The Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, founded by Lipan Apache descendant Lucille Contreras, is reintroducing Buffalo to Texas landscapes to heal both the land and Indigenous communities. Through sustainable practices, educational partnerships, and cultural initiatives, the project aims to restore traditional foodways and ecological balance. Learn how this movement is fostering reconnection with ancestral lands and promoting regenerative agriculture.

The Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, led by Lucille Contreras, restores bison to ancestral lands in Waelder, Texas—revitalizing Indigenous traditions and promoting food sovereignty, ecological balance, and cultural healing. By combining regenerative agriculture with community involvement, the initiative helps rebuild sacred relationships between people, animals, and the land.

The Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, founded by Lucille Contreras in 2020, aims to heal generational trauma by reintroducing Buffalo to their ancestral lands in Texas. Through cultural camps and community engagement, the project fosters a reconnection between the Lipan Apache people and the land, promoting ecological restoration and cultural resilience.

The Lipan Apache, historically based around Central Texas, are recognized by the state—but not by the federal government. They have no reservation and no unified representation. That means thousands of people with Lipan heritage, like Contreras, live scattered across a state that has historically labeled Native Americans as Mexican immigrants and taught school children that Texas’ tribal people were long gone.

Restoring Heritage: Five Bison Returned to Lipan Apache Lands in Texas, Contributing to Nationwide Effort by the Nature Conservancy

After more than a century, the Lipan Apache tribe in Texas is reestablishing its connection with the buffalo through the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project. Founded by Lucille Contreras, the initiative has introduced a herd of nine bison to 77 acres of ancestral land in Waelder, Texas. This effort not only revives a vital cultural and spiritual relationship but also aims to expand buffalo herding practices among Indigenous communities across the state. The project symbolizes a broader movement toward healing, sovereignty, and ecological restoration for Native peoples in Texas.