The Small Montana Herd That Helped Save the American Buffalo

By Elias Smith | The Native Tales

Millions of buffalo once roamed North America. Then, within a few generations, the great herds nearly disappeared.

By the late 1800s, American bison had been reduced to a tiny fraction of their former numbers.

For many Native Nations, the destruction was devastating.

But in Montana, a small herd became part of an extraordinary effort to keep the buffalo alive.

When the Plains Were Full of Buffalo

For centuries, enormous bison herds moved across North America’s grasslands.

Buffalo provided food, hides and other essential materials for many Plains Native communities.

The animals were also deeply connected to cultural knowledge, responsibilities and relationships with the land.

But during the nineteenth century, commercial hunting, expanding settlement and federal policies contributed to the destruction of the great herds.

The consequences were especially severe for Native peoples whose lives depended on buffalo.

A Small Herd in Montana

On the Flathead Reservation in western Montana, a small group of bison became the foundation of an important conservation herd.

Historical accounts associate the early animals with a Pend d’Oreille man known as Walking Coyote.

Details of how he acquired the animals differ among accounts, so the story should not be reduced to one unquestioned legend.

What is clear is that the herd later became associated with Michel Pablo and Charles Allard.

The two men developed one of the most important privately managed bison herds of the era.

Keeping the Herd Alive

Pablo and Allard worked to increase the herd’s numbers during a period when wild bison had become extremely rare.

Their animals lived on the grasslands of the Flathead Reservation.

As the herd grew, it became increasingly important to the future of the species.

The story was not the work of one person alone.

It involved Indigenous people, local knowledge, ranching work and the difficult task of managing powerful wild animals.

When the great herds were nearly gone, protecting even a small number of buffalo mattered.

The Journey to Canada

After Charles Allard died in 1896, Michel Pablo continued managing a large portion of the herd.

In the early twentieth century, changes affecting the reservation’s land created uncertainty about the herd’s future.

Pablo eventually sold hundreds of bison to the Canadian government.

Between 1907 and 1912, hundreds of animals were moved north in a major undertaking.

Many became part of Canada’s expanding efforts to protect and maintain bison populations.

The transfers were difficult, but they helped establish a lasting conservation legacy.

A Species With a Future

The Pablo-Allard herd was not the only reason American bison survived.

Other private herds, conservation programs, parks and Indigenous efforts also contributed to their recovery.

Today, bison can again be found in protected areas, conservation herds and Native-led restoration programs.

Their numbers remain far below the enormous populations that once crossed the continent.

Many conservation challenges continue, including the need for suitable habitat and healthy, genetically diverse herds.

More Than an Animal

For many Native Nations, bringing buffalo back is about more than wildlife conservation.

It can also mean renewing relationships between people, land, food traditions and future generations.

The history of the Montana herd reminds us that the survival of a species can depend on people making difficult decisions when the future looks uncertain.

The buffalo did not disappear.

And the work of protecting them continues today.

A small herd could not restore the old plains. But it helped make a future for the buffalo possible.

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Historical Sources

National Park Service: American Bison

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: National Bison Range Historical Resources

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes: Natural Resources Department