Tribes reduce the numbers of reintroduced buffalo herds as governmental inaction violates treaty commitments
- U.S. government shutdown forced Native American tribes to cull restored bison herds for food as federal aid programs collapsed. - Fort Peck Tribes slaughtered 30 bison (12,000 lbs meat) to support members facing 65% reduced SNAP benefits during funding freeze. - Over 400 lbs bison meat distributed by Lower Brule Sioux, while Comanche and Mi'kmaq tribes provided deer/moose to food banks. - Crisis exposed systemic failures in federal aid, with 42 million Americans facing reduced benefits and tribal leaders
When the U.S. government shutdown reached its 40th day in November 2025, Native American tribes throughout the Great Plains took an extraordinary step: they began culling buffalo herds, which they had painstakingly rebuilt over decades, to provide food for their people. For instance, the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana,
With the shutdown halting federal funding for food assistance, nearly one in three Fort Peck tribal members received only partial payments. "We kept bringing it up to the tribal council: If the government runs out of money, how do we make sure our people eat?"
This emergency echoed wider interruptions to food support. The Trump administration had halted full SNAP disbursements, citing a lack of funds, and the Supreme Court
Other tribes, such as the Blackfeet, Cheyenne River Sioux, and Crow, also turned to their buffalo herds for food. The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in South Dakota
The buffalo’s role in this emergency is deeply ironic: the animal that once helped Indigenous peoples survive forced displacement and famine is once again essential, this time due to failures in federal support. Historically, Plains tribes relied on buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter until the species was nearly wiped out by 19th-century commercial hunters.
The shutdown’s effects on food aid extended beyond tribal lands. The USDA’s move to
Although an agreement to end the shutdown was close, tribal leaders said they would keep distributing buffalo meat until federal assistance resumed. The crisis exposed the vulnerability of food systems for both Native communities and the wider public, with tribal representatives calling on lawmakers to honor treaty responsibilities and provide emergency funding.
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