BOX ELDER, Mont. -- Hundreds of Chippewa Cree tribal members clung to a barbed-wire fence, cheering and high-fiving as the community welcomed the return of 11 bison to tribal lands.
"They're here!" Dustin Whitford, the tribe's language preservation officer, shouted to the crowd on Oct. 26. Montana Cree, a local drum group, played the Chief Rocky Boy song as the bison were released into a 1,200-acre pasture.
Jason Belcourt, the tribe's sustainability coordinator, hugged everyone in sight. He smil...