Restoring Relationships with the More-than-human World, with J Dallas Gudgell

Listen to this episode from What is Collective Healing? on Spotify. Hosted by Sonita Mbah. Produced by J'aime Rothbard What role can the more-than-human world play in collective healing? And what lessons does the enduring reciprocity between Native American communities and the buffalo have to teach?  In this special episode previewing the Climate Consciousness Summit 2025, Sonita Mbah speaks with Dallas Gudgell, a Yankton Dakota and a tribal member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana, about his work to restore buffalo herds and grassland ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park and tribal lands. Buffalo once roamed from Florida to Alaska in their tens of millions, but the U.S. government sought to eradicate the species as part of its broader, genocidal campaign against the Native American population in the 19th century.   In his role as board vice-president of the Buffalo Field Campaign, Dallas works to stop the harassment and slaughter of Yellowstone’s wild buffalo herds, while collaborating with all people – especially Indigenous Nations – to honour and protect the sacredness of this keystone species.  Dallas shares a holistic vision of collective healing, where benefits to buffalo, their grassland habitats (which draw down vast amounts of planet-heating carbon dioxide), and Indigenous communities form a virtuous cycle. This episode will inspire anyone seeking to understand how collective and inter-generational trauma healing can serve both “two-leggeds in the human world, and the “four-leggeds”of the animal kingdom  – and the climate that sustains us all. Further Resources: Climate Consciousness Summit 2025 Dallas Gudgell Buffalo Field Campaign  It’s Time to Reimagine Management of the Yellowstone National Park Bison Pocket Project About J Dallas Gudgell:  J Dallas Gudgell has nearly four decades of experience in environmental science, lobbying, human rights advocacy, social and environmental justice, K12 general and special education teaching, higher education adjunct teaching, life coaching, individual and organization consulting and professional development consulting, cultural competency (DEI) training and public relations. He has been a backcountry backpacker since the age of 13. Dallas considers himself a “decorated” father with grown children, young twins, foster children, and grandchildren. He keeps active through backyard construction projects, skiing, hiking, running, mountain biking and has recently taken to running 5K and 10k fun runs with his twins.