In the summer of 2021, following the passing of my matrilineal grandmother Elsie, I returned to Oklahoma to finalize things at her home and spend time where she grew up. Later in life, while my grandfather was deployed in the Marines, she returned to Oklahoma to raise my mother and aunts for a time as well. I have gotten to know this landscape a bit over the years, but this visit I choose to spend long stretching days in the prairie, admiring the bison and the tallgrass and embedding in the landscape that has raised my ancestors and family since relocation.

There are many initiatives to restore the American Bison to their original rangelands in all four directions, while also providing cultural and First Foods systems reconnection. If you would like to learn more, please visit the Intertribal Buffalo Coalition and the Buffalo Field Campaign.