A large herd of bagwaji-bizhikiwag (wood bison) call Chitek Lake Anishinaabe Provincial Park in Manitoba home \u2014 and their community recently grew even larger.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 18, the herd welcomed 10 new bulls and cows to their territory nestled between Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Winnipeg \u2014 more than 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d traveled 12 hours in a massive cattle trailer across provinces, from Elk Island National Park in Alberta.<\/p>\n
Wood bison, once on the brink of extinction, have seen their populations climb thanks to recent conservation efforts.\u00a0And even though the species wasn\u2019t historically known to live in this herd\u2019s area, the vast isolation of the park\u2019s boreal forest, fields and lakes helps keep them safe from disease as their numbers come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Skownan First Nation serves as a steward of the free-ranging herd, which is currently at nearly 200 animals, said Rychelle Catcheway, the nation\u2019s operations director. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very proud and meaningful [and] fulfilling role to know that our bison were nearly extinct or on the endangered species list and now to see their numbers come rise back up,\u201d said Catcheway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was years in the making.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Wood-Bison-herd-\u00a9-Parks-Canada-photographer-Stephen-Edgerton.jpg\"\/)
Bison serve as an essential food source for many Indigenous communities on the Prairies, and play an important cultural role in ceremonies. Bringing back their numbers is crucial to restoring biodiversity, food security and cultural heritage. Photo: Stephen Edgerton \/ Parks Canada<\/p>\n
Catcheway said several years ago, the First Nation submitted a request to the Elk Island bison transfer program. Last fall, she said, they began a series of meetings \u201cto discuss how many animals they were able to give us \u2026 and to see if we had the capacity to take them in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moving wood bison between herds is not an easy task, as each animal can weigh up to a full tonne. <\/p>\n
It required many steps, starting with Skownan and Elk Island National Park signing a memorandum of understanding outlining who bore responsibility for sorting, tagging, handling, loading and transporting the animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it also required helping the newest members of the herd integrate. As the 10 transferred bison were unloaded in Manitoba, at first one of the cows refused to leave the transport trailer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So Catcheway stepped in. She made eye contact with the scared animal through a hole in the trailer\u2019s side. And then she told the bison that she\u2019d arrived in her new home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, Catcheway\u2019s spouse Paul Marion, who serves as the nation\u2019s herd manager, lured the timid mammal out using a bell and hay. <\/p>\n
Now, the bison are able to recognize the couple\u2019s truck. But if it\u2019s driven by someone unfamiliar, they can get \u201cspooked,\u201d Catcheway noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019s become closer with the new buffalo, remembering moments where a calf and bull walked right up to her window as the couple were stopped in the middle of the herd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-05-at-12.03.44-PM-edited.png\"\/)
A bison calf approaches Rychelle Catcheway\u2019s truck. Catcheway says the animals can be timid, but that they each have their own personality once they get more comfortable. Screenshot: Supplied by Rychelle Catcheway<\/p>\n
\u2018Small but very tangible act of reconciliation\u2019<\/p>\n
The move wasn\u2019t the first one between the animals\u2019 original national park in Alberta and their new home on Skownan First Nation\u2019s bison ranch.<\/p>\n
In fact, about\u00a040 years ago<\/a>, Elk Island National Park sent Skownan several of its initial herd when the Manitoba program first started.<\/p>\n At that time, the federal government had declared the large bovine species as officially \u201cendangered\u201d; by 1988, wood bison were downgraded to \u201cthreatened\u201d status.\u00a0<\/p>\n Today, the species is still listed as of \u201cspecial concern<\/a>,\u201d with between 5,000 and 7,000 mature individuals spread between nine wild subpopulations.<\/p>\n Without many natural predators to hunt bison, their populations have been able to slowly bounce back, explained David Bruinsma, a Parks Canada resource management officer at Elk Island National Park.<\/p>\n Dive deeper on this topic<\/p>\n But six years ago, Environment and Climate Change Canada\u00a0issued a warning<\/a>\u00a0that wood bison face \u201cimminent threats to their recovery,\u201d particularly from domestic cattle-borne diseases, \u201coil sands mining\u201d and hydroelectric dams and vehicle strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe effect of threats make achieving the recovery objectives of the species highly unlikely or impossible,\u201d the department\u2019s report concluded, \u201csuch that immediate intervention is required.\u201d<\/p>\n Without many natural predators to hunt bison, their populations have been able to bounce back, explained David Bruinsma, a Parks Canada resource management officer at Elk Island National Park.<\/p>\n The Alberta park hosts two distinct herds \u2014 one wood bison, the other plains bison.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s limited amount of grass and other forage in the park for them,\u201d Bruinsma said.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery so often, we have to remove surplus bison from the park to prevent overgrazing \u2026 and then transfer them to conservation projects and Indigenous communities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Such transfers usually occur in wintertime because it\u2019s easier to lure the bison with feed when the ground is covered with snow. Additionally, the calves will have been weaned by that time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bruinsma said Parks Canada is trying to increase how many bison it transfers to Indigenous communities, calling it a \u201csmall but very tangible act of reconciliation\u201d that \u201csupports ecological and cultural restoration\u201d of the species considered sacred to many First Nations in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n Herd additions aim to increase genetic diversity on province\u2019s first Indigenous Use park<\/p>\n The wood bison sent to Skownan came fitted with coloured ear tags to differentiate them from the rest of the herd, Catcheway said.<\/p>\n The five males, known as bulls, are old enough to breed at three years old and up, and have green ear tags. The five females, or cows, range from yearlings to roughly four years old, and wear yellow tags.<\/p>\n The 10 animals were introduced to add genetic diversity to the local breeding population, Catcheway explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a possibility that the females might be bred already, so we\u2019ll be looking forward to seeing if they have any calves this May,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Their new provincial park home sits on the traditional lands of the Skownan Anishinaabe. In 2014, it became the first area the provincial government designated as a Traditional Indigenous Use Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 1,000-square-kilometre protected area draws hunters, fishers and gatherers from local Indigenous communities and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat took years making it into a provincial park,\u201d Catcheway said, \u201cto prevent logging and to keep the land for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n The bison roam within a 50-square-kilometre enclosure of the park.<\/p>\n But being free to wander, some have left the area, often scattering north within the province.\u00a0It\u2019s estimated that there are about 300 wild buffalo whose lineage originated from Skownan\u2019s bison ranch.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, we had one of the wild bison actually come right into Skownan,\u201d Catcheway recalled. \u201cA lot of people were in awe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I find they have their own personalities\u2019<\/p>\n Catcheway and Marion drive 40 minutes each way to feed the bison during winter months.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty big area for them to roam,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFree grazing during the summer \u2014 wintertime is when we feed them and they stay in the feedlot.\u201d<\/p>\n Marion prepares the hay and salt blocks for the animals.<\/p>\n \u201cThey like alfalfa,\u201d she noted. \u201cWe gave them barley last year, and they were pretty excited to have that \u2014 different hays, grasses.\u201d<\/p>\n She told IndigiNews they start to feed the herd as soon as \u201cthe snow first starts flying.\u201d<\/p>\n By the time the snows melt, they\u2019ll have consumed \u201cabout 500 bales\u201d before they can graze freely in springtime.<\/p>\n Marion\u2019s late father, Raymond, passed on the responsibilities to care for the herd to the couple.<\/p>\n \u201cOn warmer days when Paul goes to feed up, it\u2019s nice to see the calves running around and jumping,\u201d Catcheway said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, there\u2019s some older females that are stubborn, give us a hard time, say if we\u2019re having a round up or anything. I find they have their own personalities.\u201d<\/p>\n The wood bison from Elk Island National Park, Alta., being unloaded from a truck at the Skownan First Nation. Video: Supplied by Rychelle Catcheway<\/p>\n First Nations are \u2018reclaiming their role\u2019 in conservation<\/p>\n Bison are an important food source for many Indigenous communities, and are also used in Sundance ceremonies, such as the dragging of buffalo skulls after dancers are pierced, Catcheway said.<\/p>\n Recently, Skownan hosted Manitoba Keewatin Okimakanak, a northern chiefs organization, at a bison harvest.\u00a0<\/p>\n After being shown ways of using all parts of the harvested animal, the guests and hosts then held a feast. \u201cTaking care of the land and conserving endangered species is our responsibility,\u201d said Skownan band councillor Nelson Nepinak in a\u00a0press release<\/a>. \u201cOur priority is herd health.\u201d<\/p>\n The First Nation added that, as Indigenous people are increasingly recognized internationally as environmental stewards, the Skownan Wood Bison program \u201cdemonstrates how nations are reclaiming their role as caretakers of the land,\u201d the press release stated, \u201cwhile building resilient futures for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Bison](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Wood-Bison-herd-in-snow-\u00a9-Parks-Canada-photographer-Stephen-Edgerton.jpg\"\/)
Wood bison once roamed the prairies between Canada and the United States freely. Indigenous communities are working to restore their numbers across their traditional homelands. Photo: Stephen Edgerton \/ Parks Canada<\/p>\n