Quapaw Nation officials confirmed that 32 bison died last month near the reservation in eastern Oklahoma, including a white bison named Frosty, according to a monthly report released over the weekend. Quapaw Nation Enterprises Executive Director Carrie Campbell-Mott released the report at the tribe's September business meeting on Saturday. She told tribal members that the herd now numbers 143 bison, with the remaining population still recovering from dehydration.
"There is a grant in place. There is going to be a well put out there. We have went ahead and additionally put out more tires. A tire will sustain the herd for about three days. And so now we have two tires that are out there.
"We have also implemented some training. So all of my CHQ staff has now gone through an extensive training process to make sure that we are following best practices whenever it comes to herd management. And there's a scoring sheet that we use for that. So the veterinarian has came out and scored them. He said that they actually look pretty good right now. They are recovering though, so it's going to take probably two to three weeks for them to go through the recovery process from dehydration."
Many tribal citizens expressed concerns about the management of the herd and the circumstances of their death, including Melinda Mayfield-Davis, a veterinarian who has worked with the tribe before.
"But you had to know. I've had my horses there on stock tanks. One of my pastures doesn't have one. If that gets low, they will stand there. They will paw at it. I cannot believe those buffalo were not doing that, nor not around those water things. And someone didn't notice. That's not only nobody paying attention. That is cruel."
The Quapaw Nation has been raising bison since 2010 as part of a partnership with the InterTribal Buffalo Council and the National Park Service that has been helping to distribute bison to Native American tribes in an effort to build up their herds. A spokesperson for the Quapaw Nation says an investigation into the recent deaths is ongoing.
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