Oglala Lakota Man Brings Buffalo Back to South Dakota Reservation Story-Date: 11:46 a.m. PST Sunday , August 31, 1997 Oglala Lakota Man Brings Buffalo Back to South Dakota ReservationIndian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News PINE RIDGE, S.D.--Sept. 1--''Hold on tight to your dream'' reads the corral gate at Charles ``Bamm'' Brewer's buffalo ranch. He has achieved his dream. Mr. Brewer, an Oglala Lakota, now has 25 head of buffalo and 15 calves, which includes a set of twins that is highly rare. ``It's the first one I know of, almost like the white buffalo calf,'' said Ralph Bear Killer, the Assistant Unit Manager for the OST Recreation and Parks. Mr. Bear Killer has been taking care of buffalo for twenty-four years. Mr. Brewer began his buffalo ranch two years ago with the help of a $10,000 loan from the Lakota Fund and a dream. His dream was to help bring the buffalo back to American Indians and onto the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Mr. Brewer heard a rumor that the Oglala Sioux Tribe was having financial problems and may have to close the Recreation and Parks that hold the buffalo; it scared him. He credits Alex White Plume, the former director of OST Recreation and Parks for putting the thought in his head. ``The fear of the buffalo being gone forced me into it. I never thought I could do it. Having my own buffalo is my own guarantee that they'll always be in Slim Buttes,'' said Mr. Brewer. The OST Recreation and Parks has around 500 head of buffalo and sixty head of elk they keep in three pastures. Two pastures are north of Allen, S.D., and one pasture west of Pine Ridge on the reservation. The Recreation and Parks have been keeping buffalo since the early 1930's. The majority of the buffalo were given to them by the Badlands National Park. Bringing the buffalo back has been an important step in regaining traditional Lakota culture. One hundred years ago, the buffalo were the center of the Lakota way of life. Every part of the buffalo was used for food, clothing, housing, weapons, etc. Nothing was wasted. The buffalo are very sacred to the Lakota because the Lakota believe they are descendants of the buffalo. ``When I look at them, it's sad to know that there aren't more of them. Indians are the brothers of the buffalo, we need to see more Indians helping to save the buffalo,'' said Mr. Brewer. ``We encourage people to keep buffalo and we'd like to get more buffalo on the reservation and get rid of cows,'' said Mr. Bear Killer. ``People think it's hard to keep buffalo, but it's not. It's so easy. It's easier than keeping cattle,'' said Mr. Brewer. Mr. Brewer, 31, is one of the youngest sharecroppers on the reservation out of seven who keep buffalo independently from the Recreation and Parks. There are three other ranchers on the reservation who keep buffalo independently. To be a sharecropper there are few requirements. The tribe will give ranchers buffalo to begin a sharecrop, where the rancher keeps forty percent of the buffalo calves and the rest are given back to the tribe after five years or a rancher can choose to keep them for another five years. The startup costs are mainly the cost of fencing and building a corral strong enough to keep buffalo. There must be land to put them on, forty acres per buffalo, and a good water supply. Mr. Brewer hasn't had a buffalo escape so far, he attributes that accomplishment to his electric fence. ``It just gives them a low pulsating shock, it doesn't hurt them. I touched it one time, it just made me mad,'' said Mr. Brewer. He has worked with animals all his life. He has helped others with their buffalo ranches but has always thought of himself as a horseman. In fact, he breaks horses aside from buffalo ranching. He leases 400 acres of land in Slim Buttes from his mother, Phyllis Tiny Charging. Mr. Brewer plans to expand his buffalo herd and obtain more land. He's confident he can handle more buffalo. ``I'm not into the money part of it, I just want to see them come back. I read history books on Wounded Knee and they danced to bring back the old ways and the buffalo. That's what I'm doing, just like they started it,'' said Mr. Brewer. Mr. Brewer spends his spare time putting up tipis and teaching young Lakota children the value of hard work. He teaches them to hunt, break horses, do ranch chores, go hiking and tries to give them a good time. He keeps them out of the town of Pine Ridge, and hopefully away from drugs and alcohol. Mr. Brewer has been alcohol and drug-free for seven years and he wants to pass that tradition on to the younger generation. ``I want to thank the Charging Family, Mom and Dad, Pat Heathershaw, Gilbert Mesteth, Ralph Bear Killer and the Lakota Fund for making this dream come true,'' said Mr. Brewer. ----- ON THE INTERNET: Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------