Buffalo is Our Relative

Young Indigenous Adults Honor the Return of a Longed-for Species

An inspiring story of hope and renewal—told through the voices of those most intimately involved.

It is not long since millions upon millions of buffalo moved freely across the Great Plains of North America. It is not long since those great herds were decimated by an appalling slaughter. The consequences for the buffalo, the people who followed them, and the land they shared have been grim. But this darkness is not the end of the story.

Buffalo Is Our Relative celebrates the return of this sorely missed species to the heart of Indigenous communities and lands. Through conversations with young Indigenous people, it honors buffalo as conscious beings, a spiritual presence, elders, medicine. Buffalo are calling people together, strengthening cultural identities, and bringing the prairie grasslands back to health. Whatever our background, buffalo remind us that we are all part of the same life—we are all relatives.

With stories from Kansas Clifford Brave Boy, Wyatt Caplette, Patrick Cober, Mariah Durglo, Echo Ecoffey, Monroe Fox, Ava German, Tierra Baird Iron Cloud, Sage Jimenez, Thomas Peters, Adriano Rama.

Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute

Candace Savage is the author of more than two dozen books, including A Geography of Blood, which won the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, and Hello, Crow!, Always Beginning, and How to Know a Crow, also published by Greystone Kids. She divides her time between homes in Eastend and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Bryce Many Fingers / Singer (Mano’taanikaapi) is an artist and member of the Blood Tribe (Kainai) in Southern Alberta. Bryce’s mixed media art aims to build an understanding of Niitsitapi culture and history, as well as a relationship to the land. His graphic style is influenced by Blood artist Gerald Tail Feathers (Iitsiki’tsaawaawahka – Walks Up High).

With stories from Kansas Clifford Brave Boy, Wyatt Caplette, Patrick Cober, Mariah Durglo, Echo Ecoffey, Monroe Fox, Ava German, Tierra Baird Iron Cloud, Sage Jimenez, Thomas Peters, Adriano Rama. These celebrated voices are from throughout Canada and the US, including: South Dakota, Montana, Texas, Nebraska, and more.