'DEI for cows': Tribes say Interior's new grazing rules favor cattle over tribal bison

A new dispute over public lands is putting tribal bison herds at risk. 

As Inside Climate News reports, Native leaders argue that the federal government is making room for cattle while sidelining an animal deeply tied to tribal culture, food access, and prairie restoration.

What happened?

The fight centers on a new federal grazing proposal. The Interior Department has floated rules that would steer Bureau of Land Management leases toward "production-oriented livestock," which tribes say favors cattle rather than tribally managed buffalo, according to Inside Climate News. 

The outlet reported that concern comes as tribal nations across the West had been trying to grow their herds and gain access to more grazing land near reservations.

The proposed shift could undo momentum from a 2023 order issued by then-Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, which said federal agencies would "prioritize Tribally led opportunities to establish new, large herds" and "advance shared stewardship with Tribes on Federal land."

Tribal leaders say many Native bison programs could be excluded because they are not focused only on commercial meat production, Inside Climate News reports. The Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) has gone so far as to call it "DEI for cows," per the publication.

"We are hoping a light bulb will go off in their heads and they will agree that they really need to reconsider this terminology or they need to grant an exclusion to the tribes," COLT's executive director OJ Semans Jr. told Inside Climate News.

Why does it matter?

For many tribal communities, the issue goes far beyond standard livestock policy. Bison are closely tied to history, religion, land stewardship, and food security. Research also reveals they are better suited to prairie ecosystems than cattle, while bison meat is leaner than beef.

The policy could also create practical challenges for daily life in Indian Country. During the government shutdown last fall, when food aid was disrupted on some rural reservations, tribes helped feed residents with meat from their herds, Inside Climate News reported. 

Tribes and conservation advocates also told Inside Climate News the rule reinforces an older model centered on commodity production rather than the restoration of native species and the improvement of grasslands. 

That is even as bison have become a symbol of ecological recovery after hunters nearly drove them to extinction in the 1800s.

What are people saying?

The Coalition of Large Tribes told Inside Climate News the current language of the order is "code for anything but indigenously managed bison."

Josh Osher, who serves as the Western Watersheds Project's public policy director, argued to the outlet that the Interior's new rule comes with little precedent. 

"This production-oriented thing is essentially made up from whole cloth," Osher told Inside Climate News. "Livestock is a powerful lobby that no one wants to take on."

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