Members of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe recently gathered for their third buffalo harvest, an event aimed at honoring ancestral practices and deepening connections to the buffalo, a sacred animal in Native culture.
Led by community members and the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council, the event provided hands-on lessons, aiming to teach respect for the buffalo and pass down essential skills, especially to younger generations.
The buffalo holds deep cultural, spiritual, and historical significance for tribal communities, particularly the Plains tribes. Revered as sacred animals, buffalo are considered a source of life, providing food, clothing, shelter, and tools.
Tribal members believe the majestic animal embodies qualities of resilience, strength, and a deep connection to the land — traits shared with those who understand the significance of the harvest and participate.
It can be difficult and emotional for tribal leaders to know which buffalo will be the best to harvest.
This time, however, “We didn’t choose him but he chose us, we believe,” said tribal educator and youth program director Dusty Beaulieu.

“I think it was this one’s time, I think he gave himself to us, because he walked right into the pen.”
Each harvest includes prayer and ceremony, honoring the buffalo as a respected relative. Attendees then observe and learn how to use nearly every part of the buffalo — from the trachea to the hide and heart, and even each ligament.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Mato, one of Beaulieu’s young sons.
“It takes a lot of patience and time. You have to be really careful... it’s a learning process,” he said, noting that it was his third harvest.
He spoke while trimming every ounce of meat from a leg, alongside Azailyah Waupoose, a young friend from Wisconsin’s Menominee reservation.
“A lot of these kids don’t fit into the usual school program, but out here, they’re focused and respectful,” said Beaulieu.
Over the past couple of years, Beaulieu said he’s seen youth reconnect with their heritage by “giving them a job, a task, an objective,” which he believes helps them engage in ways they might struggle to elsewhere.
A secondary reason for the harvest each year is for the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council to provide training on herd health, nutrition, and to do a necropsy.
Reflecting on the significance of the event and the harvest itself, which offered meat for each participant to take home, Beaulieu emphasized the bond between the tribe and the buffalo, which he said is central to both culture and well-being.
“I think it’s a big part of our life and our nutrition... we’re not adapting well to today’s food, so getting back to what our bodies are naturally used to, to stay healthy, is a big part of this. We came from the buffalo long ago; they took care of us, and it continues today to ensure our survival, giving us their strength and continuing the bond we’ve had for generations, if not thousands of years.”