ARLINGTON — A small herd of bison grazed in a drizzle-soaked pasture, barely within sight of more than 100 guests gathered Wednesday to welcome them.
Under a giant white tent set in the pasture’s muddy grass, members of local American Indian tribes, Arlington residents who live near the pasture, state and city officials, and others celebrated the herd’s arrival with traditional Indian drumming and songs.
“This isn’t to replace our elk, our deer, our fish,” said Shawn Yanity, chairman of the Stillaguamish Indian Tribe. Bison aren’t native to Western Washington. “This is to celebrate traditional foods.”
The tribe also hopes the buffalo meat will help them combat diabetes – a disease that has higher rates among Indians than most demographic groups.
More than 15 percent of the adult tribal members who get medical services through Indian Health Services suffer from diabetes, according to the National Institutes of Health. Experts say tribal members are more susceptible to the disease because their ancestors were abruptly severed from traditional food sources such as fish and wild game when they were moved to reservations.
The disease has become more prevalent because so many tribal members live in poverty, a condition that forces many families to rely on cheap, processed foods that are often high in fat and low in nutrients.
Grass-fed bison meat, which is rich in vitamins and low in calories, has been shown to help lower diabetes rates, said Ervin Carlson, president of the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, a South Dakota-based organization that helps start and develop bison herds under tribal management.
“Some of the tribes have gone straight back to buffalo meat, and it has cleaned up their diabetes,” Carlson said.
Yanity said he initially hoped to create an elk herd to provide grass-fed meat for tribal members, but other local governments weren’t as supportive of that idea as they were of bringing bison to the region.
With help from the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, the Stillaguamish Tribe obtained three bulls and five cows from the Yakama Nation, which owns a thriving bison herd. The bison arrived at the Stillaguamish Tribe’s 56-acre pasture just west of I-5 near Arlington in mid-April. Since then, one cow has given birth to a calf, Yanity said. Another cow is pregnant.
Once the herd is large enough, bison meat will be distributed among tribal members, Yanity said.
When the tribe purchased the pasture land, neighbors worried that it would be developed into tribal housing or a health center, said Natalie Rosen, 67, who has lived on 200th St. NE near the land for the past nine years.
When the bison came, nearby residents were pleased, she said. In a rapidly-growing area, preserved farmland is a luxury.
“It’s nice to walk down to see the herd,” she said.
The current herd will be used primarily to feed tribal members, Yanity said. As it grows, the tribe plans to create another herd for tourism. Yanity said he hopes the second herd will be pastured on land with better visibility, where an information center could describe Indians’ traditional uses of bison meat, bones and hides.
A row of drummers sang nearly a dozen songs at Wednesday’s ceremony to welcome the herd. Tribal members from Tulalip, Lummi and other reservations were honored as witnesses to the event.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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