What is the history of bison in Montana?

200 years ago, millions of bison flourished across present-day Montana. By 1884, their population had shrunk to the hundreds due to the U.S. cavalry’s extermination campaign. Several local Montana bison calves, rescued by Pend d’Oreille tribesman Latati, were critical for bringing the entire North American bison back from near extinction.

One of the largest bison populations in the United States now roams freely on the National Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation in north-central Montana, Latati’s homeland.

(I’ve left this quick, 4-minute video here so you can hear local tribesmen tell the story in their own words)

In this article:

• Atatice – The history of bison in Montana
• U.S. Cavalry begins eliminating the bison, and Atatice gets an idea
• Tribal elders stop Atatice
• Atatice’s son, Latati, fulfills his dream
• Latati’s thriving bison herd
• Michel Pablo and Charles Allard breed Latati’s bison into a new flourishing herd
• The allotment forces Pablo to sell the herd
• The American Bison Society (ABS) returns the Pablo-Allard herd to Montana
• A renewed connection to the bison, with Big Medicine
• The bison are saved
• The CSKT campaigns for management rights over the range
• A realized vision

Atatice – The history of bison in Montana

Atatice

Atatice (Peregrine Falcon Robe) is born into the Pen d’Oreille tribe sometime in the 1800s and grows up in north-central Montana on the Flathead Reservation, where the Pen d’Oreille, Salish, and Kootenai tribes all live together as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe (CSKT).

At this time, the native tribes on the Flathead Reservation live entirely off the land, and like all tribesmen, Atatice has a deep relationship with the bison – an animal that is a critical resource for their way of life.

The U.S. Cavalry begins eliminating the bison, and Atatice gets an idea

However, by the 1850s and 1860s, in a bid to weaken the tribes, the U.S. Cavalry is on a campaign to exterminate millions of American bison roaming the western U.S. By the 1870s, Atatice realizes – the buffalo are fewer and farther between.

While out on a hunt with his tribe over the eastern Rocky Mountains, several buffalo are following Atatice and he gets an idea: to bring bison back to the tribe’s homeland in Montana, breed them, preserve them, and increase their numbers. 

Tribal elders stop Atatice

One evening, Atatice approaches the tribal elders in the tipi and proposes bringing several of the local bison back home to increase their numbers. 

The elders refuse, fearing it will tie them down to their land and prevent them from visiting other regions to collect food and interact with local tribes. As they return home on horseback, the bison spread out in different directions, disappearing over the horizon.

Atatice’s son, Latati, fulfills his dream

Years later, Atatice has a son named Latati (Little Falcon Robe), who inherits the same deep connection to the bison as his father. One day, while Latati is out hunting, he decides to honor his father’s vision and collects a group of bison calves to bring back to the reservation. 

Enduring cold temperatures and tiresome routes over the eastern Rocky Mountains under the constant threat of predators, Latati successfully returns to the Flathead Reservation with the calves. 

Latati’s thriving bison herd

To the native tribes, the bison has a spiritual significance. The tribes don’t hunt them merely for food, and taking the animal’s life is a sacrifice and holds spiritual weight. The tribes use every part of the bison for their sustenance. Without the bison, a part of the tribe’s world begins to disappear. 

Additionally, the bison provide not only a material life to the tribe but a cultural and ceremonial one as well. To the tribesmen, there is a responsibility not to turn their back on these animals.

Under Latati’s stewardship, the calves flourish, growing into a small herd of roughly a dozen bison. 

However, some years later, when Latati is away for several days, two tribesmen approach Latati’s stepfather, offering to buy Latati’s herd. His stepfather agrees.

When Latati returns home, he is heartbroken to learn his bison are gone. 

Michel Pablo and Charles Allard breed Latati’s bison into a new flourishing herd

While Latati is heartbroken over his loss, it turns out that Michel Pablo and Charles Allard, the new owners of Latati’s herd, also share Atatice’s vision of preserving the bison. 

The herd grazes along the Flathead River and flourishes under Pablo and Allard’s stewardship. Their numbers increase dramatically, and they become well-known nationwide as the Pablo-Allard herd. They also become an important source stock for ranges across North America, including Yellowstone National Park. 

In 1896, Allard falls ill with Tuberculosis as a result of a knee injury and tragically passes away. Upon his passing, Allard’s beneficiaries sell his half of the herd to the Conrad Ranch near Kalispell, while Pablo continues raising his half on the Flathead Reservation.

Pablo continues nurturing them into the largest free-ranging bison herd in North America, growing to over 700 bison. However, the allotment puts their future on uncertain terms.

The allotment forces Pablo to sell the herd

By this point in time, the Flathead Reservation has been a relatively functioning reservation and, despite the dwindling bison population, local tribes are hunting, fishing, and fully living off the land. 

But as more homesteaders move in and around the Flathead reservation, the federal government makes a decision – they allot land plots on the reservation to the local tribes and claim the rest for their development. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs informs Pablo that fences will soon appear, and his bison herd will no longer be free to roam. Pablo is forced to sell to the only interested buyer – the Canadian government.

With the Pablo-Allard herd sold off to different stewards, the fate of Latati’s bison remains uncertain for several years.

The American Bison Society (ABS) returns the Pablo-Allard herd to Montana

In the early 1900s, a movement begins stirring across the nation to preserve the country’s bison population, and in 1905, the American Bison Society (ABS) emerges.

With plans to establish a national bison reserve somewhere in the U.S., the ABS begins searching for a location. One of their contractors has spent a large amount of time on the Flathead Reservation and loves the entire region, and the ABS selects the Flathead Reservation as the bison preserve location. 

The federal government carves out another piece of the reservation, fences it off, and designates it specifically for the national bison reserve. For its first herd, the government purchases bison from the exact Conrad Ranch in Kalispell – descendants of Latati’s original herd.

The tribes are conflicted over being fenced off from the bison, yet they rejoice at their return. 

A renewed connection to the bison, with Big Medicine

With the descendants of Latati’s bison herd back on the Flathead Reservation, the tribe rekindles its connection with this creature, which receives an added breath of life with the birth of Big Medicine – a white Montana bison born on the range.

Big Medicine is aptly named for the impact he has on the tribe and becomes a tribal touchstone for the next 26 years. 

The herd’s population continues to flourish over the following decades, right up to present times, reaching roughly 350 bison today.

However, one problem remained.

The CSKT campaigns for management rights over the range

In the early 2000s, the CSKT was managing 400,000+ acres (161,874+ hectares) of land on the Flathead Reservation for wildlife preservation and continued cultural use. 

They had preserved and recovered multiple animal species, including the trumpeter swan, bald eagle, and grizzly bear. Over the years, they have become an expert model for tribal land preservation throughout the U.S. 

Despite this skillset and their historical relationship with the bison on the range, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) hadn’t involved the tribe in National Bison Range management.  

In the early 2000s, the CKST set out to change this.

A realized vision

After a ten-year campaign, the CSKT successfully signed its first self-governing agreement with the National Bison Refuge in Montana in 2004. However, the FWS terminated the agreement in 2006.

The tribe signed a second agreement in 2008, only for the federal court to rescind it in 2010.

The CSKT persevered – in 2019, Bison Range restoration legislation was incorporated into S. 3019 (Montana Water Rights Protection Act), which was later incorporated into HR 133 (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021).

After a long journey, HR 133 was signed into law on December 27, 2020, granting federal trust ownership of the National Bison Range to the CKST.  

Visit the National Bison Range – Experience the history of Montana’s bison

Roughly 170 years after Latati climbed across the eastern Rocky Mountains with several bison calves in tow, the North American bison have been saved.

Today, the descendants of Latati’s calves roam freely on the National Bison Range in north-central Montana – one of two locations in Montana where bison reside.

The range lies in a picturesque setting in the rolling, colorful plains of Montana, and those who visit can view the bison themselves – a true step back in time.

Find out everything you need to know about the National Bison Range, from opening hours to lodging options, in our guide to the range here.

Learn more about the native cultures of Montana

• 32 unbelievable facts about the Blackfeet tribe
• Crow Indian Reservation – Past, present, tourism
• The history of the Crow Indian tribe [CONDENSED]
• Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation – Past, present, tourism
• History of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe [CONDENSED]
• History of the Bitterroot Salish Tribe [CONDENSED]
• The 11 Native American Tribes that lived in Montana before colonists arrived
• Native American Hairstyles
• The history of bison in Montana
• Storied history of the Blackfeet Tribe [CONDENSED]
• Blackfeet Indian Reservation – Past, present, top things to do