Snow fell in thick flurries across Genesee Park in Golden, settling over the foothills and the iconic herd of more than 50 bison that call the park home — often spotted grazing on along the park’s hillside by drivers along Interstate 70.
The park, which stretches over 2,400 acres outside of Golden, is the largest park in the Denver Mountain Parks system and home to Denver’s very own herd of bison — one of the few herds in the country owned and managed by a city.
But on Friday morning, instead of quietly roaming the hillsides, 34 of the youngest bison were sorted into pens, their shaggy coats still speckled with snowflakes, and loaded into trailers.
Those bison are headed to Native lands. The huge, furry animals are commonly referred to as buffalo, including in Indigenous communities.
“These buffalo were almost extinct and the same way with our native people,” said Robert Simpson, a councilmember with the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. “We were almost wiped out too. But now we're taking care of our buffalo and we're coming back and our native people are coming back too.”
This is the fifth year the city of Denver and the Denver Parks and Recreation Department has opted to donate its yearlings, or young bison, to Indigenous tribes instead of auctioning them. So far, Denver has given more than 170 bison to 12 tribal nations or nonprofits across the country.
This year, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and Navajo Nation were the two tribal governments selected by the city to receive the bison.
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