Watch: Apache Rancher Lucille Contreras Revives Buffalo Culture in Texas

Reintroducing the Buffalo: A Native-Led Movement to Restore Land, Culture, and Spirit in Texas

Lucille Contreras, a Lipan Apache woman, IT professional turned buffalo rancher, is restoring more than just a herd of bison to Texas. As the Founder and CEO of the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, Contreras is reviving deep ancestral relationships between the Lipan Apache people and the Buffalo Nation—relationships disrupted by colonization, displacement, and systemic erasure.

In this video feature by VOA News, Contreras shares her personal journey from urban San Antonio to South Dakota, and finally back home to Waelder, Texas—where she now stewards nine Southern Plains Bison on Native land. Her work bridges cultural revitalization, food sovereignty, and environmental healing, all while challenging the norms of what it means to be a Native woman in tech, agriculture, and leadership.