When it comes to buffalo, in Canada at least, the term “mismanagement” is the most appropriate of all three. For Plains indigenous people, the buffalo were a m

When it comes to buffalo, in Canada at least, the term “mismanagement” is the most appropriate of all three. For Plains indigenous people, the buffalo were a massive part of their culture, spirituality and history. Hundreds of generations had lived alongside the buffalo herds and become a part of their life cycle. Their hunts, while truly massive, participated in the life cycle and ensured stable herds. When european settlers came, they had absolutely no understanding of that life cycle so their hunts were in opposition. Then as they started importing european land ownership and putting up fences, the ecosystem collapsed. They hadn’t followed the herds for generations so really didn’t know how much land a herd actually needed to sustain itself. It was really the wrong hunting even more so than over hunting. Early communities had names like “Pile of Bones” that were indicative of the scale of earlier hunts.