Dr. Brad Donaldson, Lethbridge College President and CEO, signs the Buffalo Treaty as part of Stone Pipe Days while Lowell Yellowhorn, Lethbridge College Indigenous Services manager, looks on, March 15, 2023. (Photo: Lethbridge College)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge College signs Buffalo Treaty

Mar 16, 2023 | 9:25 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge College is the latest post-secondary institution to sign the Buffalo Treaty.

The college signed the treaty at a ceremony opening the annual Stone Pipe Days on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. The local post-secondary is the first college in Canada to sign the treaty. Earlier in March, the University of Lethbridge (U of L) and City of Lethbridge signed the Buffalo Treaty.

READ MORE: City and University of Lethbridge sign Buffalo Treaty

The Buffalo Treaty was created to honour, recognize, and revitalize the relationship Indigenous people have with the buffalo. It was first signed in 2014 by four First Nations in Canada, as well as four Indigenous tribes in the United States on the Blackfeet Reservation near Browning, Montana. Lethbridge College notes that it was the first treaty signed among First Nations in over a century.

Lowell Yellowhorn (Spiitawakasi/Tall Deer), Lethbridge College’s Indigenous Services manager said in a news release, “The signing of this treaty is an historic opportunity for the college to showcase its leadership in reconciliation. In leaving our names on this document as witnesses to this agreement, we are committing to building relationships with other signatories and working alongside them in pursuit of a common – and important – goal.”

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The college stated that there are two particular articles of significance in the treaty. They are Article V (Education) and Article VI (Research).

Lethbridge College President and CEO, Dr. Brad Donaldson said, “Blackfoot Elders call education the ‘new buffalo,’ and I am really moved by that comparison. In traditional Blackfoot culture, the buffalo was used to provide almost everything a person needed – food, clothing, shelter and community – and that is what education can do for people today.”

Donaldson added, “Coming together during our Stone Pipe Days celebration and being the first Canadian college to sign this historic treaty is one way we can show our ongoing commitment to realizing the buffalo ways for future generations. In signing the treaty, we are committing to transferring knowledge, developing programs, and perpetuating knowledge-gathering and knowledge-sharing to younger generations.”

Wednesday’s event featured a historic overview of the treaty by Dr. Leroy Little Bear, who serves as Vice-Provost, Iniskim Indigenous Relations at the University of Lethbridge. Little Bear said the signing by Lethbridge College, “is a fantastic cause for celebration.”

He added, “When we see others joining, it’s very fulfilling.”

More about the Buffalo Treaty is available online.

READ MORE: City and University of Lethbridge sign Buffalo Treaty