Bringing the Bison Home to Rosebud: Jimmy Doyle on the Wolakota Buffalo Range Project

In this episode, Matte Wilson from the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative chats with Jimmy Doyle, Bison Manager of the Wolakota Buffalo Range. The Wolakota Buffalo Range is a collaboration between REDCO (the Rosebud Economic Development Corporation, the economic development arm of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe), the World Wildlife Fund, and other private and public organizations and agencies across the United States. Located on 28,000 contiguous acres on the southeast corner of the Rosebud Reservation, the range will be home to the largest Native-managed bison herd in the world once it is fully stocked. Jimmy shares a bit about how the project came to be, what it's like to manage a bison herd with the goal of regenerating degraded prairie land, and how this project will play a role in rekindling the connection between bison and the Lakota peoples.  Transcription available here.  Enjoy listening to Food Revolution? Consider donating to the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative to help us in our mission to build food sovereignty and a local foods economy to empower our tribal community through food! Donations are 501(c)3 tax deductible.  Website: www.sicangucdc.org Facebook: Sicangu Community Development Corporation Instagram: @sicangucdc Twitter: @sicangucdc   (Intro) Han Mitakuyapi, and welcome to Food Revolution brought to you by the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative. Every other week we’ll be bringing you stories of food sovereignty from community members and tribal food producers working to build a more just, equitable, and regenerative food system for the Sicangu Lakota Oyate - the Burnt Thigh Nation. Together, we're building tribal sovereignty through food, and we've set a place at the table just for you. Join us and be part of the food revolution.   Matte (00:00:30) Alright, welcome back to another episode of Food Revolution. This is Matte Wilson, and today our topic is going to be about the Wolakota Buffalo Project, which will soon be the world's largest indigenous managed Buffalo herd in the world today. Our guest is Jimmy Doyle. Jimmy, do you want to introduce yourself?  Jimmy I am the buffalo Range Manager for the Wolakota Project for REDCO here on the Rosebud Reservation.  Matte Awesome. So Jimmy, tell me a little bit about Wolakota; what organizations have been involved in this project and how long has the project been in development?  Jimmy You know that's a good question. As far as how long it's been in development, it all kinda started before I came on board, but I'd say it's been well over a year in the making, you know, as far as getting all of the approval and funding in place. And it's been a partnership in every sense. I'm sure I'll miss some of the people who've been involved in this, but, you know, REDCO of course is spearheading the efforts on the ground out here, but we have a lot of different partners who have helped make it a reality. Some of the big ones would be World Wildlife Fund has been a tremendous resource. The Department of Interior and national park