Why Are Buffalo Returning to Texas After 136 Years?

The near extinction of buffalo across North America had devastating consequences—especially for Indigenous communities, for whom buffalo were a source of food, shelter, spiritual connection, and governance. Today, Lucille Contreras, founder of the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, is leading a powerful effort to restore buffalo to their ancestral lands in Texas. Through this work, she is also reviving cultural traditions and creating a space for her Indigenous community to reconnect with the buffalo and the way of life they represent. The Texas Tribal Buffalo Project is one of dozens of ongoing efforts to return buffalo to their ecological and cultural place on the North American prairie. Across the continent, tribes and tribal members are raising herds that strengthen Native cultures, repair prairie ecosystems, and provide healthy local food. Women of the Earth, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from climate change. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateTerra ***** Subscribe to PBS Terra so you never miss an episode! https://bit.ly/3mOfd77 And keep up with PBS Terra on: Facebook:   / pbsdigitalstudios   Tiktok:   / pbsterra   Instagram:   / pbsterra