Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability

St. Louis - 2024 Event Series on Contemporary Indigenous Knowledge and Environmental Sustainability

Humans, Nature and the Buffalo Treaty

A dialogue with Leroy Little Bear, Roxann Smith, and Chance Weston

Hosted by the Native American Studies Program, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Date: October 11th, 2024
Time: 12:30-2:30 pm CDT
Location: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Center for Spirituality & Sustainability the Fuller Dome
Cost: Free of charge; All attendees must register online and check in at the registration table. There is a 50 person limit.

View the Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability Event Series and register for other events.

For more information, contact Prof. Greg Fields, gfields@siue.edu, 618.650-2461.

Itinerary

Noon: Doors Open
12:30 pm: Welcome by Julie Zimmermann, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, SIUE
12:35 pm: Introduction of presenters by Dr. Ed Spevak, Saint Louis Zoo
12:45 pm: Presentations and dialogue with specialists on bison and the Bison Treaty:
- Leroy Little Bear, JD (Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy) Alberta
- Roxann Smith, M.Ed. (Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian
- Reservation) MT
- Chance Weston (Oglala Lakota) Porcupine, SD
1:15 pm: Dialogue
2:00 pm: Dialogue concludes
2:00 pm: Refreshments
2:30 pm: Event concludes

Download the full schedule [pdf]

About the Speakers

Leroy Little Bear, JD OC, AOE (Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy) Alberta, is an educator, lawyer, advocate, speaker, author, and political activist. Mr. Little Bear has advised the United Nations, many First Nations, and the federal and provincial governments of Canada on matters related to the constitution, Indigenous title, justice, and the restoration of the buffalo.

Mr. Little Bear was a leader in the reconstitution of Siksikaitsitapi: the Blackfoot Confederacy in Southern Alberta. In 2000, the confederacy brought together the Kainai (Blood), Siksika (Blackfoot) , Piikani (Piegan), and Aamskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet) Nations. He was part of the United Nations working group that drafted the 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Mr. Little Bear founded the Native American Studies Department at the University of Lethbridge (Alberta) and led the department for 21 years. In 1998, he became the director of the newly created Native American Program at Harvard University. He retired from Harvard in June 1999.

Leroy Little Bear was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the 2014 signing of The Buffalo: A Treaty of Cooperation, Renewal and Restoration. The treaty committed four First Nations in Canada and four American Indian Tribes to restore buffalo herds. When buffalo began to arrive and thrive in Alberta and Montana, more signatories were added to the treaty and more buffalo were reintroduced. Little Bear was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018.

Amethyst First Rider is a member of the Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy, Alberta, Canada and married to Leroy Little Bear. She is a leader in the performing arts community for more that 20 years, producing and directing plays depicting Aboriginal stories and culture. Her experience in the arts has included dance productions, consulting for the University of California, Berkeley’s planetarium, as well as narration and production in the National Film Board’s documentary: Kainayssini Imanistaiswa, The People Go On.

She co-conceived the film Iniskim: Return of the Buffalo an immersive puppet lantern performance celebrating the reintegration of Bison into the natural ecosystem of Banff National Park. Ms. First Rider is central to the development and success of The Buffalo: A Treaty of Cooperation, Renewal and Restoration signed by more than forty First Nations and tribes in Canada and the U.S.A. Ms. First Rider is also a founding advisor to the Kainai Ecosystem Protection Association.

Roxann Smith, M.Ed. (Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation) Montana, Pt’e Group leader, Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Ms. Smith is a specialist in K-12 and higher education, in teaching, curriculum, and teacher education.

Roxann Smith was raised by her paternal grandparents on their ranch on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation (in northeastern Montana). She attended schools and colleges in North Dakota and Montana and obtained her master’s degree in education at Leslie College in Cambridge, MA.

She has taught at Fort Peck Community College, Brockton, Aaaniii Nakoda College (Fort Belknap Indian Reservation), and worked as an Education Specialist in South Dakota. Roxann is married to Robert Smith; they have two sons and three grandsons.

One of Ms. Smith’s career highlights was her service on the Tribal Executive Board at Fort Peck. She served one term as council woman and one term as Vice-Chairman of the Fort Peck Tribes.

Roxann Smith and other dedicated Fort Peck tribal members have done considerable work and local research in supporting the Fort Peck Tribes’ buffalo restoration efforts. Their P’te Group (P’te is female buffalo in Dakota language) consists of elders and local community members along with colleagues from Montana State University and the World Wildlife Fund. The collaboration with Montana State University and Fort Peck Community College's community-based participatory research is focused on the return of our "Buffalo Relations," and the healing impact it has on the community, land, and natural resources. The buffalo's return helped define food sovereignty, which has emerged as a common concern among tribes.

Chance Weston (Oglala Lakota). Mr. Weston is Lakota Land Systems Director, Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, Porcupine SD. With a passion for Indigenous food sovereignty, land management, bison restoration, and rematriation, Chance Weston integrates traditional Lakota wisdom with modern sustainable practices, emphasizing reciprocity with the land and cultural revitalization.

As director of the Thunder Valley CDC's Food Sovereignty Initiative, Mr. Weston has played a pivotal role in transitioning the initiative to the Lakota Land Systems Initiative (LLSI). Chance's dedication to bison restoration and rematriation reflects his commitment to Indigenous stewardship and cultural preservation. His expertise in agroecology further enriches his approach, ensuring that sustainable practices align with Lakota traditions while promoting ecological resilience.

Through public engagement, education, and hands-on projects, Chance Weston quietly champions the fusion of contemporary sustainability approaches with timeless Lakota Indigenous lifeways, shaping a future where care, respect, and sustainability can thrive for generations to come.

Jonny BearCub Stiffarm (Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation). Ms. Stiffarm holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota School of Law. She came out of semi-retirement in 2016 and joined the World Wildlife Fund team as a contractor to serve for three years as a Buffalo Program Administrator, and later as a volunteer.

Working with the Fort Peck Tribes Fish & Wildlife Department and the tribe’s Pte’ Group, Jonny takes their ideas, guidance, experiences, and develops policy, infrastructure, and educational activities with numerous entities, all focused on the goal of a sustainable bison herd for future generations.

Ms. Stiffarm’s career path includes public service as a tribal councilmember, appointee for the City and County of Denver as Deputy Director of Contract Compliance, and in private industry as Director of Business Development for Native, Inc., where she is one of the five owners.

Wes Olson – Author, The Ecological Buffalo (University of Regina Press, 2022). Wes grew up in Black Diamond, along the east slopes south of Calgary. He has been drawing and painting from an early age, but writing is a talent he began to explore only later in life. Following a 40-year career working with wild species in wilderness areas, he has been provided with a lifetime of experience upon which he draws inspiration for his art, books, and presentations. He and Johane travel extensively to give presentations to a wide range of audiences with the goal of helping people understand the complexities of nature, and how inter-related all wild beings are to each other, and how incredibly important it is for us to help protect these places and the species that inhabit them.

Johane Janelle – Photographer, The Ecological Buffalo (University of Regina Press, 2022). Ever since Johane’s childhood in the small Quebec village of Cap Sante on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, she has loved being in nature and capturing special moments and places on film. This passion for wild places brought her west on a backcountry horse trip in 1983, and from then on she was hooked on the west. Her photography has graced the covers of dozens of equestrian magazines from across North America, and has been included in journal articles, books, and museum exhibits. Her collaborations with Wes Olson include Portraits of the Bison (2005), and A Field Guide to Plains Bison (2012).

Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability

St. Louis - 2024 Event Series on Contemporary Indigenous Knowledge and Environmental Sustainability

Humans, Nature and the Buffalo Treaty

Itinerary

About the Speakers

Related Reading