Welcome the bison back home to the prairie grasslands at the Choctaw Cultural Center—where they have not walked in over 150 years!
Restoring the American bison is not just wildlife conservation—it’s cultural restoration, food sovereignty, and spiritual renewal.
Celebrate not just the return of an animal, but the renewal of a living connection between the land, the people, and the generations yet to come.
Agenda
- 10:15am – Yvnnvsh: The Bison (A presentation on the bison in Choctaw history/culture and it’s ecology) – Dr. Ian Thompson, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
- 11:00am – Keynote: The Importance of Tallgrass Prairie Remnants Today – Jared Huebner, Director of Prairie Management, Missouri Prairie Foundation
- 11:30am – 2025 Research on the Choctaw Cultural Center Prairie (A presentation on documenting presence and abundance of more than 200 native plant species on the Cultural Center Prairie).
- 1:00pm – 2:00pm – Prairie Walk (Ian Thompson, Dr. Alexandria Szakas, SOSU Dept. Biological Sciences)
- 1:00pm – 4:00pm – Visiting the Bison
Information Tables:
Bison and Choctaw History – CNO Historic Preservation Department
Prairie Ecology- CNO Historic Preservation Education
CNO Natural Resources
Okies for Monarchs
WildCare Oklahoma
Keep Oklahoma Beautiful
Oklahoma Native Plant Society
Admission for this event will be complimentary thanks to the generosity of the Chahta Foundation.