[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5148-S5149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 426--DESIGNATING NOVEMBER 4, 2023, AS ``NATIONAL 
                              BISON DAY''

  Mr. HOEVEN (for himself, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Thune, Mr. Cramer, Mr. 
Marshall, Mr. Moran, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Tester, Mr. Markey, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Boozman, Ms. Smith, Mr. Lujan, Mr. 
Coons, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Braun, Mr. Scott of Florida, 
and Ms. Warren) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 426

       Whereas, on May 9, 2016, the North American bison was 
     adopted as the national mammal of the United States;
       Whereas bison are considered a historical and cultural 
     symbol of the United States;
       Whereas bison are integrally linked with the economic and 
     spiritual lives of many Indian Tribes through trade and 
     sacred ceremonies;
       Whereas there are approximately 82 Indian Tribes 
     participating in the InterTribal Buffalo Council, which is a 
     Tribal organization incorporated pursuant to section 17 of 
     the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ``Indian 
     Reorganization Act'') (48 Stat. 988, chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 
     5124);
       Whereas numerous members of Indian Tribes are involved in 
     bison restoration on Tribal land;
       Whereas members of Indian Tribes have a combined herd of 
     almost 25,000 bison on more than 1,000,000 acres of Tribal 
     land in 22 States;
       Whereas bison play an important role in the health of the 
     wildlife, landscapes, and grasslands of the United States;
       Whereas bison hold significant economic value for private 
     producers and Tribal and rural communities;
       Whereas, as of 2017, the Department of Agriculture 
     estimates that 182,780 head of bison were under the 
     stewardship of private producers, creating jobs and 
     contributing to the food security of the United States by 
     providing a sustainable and healthy meat source;
       Whereas a bison has been depicted on the official seal of 
     the Department of the Interior since 1912;
       Whereas the Department of the Interior has launched the 
     Bison Conservation Initiative, a 10-year cooperative 
     initiative to coordinate the conservation and restoration of 
     wild American bison;
       Whereas a bison is portrayed on 2 State flags;
       Whereas the bison has been adopted by 3 States as the 
     official mammal or animal of those States;
       Whereas the buffalo nickel played an important role in 
     modernizing the currency of the United States;
       Whereas several sports teams and businesses have the bison 
     as a mascot, which highlights the iconic and cultural 
     significance of bison in the United States;
       Whereas Indigenous communities and a group of ranchers 
     helped save bison from extinction in the late 1800s by 
     gathering the remaining bison of the diminished herds;
       Whereas, on December 8, 1905, William Hornaday, Theodore 
     Roosevelt, and others

[[Page S5149]]

     formed the American Bison Society in response to the near 
     extinction of bison in the United States;
       Whereas, on October 11, 1907, the American Bison Society 
     sent 15 captive-bred bison from the New York Zoological Park, 
     now known as the ``Bronx Zoo'', to the first big game refuge 
     in the United States, now known as the ``Wichita Mountains 
     Wildlife Refuge'';
       Whereas, in 2005, the American Bison Society was 
     reestablished, bringing together bison ranchers, Native 
     American leaders and bison herd managers, Federal and State 
     agencies, conservation organizations, artists and writers, 
     young people, and natural and social scientists from the 
     United States, Canada, and Mexico to create a vision for the 
     North American bison in the 21st century;
       Whereas there are bison herds in national wildlife refuges, 
     national parks, and national forests, and on other Federal 
     land;
       Whereas there are bison in State-managed herds across 11 
     States;
       Whereas private, public, and Tribal bison leaders are 
     working together to continue bison restoration throughout 
     North America;
       Whereas there is a growing effort to celebrate and 
     officially recognize the historical, cultural, and economic 
     significance of the North American bison to the heritage of 
     the United States; and
       Whereas members of Indian Tribes, bison producers, 
     conservationists, sportsmen, educators, and other public and 
     private partners have celebrated the annual National Bison 
     Day since 2012 and are committed to continuing this tradition 
     annually on the first Saturday of November: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates November 4, 2023, the first Saturday of 
     November, as ``National Bison Day''; and
       (2) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

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