Geography Colloquium: Ecological Fragmentation as Jointly Political: The Splintering and Rebuilding of Tribal Buffalo Habitat and Tribal Territory

Speaker: Dr. Libby Lunstrum

Abstract:

Habitat or landscape fragmentation is a major challenge for biodiversity conservation, yet current understandings focus primarily on its ecological dimensions, overlooking the fact that fragmentation is equally political. Drawing on Blackfoot-led efforts to reintroduce buffalo – or iinnii – to Blackfoot lands, we show how fragmentation and subsequent efforts to rebuild connectivity are both ecological and political, and indeed these are intertwined. We show, first, how colonial settlement was a fragmenting project that intentionally splintered vast buffalo habitat and Tribal territory into a complex mosaic of land uses – from ranches and national parks to internally subdivided reservations – to serve colonial interests. Contemporary efforts to welcome iinnii home counter this history by employing innovative strategies, including tapping into land buyback programs and partnering with national parks, to rebuild continuous buffalo habitat. This creates expansive habitat while simultaneously enabling the Blackfeet to rebuild reciprocal relations with iinnii and restore sovereignty and decision-making capacity over a more coherent land base. Writing together as a team of Blackfoot and non-Tribal scholars and experts, we bridge conservation biology and political ecology to build a richer understanding of fragmentation and connectivity as jointly political and ecological. We show how Tribal activism advances scholarly debate by underscoring the profound impacts of fragmentation, how fragmentation was a tool of colonial settlement, the broad importance of connectivity, and that achieving conservation and connectivity goals require attending to both ecological and political factors. This article, moreover, celebrates the work of Tribal Nations as they rewrite histories of land loss and fragmentation.