Honoring The Herd Through History

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As native grazers of the North American prairie, the bison have long been a powerful symbol of the grasslands. While the animal is historically iconic, TenderBison is more concerned with its future. By understanding how today’s herds have been affected by past hunting, we’re better able to practice current conservation. Through regenerative agriculture and respectful bison ranching informed by the past, TenderBison is able to honor both the symbolism and the species.

First encounters

One of the earliest known instances of bison hunting dates back to 10,888 BC, thanks to the discovery of butchered bison bone remnants left by the Clovis people. In what is now Oklahoma, the group survived by hunting large game, including mammoths, mastodons, and a now-extinct species of bison, Bison antiquus. While this is the first known human hunting interaction with North American herds, Bison had been roaming there for longer. The steppe bison, which are believed to have migrated from Eurasia nearly 200,000 years ago, has since evolved into the species of American bison we take pride in ranching today.

Expansion and overhunting

Around the 15th century, American bison became a vital resource for the indigenous peoples of the Great Plains. Documentation from this era reveals that these native groups practiced some of the earliest known sustainable ranching aimed at creating and maintaining an ideal habitat for herds. While the landscape of the prairie looks quite different, TenderBison strives to treat today’s herds with the same respect while practicing modern regenerative ranching.

Unfortunately, these practices weren’t upheld during western expansion in the 19th century, which nearly decimated the bison population. Tribal nations, which hunted bison sustainably, were increasingly persecuted by settlers and unable to focus their efforts on maintaining the grasslands and managing herd turnover.

Trappers and traders who were new to the prairie began hunting bison for their fur, paying little attention to habitat health or herd numbers. Unlike the native groups who hunted bison to sustain themselves and utilized as much of the animal as possible, European settlers were greedy. They would often hunt bison for only a single resource if for anything at all. Mass bison slaughter became commonplace as professional hunters like “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Bill Comstock sensationalized the shooting of bison for sport, leaving the whole animal to die. At the end of the 19th century, it’s estimated that only 100 bison remained in the wild.

Helping the herds of tomorrow

In just a century, the bison went from symbolizing freedom on the prairie to near extinction. Greed decimated the bison population that had been roaming North America for eons. The tragic treatment of bison during the 1800s illustrates how quickly humans can alter the natural circle of life. Since then, there have been renewed efforts to promote the well-being of herds from many angles. In 2023, The U.S. Department of the Interior pledged record funding to restore American bison and their grasslands. In addition to governmental efforts, TenderBison, too, is on a mission to restore herds through conservation efforts so they can once again roam the pastures they used to reign.

History shows us that greed and competition have no place in ranching. It’s why TenderBison doesn’t focus on maximizing profit; instead, we approach ranching humbly and humanely by partnering with independent ranchers who know how to raise bison naturally in today’s landscape. They know which grasses and wildlife to promote in order to mimic the bison’s historic grazing patterns and how to encourage regrowth and sustainability. It’s what the herds deserve.