revival
acrylic on 24 x 36 canvas
live art painting in attendance & support of the 2025 North American Bison Summit ~ a collaborative returning of conservation buffalo to the grasslands pathways. called Conservation Buffalo for their lack of cattle genetics, these still-wild mammals are rich in nutritional density (less fat, cholesterol, and calories than beef) and the reintroduction of these ecosystem engineers also means terraforming benefits from their stimulating patterns of movement across the terrain. this keystone species was nearly driven to the brink of extinction in the early 1900s. you have likely heard about the ‘great slaughter’; there was nothing fucking ‘great’ about it at all, and yet the story was driven down all of our throats as some glorious historical deed worthy of emphasis at museums and in our public history lessons; the motivations to sever the Indigenous from their life’s commissary and spiritual connection are deeply interwoven with this historical crime linked with westward expansion. yellowstone is the only place in n. america where Buffalo have lived for a millennia since this catastrophic loss. here, now, is a tender grassroots beginning. this is a celebration worth documenting and illuminating in relation with remembering forward. this is something we all can learn from. generations further, there will be wild Buffalo roaming.
additional live sketches + notes of various speakers & subjects from the bison summit
(pencil / sharpie / brush pen on paper)
