Urban Buffalo

This study highlights the tension between corporate and Métis perspectives on bison management in Wood Buffalo National Park, particularly concerning oil sands reclamation. It reveals that corporate bison herds, used as symbols of corporate social responsibility, are seen by Métis communities as 'urban buffalos'—distinct from free-roaming populations and representative of an obfuscation of Indigenous legal orders that prioritize autonomy and relationality in human-animal interactions. The research traces the historical regulation of Indigenous harvesting rights within the park, illustrating how federal and provincial policies have restricted movement and access to traditional lands. It also serves as a cautionary tale for the free-roaming Ronald Lake bison population, whose territory is threatened by a proposed open-pit mine. The study calls for wildlife management practices and industrial development to incorporate Métis legal orders and reconciliation in decision-making processes.

Joly, T. L. (2019). Urban Buffalo. Extracting Home in the Oil Sands, 138–159. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351127462-8