‘It Brings Healing and That’s Our Connection’: Star Blanket Cree Nation Welcomes Buffalo Back Home

It was a day full of emotions for people on Star Blanket Cree Nation as the community celebrated bringing buffalo back to their land.

On Monday, people joined one another to honour Indigenous history and reclaim a traditional connection to the land by releasing a herd of buffalo on Star Blanket Cree Nation.

Ariane Starblanket, community navigator of the nation, said the project has taken years of preparation.

“It was a dream. I remember when I was young, growing up in the community I listened to the old people and my late grandfather who was the chief at the time, Chief Irvin Starblanket. He would talk about it and say ‘Someday we need to bring back the buffalo to the people for healing and for food sovereignty,’” she said.

“To have that be stowed upon us today is just one of the greatest legacies he left for us.”