Denver donates 11 bison to the Navajo Nation from its herd as part of annual transfer

American bison are a symbol of the West that might’ve vanished from this landscape entirely — if not for conservation efforts. Each year, the city of Denver donates buffalo from a long-established herd to federally recognized tribes and nonprofits — and an Arizona tribe is among the latest recipients.

Snow powdered 34 bison inside a pen while tribes blessed them. Eleven went to the Navajo Nation. The rest were sent to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, a Lakota nonprofit — Buffalo First — in South Dakota and the Denver-based Tall Bull Memorial Council.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston called it more than an annual program, “it’s a promise to begin restoring what was never ours alone,” adding “we are giving back a living piece of the land to the communities who have stewarded it for generations.”

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A conversation with Ken Burns on 'The American Buffalo'

Gabriel Pietrorazio

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns discusses his latest PBS project, "The American Buffalo," with KJZZ News in an in-depth conversation about this iconic species and the Indigenous communities that share a traumatically intertwined history spanning hundreds of generations on this continent.

This keystone species once roamed the Great Plains, but faced the brink of extinction.

In 1908, the Denver Zoo had only 18 animals left in captivity, but they would help form a herd in Genesee Park near Golden, Colorado. Another one emerged at the neighboring Daniels Park.

Both are now managed by Denver Parks and Recreation. The city has since transferred more than 170 buffalo into tribal hands following the passage of a local ordinance in 2021.