Buffalo Allies of Bozeman

Buffalo Allies of Bozeman reached its name by the consensus of group members.

Several considerations at the meeting went into choosing the name "Buffalo" over the name "Bison."

First of all, if you want to be technical, the proper name of bison is Bison bison; the point here is that "proper" name is a prejudice against a particular way of naming. The two names, the group felt, "bison" or "buffalo" are understood to be the same thing; those who can't tell the buffalo in Yellowstone from the buffalo in other continents are rare.

Secondly, since "buffalo" and "bison" mean the same thing, the question became why choose one over the other, or an indigenous name (for example, tatanka). We did not choose an indigenous name out of fear of being presumptuous. We did not have a member of an indigenous tribe in our group (at that moment), and it would presume a name for ourselves that we have no reason to do so. Secondly, we considered historically which groups tend to take "bison" in their names versus those who take "buffalo." Historically, groups that have tended to support the government, tended not to support the aims of our mission, have often taken the more scientific nomenclature of "bison." Indigenous groups, other allied groups, and those who have tended to support something like our mission have used the word "buffalo." Since a key aspect of our group is solidarity with other like-minded groups, we felt that "buffalo" was a better word choice from a connotative standpoint.

It is true that "buffalo" is a word of imposition placed by Euroamericans on these animals; however, like "American Indian," it has often been the case in our history that words of imposition have been used by those who have fought against the worst elements of that imposition. So, if our allies in the movement - including indigenous groups - are comfortable with calling the animals "buffalo," so are we.

That said, we do not refuse to call the animals "bison;" we simply choose not to give ourselves that name.

Finally, we are sorry that you will not support any organization "that does not use their proper name." It is too bad you put the use of a name over support of the animals themselves, even if we otherwise might be like minded. That seems to go against the principle of solidarity that is in our mission. We urge you to rethink that position; we cannot know what the buffalo themselves would choose to be called. So, we should put them first and not divide on semantical lines.