Welcome back to the Wind River Reservation, home of the Eastern Shoshone and Arapaho Nations. And, the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative (WRTBI), a tribally led non-profit founded in 2023, here at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in current day Wyoming. We left off part 1 of this series last week, as we met the Initiative’s founder, Jason Baldes, and prepared to head out on the plains, to meet the buffalo and hear their, and Jason’s, stories.

It was in the lead up to the Tribe’s Sundance just 2 years ago, that they sourced meat from their own buffalo, on their own land, for the first time in nearly 140 years. That’s all part of enacting a broader vision of buffalo living as wildlife (not livestock) once again, protected under Tribal law. 

And this vision doesn’t stop at Wind River either. Jason is also VP of the InterTribal Buffalo Council – where 87 Tribes and growing are currently involved in efforts to restore the buffalo, and all that entails - from the re-acquisition of land, the return of rivers and other wildlife, along with the health, language and spirit of many Nations.

Join us in the side-by-side as we hear the brilliant story of what’s happening here, including how it came close to never happening. About half way in, we head over to feed the orphan buffalo Ruby, and hear about the old Shoshone grandmas, before ultimately arriving back at the herd for an incredible unexpected face to face encounter.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 16 June 2025.

You can hear Jason’s good friend, Pedro Calderon Dominguez, with the buffalo at American Prairie, for episode 220, Lakota woman Kelsey Scott for episode 222, and the series from the Osage Nation starting episode 261.

Title slide: AJ & Jason as our visit wound up (pic: Olivia Cheng)

See more photos on the episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

Music:

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

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Join us for a journey on the Murray River, Australia, for the first Confluence 2026.

Pre-roll music: River, by Onyx Music (sourced from Artlist). 

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