Indigenous Governance Database
species restoration
Maamakaadenbaagwad (it is amazing): The Miracle of the Walleye
This video, produced by the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources and the youth at Project Preserve, explains the history and progress of the Red Lake Walleye recovery program.
Yurok Tribe to release condors in California
Yurok tribal tradition holds the California condor as sacred, with ancient stories saying the giant birds fly closest to the sun and are the best messengers to carry prayers. Now, after five years of research, the far northern California-based tribe has received permission to release captive-bred…
Moving Back Home Together: Rarest Native Animals Find Haven on Tribal Lands
In the employee directory of the Fort Belknap Reservation, Bronc Speak Thunder’s title is buffalo wrangler. In 2012, Mr. Speak Thunder drove a livestock trailer in a convoy from Yellowstone National Park that returned genetically pure bison to tribal land in northeastern Montana for the first time…
7 Tribal Programs That Protect Our Winged and Four-Legged Brothers
The news is full of sad stories about dying animals, species of all kinds being wiped out, and the random shooting of animals, among other depressing events. Amid all that it’s easy to forget that efforts aplenty are afoot to reverse the declines, save species, restore habitat and pull endangered…
Colvilles celebrate $50 million hatchery
Cheers went up when Colville tribal fisherman Mylan Williams hauled a 20-pound chinook out of the Columbia River with a dip net. Then hats came off in a show of respect. Tribal elders circled the fish and sang, honoring the salmon that gave up its life to feed the people. For thousands of years,…
Tribes Recondition Steelhead to Bring Back Endangered Trout
The notion of “reconditioning steelhead” might sound outlandish, even a bit ominous, at least when applied to an animal. Reconditioning is what’s done to prepare discarded electronics for resale, and the word carries connotations of recycling. How does one recycle a fish? It turns out, though, to…
Investing in Fish, Preserving Red Cliff Culture
Small fingerlings roiled the water in the translucent plastic tubs placed before ready volunteers in the Red Cliff tribal fish hatchery at Wisconsin’s northern edge. The agitated three- to six-inch coaster brook trout–known as fry–made the water appear to be boiling. A mild anesthetic was added and…