The Intertribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), also known as the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, is a collection of 82 federally recognized tribes from 20 different states whose mission is to restore buffalo to Indian Country in order to preserve the historical, cultural, traditional, and spiritual relationships for future Native American generations.
[3] In February 1991, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society hosted nineteen tribes to discuss ways to reestablish healthy buffalo populations on tribal lands.
In April 1992 tribal representatives gathered in Albuquerque, NM and officially formed the InterTribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC).
Officers were elected and began developing their criteria for membership, articles of incorporation, and by-laws.
[4] On September 25, 2014, in Browning, MT, eight tribes, including four ITBC member tribes, from the US and Canada signed the Buffalo Treaty committing to returning the buffalo to their lands and into their lives.