public lands
outside the park. It isn’t simply about brucellosis

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
from our experience.

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
The bison in Montana is revered. We know that
we’re trustees for the rest of the country.

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
We have no interest in anything than making
certain that we preserve a majestic bison

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
herd in Yellowstone National Park and
protecting those who live next door to them,

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
other animals and other of God’s
creatures namely human beings

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
in a way that allows for both to
be prosperous and productive,

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
and that’s all our interest is.

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:28.000
[music]

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
I think it was hard for the communities we pass through
because they just don’t know what to make of us.

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
An example as Broadus,

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
we had made arrangements
to stay in this gym

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
and it was connected to an
indoor arena for horses.

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
When we got there, it was occupied.
I hit a door slammed in my face,

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
you know, references being made

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
about Indians making messes.

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
And they locked the war. And when other
kids came and knocked on the door,

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
somebody from the inside said, \"Who is
this? Are you one of those Indians?\"

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
So you know, it’s…

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
it’s something we can’t let it disturb us.

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
You know, I feel bad for them, you know?

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
I know some feelings were hurt but
we’ll just pray our way through it.

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
We got to keep the horses out
of the cold for a while.

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
Yeah. Oh, yeah. If they were in
cold, they will freeze in it.

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
They really needed this thought, indoor.
It’s so… So do we.

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
We need an outdoor to (inaudible). We need to do an
(inaudible) for these went through. These horse have…

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
Well, they’re sure taking care of us. They know.
They know. They feel this. These horses feel it.

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:18.000
[music]

00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
We leave camp, you know, clean it up.
In couple of places,

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
I remember (inaudible) walks or
ride… We had people come back

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
and they trash it and they
say we left it a dirty camp.

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
So I like you to take a shot at
this so they know on record that

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
this is… this is clean. In fact, it’s
cleaner than when we first came.

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:18.000
[music]

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
Mr. (inaudible),

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:40.000
hey, how can he go down and we can’t?

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
They had enough space on the side

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
that they were able to plow along the side of the
structure where we thought they wouldn’t be able to go.

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
Watch those (inaudible). But they did and
so then they brought up the cherry picker.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
I was originally not ever going to sit in the
tripods because I didn’t want to get arrested.

00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
Summer, what’s going on?

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
They started pressing my arms back
really hard. Are they hurting you?

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
Then they started doing these different pain
holds like squeezing on my arms and trying to…

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
finally pulled my arm back enough
that they saw it was rope,

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
and eventually they just pulled back and had
a knife on him and pulled out the knife

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
and just cut it. So at that point, I just unclipped ‘cause
there’s nothing… They would have just pulled me out

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
and they would have had a big metal thing on my
arm. Don’t let them put you in there easily.

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
I think it was worth it
to be arrested for that.

00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
I think that had made a difference.
I did wish later that it wasn’t

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
so easy for them to get me out even though
I know I did what I could, I held on,

00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
and… But I just wish we had the lockbox working
better, so it would have been even more difficult.

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
[music]

00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.999
As soon as they took the blockade down, they
started working on the facility right away.

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:18.000
[music]

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
(inaudible) 3-1. Okay, go ahead. Yeah. There is
a Sheriff and the DOL at the capture facility.

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:48.000
[music]

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
We got a highly technical
locking device here.

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
Strategically set up on the
cattle guards so that…

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
so as to halt the slaughter
of the Yellowstone bison.

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
Hi there. I’m gonna inform you guys
that if you step onto the road,

00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.999
you’re obstructing a police officer according to the permit
and you’re gonna go to jail. Okay? So stay off the road.

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
Handcuffs? They’re handcuffs.

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
You got a long key?

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
Here. Hey, hey, hey.
That’s my arm in there.

00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
Okay. Then why don’t you… Try
to cooperate, all right?

00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
She’s… Well, she’s locked her fingers.
I got my hands on the cuff right now.

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
Hold the hand like this. You’re gonna hurt her. Get off of me. No. Don’t lean over.
Hey, quit. Put your leg down off of her. Well, quit leaning on me. I don’t care.

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
Get your leg down. Right there. Oh, my God.

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
Hey, Matt, she’s free. She’s free.
She’s free. All right. Yeah.

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
Let’s split the (inaudible) off the police.

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
Shouldn’t this crime scene tape be
across the capture facility there, boys.

00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
Pretty fun, huh? I’m gonna spend at least a day of
every week of your life helping murder wildlife,

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
must feel proud of that.

00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
[sil.]

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
This is (inaudible).

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
All right. Fine, fine, fine. I thought it was a force
service job to protect wildlife, man, it’s public lands.

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
That’s public land, this is on, boys.
Hello.

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
Are you aware that every member of the housing community on
the other side of this Butte is opposing to this facility.

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
Lot of people come here because of the bison, spend their money
here. How do you think they feel about seeing them slaughter?

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
Hearing about it?

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
Great. (inaudible) coming up the hill.

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
Oh, no. You can’t do it without snowmobiles
and trucks and badges and guns.

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
(inaudible).

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
Oh, the snowmobiles are here.

00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:28.000
[sil.]

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
These are not calves,
they’re not livestock.

00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
[sil.]

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
Come on, buffalos.

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:53.000
[music]

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
(inaudible), they got those buffalo trapped,
we’re pretty much pinned down here.

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
(inaudible) Yeah, they got
those buffalo trapped.

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:13.000
[music]

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:38.000
[music]

00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
From this walk, I feel
a whole lot stronger.

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
I’m not opposed to activism.

00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
I believe that is necessary too.

00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
But I think this walk makes a statement.
There’s something greater

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
than physical power, something
greater than political power,

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
and it’s the power that’s
going to unite people.

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
Perhaps, it’s the power

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
that is going to help the people
in this country understand

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
what we’re trying to say. Let’s
call it spiritual activism.

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:58.000
[non-English narration]

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
Everybody, form a circle.

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
Today,

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
as we gather in this sacred circle,

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
we want to thank all of you that have
showed your presence here today,

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
for this spiritual journey

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
of 507 miles to create awareness

00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
about applied the plight and the
sacredness of the buffalo people.

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
Joe talked about, you know,

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
the only true offering that we
can ever give to the buffalo

00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
or mother earth is our own flesh.
And I heard him talking about,

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
but it wasn’t until

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
I saw Gary stripped to the waist.
It dawned on me

00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
what was going to happen there. This
was going to be a real piercing,

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
a real ceremony. And it was really,
really hard for me because sun dancing

00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
and piercing is never easy.

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
Kenyan, Stan came forward and started to

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
make the incisions in Gary’s back.

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
They inserted sticks into the incisions

00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
and attached ropes to the sticks

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
then to the buffalo skulls.

00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
[music]

00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
And he danced around

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
the large circle of people four times.

00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:13.000
[music]

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
And in the final circle,

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
he stopped and he had to tear away from,

00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
you know, the skulls that he was dragging.

00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
And he wouldn’t be able,
on his own strength,

00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
to tear away from skulls,

00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
so they some people sit on the skulls

00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
to hold the skulls back.

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.999
And then Gary’s horse was brought in front
of him and he grabbed the horse’s tail.

00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:59.999
The horse pulled him forward

00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
and he… rope and sticks
tore through his skin

00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
and he was done, you know,

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
he made his sacrifice.

00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
And I’m sure there are people who are not
familiar with the sun dance ritual will see…

00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
might see it as being barbaric,

00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.999
you know, self-mutilation. It’s
really for us an offering,

00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.999
you know, we cannot be at a humbler place

00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.999
than in pain.

00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
So it was very hard, but in a way,

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
I think it made its mark on all of us.

00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
They’re both more important to us.
I’m not just saying this.

00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
This is what we can do,

00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
you know? It’s how deeply we care.
(inaudible)…

00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.999
as deep as Gary’s wounds.

00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:18.000
[music]

00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:10.000
[music]

00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:54.999
To learn more about The Buffalo
War, visit our website at

00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:59.999
www.PBS.org.

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:08.000
[music]

00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
Major funding for The Buffalo War was provided
by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:29.999
and by Dennis Wiancko,

00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.999
Medora Woods, Gilman Ordway,
and The New-Land Foundation.

00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:40.000
With additional support provided by.