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Native American tribes are leading efforts to bring back bison across North America where they were once hunted to near extinction in the late 19th century.
美洲原住民部落正在努力拯救北美野牛，19世纪末，北美野牛曾被猎杀到几近灭绝。
Tens of millions of bison, also known as American buffalo, once lived on the Great Plains of the United States and Canada.
数千万头野牛，即美洲野牛，曾经生活在美国和加拿大的大平原上。
Many Native American tribes needed the animal to survive.
许多美洲原住民部落需要这种动物来生存。
They ate the bison’s meat, used its bones for tools and weapons, and made clothing and housing, called teepees, from its hide.
他们吃野牛的肉，用野牛的骨头做工具和武器，用野牛的皮做衣服和房子，即圆锥形帐篷。
European settlers turned killing bison into an industry.
欧洲殖民者将猎杀野牛变成了一种产业。
They used animal parts in machinery, fertilizer and clothing.
他们用动物的器官制作机械、肥料和衣服。
By 1889, few bison remained: about 800 animals in the wild and 250 in zoos and private ownership.
到1889年，野牛已所剩无几：约有800头野生野牛，约有250头野牛为动物园和私人所饲养。
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is the first Native American to serve in the cabinet.
美国内政部长黛布·哈兰德是第一位在内阁任职的美国原住民。
She told the Associated Press, “We wanted to populate the western half of the United States because there were so many people in the East.”
她告诉美联社：“我们想让美国西部的野牛数量增加，因为东部的人口数量太多了。”
The thinking at the time, she added, was “if we kill off the buffalo, the Indians will die. They won’t have anything to eat.”
她还说，当时的想法是“如果我们杀了野牛，印第安人就会死。他们将没有东西可吃。”
Now 82 tribes across the U.S. have more than 20,000 bison in 65 herds.
目前全美82个部落65个牧群总共有2万多头野牛。
And that number has been growing along with the desire among Native Americans to look after the animal that their ancestors depended upon for thousands of years.
随着美洲原住民对照顾他们祖先几千年来赖以生存的动物的欲望加大，这个数字一直在增长。
The long-term dream for some Native Americans is to return bison to the large numbers that once shaped the landscape itself.
对于一些美洲原住民来说，长期的梦想是让大量野牛重新回到曾经塑造了风景本身的地方。
Troy Heinert is a South Dakota state senator and director of the InterTribal Buffalo Council.
特洛伊·海纳特是南达科他州参议员，也是布法罗部落间委员会的负责人。
His goal is to get bison to tribes that want them, whether two or 200.
他的目标是将野牛送到需要它们的部落，无论是2头还是200头。
This autumn, Heinert’s group has moved 2,041 bison to 22 tribes in 10 states.
今年秋天，海纳特所在的组织已经将2041头野牛转移到10个州的22个部落。
He said, “All of these tribes relied on them at some point, whether that was for food or shelter or ceremonies.”
他说：“所有这些部落都曾在某种程度上依赖它们，无论是食物、住所还是仪式。”
Others have greater desires.
其他人则有更大的欲望。
The Blackfeet in the American state of Montana and tribes in Alberta, Canada want to establish a herd that crosses the two nation’s borders near Glacier National Park.
美国蒙大拿州的黑脚人和加拿大阿尔伯塔省的部落想要在冰川国家公园附近建立一个跨越两国边境的牧群。
Other tribes propose a “buffalo commons” on federal lands in central Montana where tribes in the area could harvest the animals.
其他部落提议在蒙大拿州中部的联邦土地上建立“野牛公地”，该地区的部落可以在那里收获这些动物。
“What would it look like to have 30 million buffalo in North America again?” said Cristina Mormorunni, a Métis Indian who has worked with the Blackfeet to bring back the bison.
“如果北美再有3000万头野牛会是什么样子？”克里斯蒂娜·莫莫鲁尼说，她是梅蒂斯印第安人，她曾与黑脚人一起努力拯救野牛。
Haaland said there is no going back completely — too many fences and houses.
哈兰德说，无法完全恢复，因为有太多的栅栏和房子。
But her agency has become a primary bison source, transferring more than 20,000 to tribes and tribal organizations over 20 years.
但她的机构已经成为野牛的主要来源，在20多年里，其向部落和部落组织转移了2万多头野牛。
Some cattle farmers are against the plan to move bison.
一些养牛的农民反对转移野牛的计划。
They worry the animals carry diseases and compete for grass.
他们担心这些动物会携带疾病并争夺草。
But bison demand from the tribes is growing, and Haaland said transfers will continue.
但部落对野牛的需求正在增长，哈兰德表示，转移野牛的行动将会继续下去。
About 1,000 bison were transferred this year from Badlands, Grand Canyon National Park and several national wildlife refuges.
今年，大约1000头野牛被从巴德兰兹劣地、大峡谷国家公园和几个国家野生动物保护区转移过来。
Some tribes are reintroducing traditional ways of harvesting bison.
一些部落正在重新引入传统的收获野牛的方式。
But today few people have the skills to harvest them.
但如今几乎没有人有技能去捕获它们。
In South Dakota, this October, Katrina Fuller helped guide a group to harvest bison by cutting one into smaller pieces.
今年10月，在南达科他州，卡特里娜·富勒通过将一头野牛切成小块来帮助指导一组人收获野牛。
She dreams of teaching others so more communities can harvest the animals.
她梦想着教其他人，这样更多的社区就可以收获这些动物。
Tribal elder Duane Hollow Horn Bear is 73.
部落长老Duane Hollow Horn Bear现年73岁。
He said the harvest brings back what was almost totally taken away — his people’s culture, economy, and social connection.
他说，捕获回来的野牛将几乎完全被夺走的东西——人民文化、经济和社会关系——重新带回来了。
“It’s like coming home to a way of life,” he said.
他说：“这就像回到了一种生活方式”。
I’m Andrew Smith.
安德鲁·史密斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
