Eventually, program leaders say they would like to be able to donate meat to the tribal headstart program, casino daycare and the elders program. The buffalo program aims to sustain itself through meat sales to both tribal and non-tribal members. Northwest Public Broadcasting The Yakama Nation has a freezer full of buffalo hamburger and stew meat. “So it would help our people,” Wallahee said. That kept our people healthy,” he said.īut, tribally-raised buffalo can help provide a healthier meat. “Those have always been the main staples in our diets. Traditionally, he said tribal members gather, hunt and fish. It’s all part of a plan to increase food sovereignty for tribal members, said Tribal Council member Caseymac Wallahee. That means less bovine genetics in the herd – which could eventually make the meat even leaner and healthier than beef. “The Yellowstone buffalo, they’re more pure, more wild,” she said.

The plan was to create genetic diversity within the herd, said Kristi Olney, the lead biologist for the program. She said the tribe brought in buffalo from Yellowstone to create genetic diversity within the herd. Kristi Olney is the lead biologist for the Yakama Nation Wildlife Program, which oversees the buffalo herd.

Northwest Public Broadcasting Kristi Olney is the lead biologist for the Yakama Nation Wildlife Program, which oversees the buffalo herd.

Yakima dry casino