Native American Fiber Program

The Buffalo Hemp project focuses on the rejuvenation of Tribal ecological systems of land management that connects plants, people, and prairies through the production of hemp plants  and buffalo herd management to create sound environments, healthy people and economies, and sustainable production of hemp products.

 The Vision Tribal communities have intimate and long-standing connections to the homelands that have been disrupted and historically severed through relocation, acculturation, and forced assimilation.  Yet, Tribal communities have fought to maintain their connections to land, community, and culture throughout American history. Similarly, the buffalo and hemp have followed a similar trajectory of replacement and confinement. The connections between Tribal people, the hemp plant, and buffalo on the land are the base of sustainable healthy ecosystems.  With an intense attention to sustainable development and ecological health, tribal Nations are on the forefront of recreating the models that ensure regenerative systems of growth, production, and resilience in the face of ever-increasing environmental collapse and pressure from extractive production systems.  

The Hemp Plant  Hemp has been known as one of the first fiber plants in the world. Tribal communities have known this plant, despite the historical focus on the production of Hemp in Asian and Europe, and have used this plant for fiber production up until its prohibition in the 1930s which was largely due to corporation focused on petroleum based fiber production.  Tribes have the knowledge, land base, and workforce to produce hemp for sustainable production for product.  Currently, several Tribes in the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have hemp production already underway. 

The Buffalo much like the hemp plant, Buffalo were a vital part of the American prairie ecology prior to near extinction from over-harvesting the late 19th and early 20th century. The Buffalo’s fate is intricately tied to the fate of Tribal people.  The Buffalo would serve as the carbon sequestrates who return the carbon to soil in off-season hemp production.  

The Community Production System Tribal communities much like the hemp and buffalo have been confined historically, physically and economically, but see the return of hemp production and buffalo herd management as the entry to return to production systems that serve the community in economic opportunity. With a greater focus on rural and American based production, Tribal operations are positioning themselves to create integrative production of hemp, buffalo, and rural Tribal economies that serve Tribal people.  

The Need As more and more companies are searching for sustainable production models, Tribal communities have the land, people, and vision to ensure that people are tied to the land that is tied to sustainable production.  With a greater focus on how products are produced for the market, the Buffalo Hemp project offers an opportunity to address environmental extraction, historical economic inequity, and a sustainable production model.