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This is the stage,
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the American West.
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What you see...
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well, it depends
on where you're standing.
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It is a landscape
of myth and reality...
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...a place
where the ensemble
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not only walks...
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they trot, lope,
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stampede,
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and migrate through history.
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Wolves,
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bison...
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...elk...
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...sheep...
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and cattle...
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...horses...
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...and countless other beings...
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...wild and domestic alike
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aren't just
part of the scenery...
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...they're co-authors
of a shared journey
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shaping history,
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as much as they are
shaped by it,
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and when you start
seeing the animals
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as more than just background,
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perspective shifts,
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time stretches,
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where the land
is not just a stage.
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No, it remembers...
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remembers every footstep.
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Where every living being
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shares the same purpose,
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to thrive
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and leave behind
the spark of its existence
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that will endure
into the future,
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a future that we all will share.
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It's a critical moment
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to think about
our relationship,
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uh, with nature,
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our relationship
with other organisms,
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our relationship with animals.
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It's important
to recognize this history,
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this shared history
that we all have,
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in order to come to terms
with a future
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that we're going to have
with one another.
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Wolves give you that...
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that depth of a relationship,
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and this relationship
is much older
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than the United States.
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No matter
how different we are...
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...we look,
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we were all, every one of us,
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hunter-gatherers once
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back in our genes,
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our hunter-gatherer genes.
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Whether you live in Japan,
or Nigeria, or Alaska,
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for thousands of years,
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much longer than we've been
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so-called
"civilized" human beings,
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we were hunter-gatherers,
living off the land...
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...and it's also
worth remembering
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that wolves
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were with us too...
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...which is why they trot
through all the folklore
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of pretty much
every single country,
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every culture.
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So often
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we approach animals
in the natural world
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through the stories
that we tell about them,
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the myths, the legend,
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rather than approaching
the natural world and animals
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on their own terms.
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We interpret things
in human cultural ways
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rather than allowing animals
to speak for themselves...
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...and it really affects
how people view wolves,
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and particularly
how they treat them
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in the real world.
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"Lupus in fabula."
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"The wolf in the story."
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There was a superstition
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in ancient Greek
and Roman culture
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which said
that if a wolf saw a person
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before the person saw the wolf,
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then that person
would be struck dumb.
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The wolf
would steal their speech.
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The superstition that wolves
could steal a person's speech
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was problematic,
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because speech was a marker
of rationality
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and of human exceptionalism.
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If a person's speech
was stolen by a wolf,
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an unthinking,
unspeaking animal,
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they became no better
than a savage beast,
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no better
than a wolf themselves...
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...and that's idiomatically
equivalent
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to the modern English phrase
"speak of the devil."
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People know
so much about wolves,
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not from a biological
standpoint,
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but from a cultural standpoint.
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Scram, bum.
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I'm workin'
this side of the pasture.
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Wolves are in
our collective imagination.
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In England,
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we certainly have
our fair share of fear...
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although, of course, wolves
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haven't been around
in this country for centuries.
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In our hunter-gatherer past,
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we felt
a sort of brotherhood with them.
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The wolf was a benign spirit,
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or a helper.
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Wolves don't just
feed their pack,
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they feed other animals as well.
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The ravens follow the wolf pack.
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Mice, voles, rats.
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Men, when they're very hungry,
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used to follow the wolf pack
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and pick up the scraps.
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In the Wolf Brother books,
I write about the Mesolithic.
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This is the time
of the hunter-gatherers
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before farming came along
in Northern Europe.
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It was often said
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a squirrel could hop
from one end of England
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to Scotland,
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from tree to tree, you know,
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and never touch the ground,
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so it was one vast forest.
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People have lived here
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for thousands
and thousands of years
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and left their mark.
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There's a massive change
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in our attitudes to wolves
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from when we were
hunter-gatherers
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to when farming came along.
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Agrarian cultures,
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pastoral cultures...
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...the wolf becomes the enemy.
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The people
who wrote the Bible,
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the Old Testament
and the New Testament,
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the passages that they included
about wolves
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were directly drawn
from their knowledge
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and their experience of wolves,
of wolf behavior,
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so they saw wolves hunting,
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they saw them preying on sheep,
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and they incorporated those
as metaphors,
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particularly
for the behavior of the Devil
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preying upon Christian souls,
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and Christians were framed
as sheep in Christ's flock.
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This metaphor probably resonated
with later Christian farmers
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because it gave them an image
to put these ideas to,
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so the Devil was a wolf
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who preyed upon Christian sheep,
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and if they saw a wolf
preying upon a lamb,
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tearing a lamb apart
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in the same way that the Devil
would tear apart their soul,
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that was a very real,
very visceral image for them
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to attach their beliefs to.
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In early medieval England
and in Scandinavia,
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there was also this comparison.
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Wolves and outlaws
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were considered to be
akin to one another.
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They were both seen
as wilderness dwellers
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who had been driven away
from civilization
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to live in the wastes
of the wood, or the fenland.
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They were also considered
criminals,
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preying on the community
like or as a wolf.
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It becomes a symbol
of all that's bad and wild
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and that we can't control,
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hence the idea of werewolves.
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Pastoral activities
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were an important part
of the medieval economy,
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and really,
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it was often tied up
with ideas about ownership.
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Sheep were a very important part
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of people's diet.
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They were also kind of a marker
of security and wealth.
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Wool paid for
the development of key ports
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because wool was being traded
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and cloth
was being sent overseas,
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so these ports needed to develop
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to keep up
with this supply and demand.
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The money from wool
paid for manor houses,
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it paid for churches
and cathedrals,
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and really, at this point
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is when there's
very concerted efforts
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to exterminate wolves,
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because they were an active
threat to the wool trade
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and the burgeoning prosperity
of England at this time.
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One of the main
advantages of livestock
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was that you could cultivate
multiple generations
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and use the reproduction
of the animals
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actually
to increase your wealth,
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so livestock was something
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that you could give
to your children
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through natural reproduction,
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perpetuating households,
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perpetuating family names
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over long spans of time.
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When wool became
such an important leg
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of the economic system,
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people were given land
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in exchange for removing wolves
from an area,
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so they were given wealth,
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they were given status
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in exchange for
getting rid of wolves.
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Basically, England's wealth
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was then predicated
on the eradication of wolves.
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Wealthy landowners,
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driven by the profitability
of wool production,
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began enclosing common lands
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that had traditionally
been used by peasants
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for subsistence farming
and grazing.
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Not just wolves,
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the starving peasants
suffered too.
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Stealing a sheep
was punishable by death.
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Kind of reminds me
of an Aesop's fable
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about human hypocrisy.
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A wolf, seeing some shepherds
eating a sheep,
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commented, "What an uproar
you would make
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if I were doing that."
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So by the 17th century,
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what we call
the English countryside
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wasn't that different
from the way it is now.
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I mean, okay, we've got
more roads and things,
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but in essence,
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we'd cut down
most of the forests.
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This country is still
the least forested in Europe.
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We still have a few old trees,
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00:13:36,583 --> 00:13:40,119
but we'd got rid
of certainly the wolves,
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and most of the other
wild animals,
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and it was a pastoral place.
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For anyone going from that
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to somewhere like North America,
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which was much more
the way Europe had been
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in the hunter-gatherer times,
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vast forests,
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00:14:00,507 --> 00:14:03,842
people who still lived
in traditional ways,
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00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:05,177
hunter-gatherer ways,
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00:14:05,178 --> 00:14:09,015
and wolves and bears
and lynxes and things,
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00:14:09,016 --> 00:14:11,150
that must have been enormous,
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not just the threat to survival,
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00:14:14,121 --> 00:14:16,423
but also the culture clash.
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00:14:18,258 --> 00:14:19,591
Communicating with people
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00:14:19,592 --> 00:14:21,860
who believed wolves were
their brothers, essentially,
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00:14:21,861 --> 00:14:23,262
and respected them,
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00:14:23,263 --> 00:14:25,531
whereas in England,
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00:14:25,532 --> 00:14:27,499
by then you'd grown up
with all the stories
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00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:29,168
about how terrible wolves are,
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00:14:29,169 --> 00:14:30,269
and to be shunned,
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00:14:30,270 --> 00:14:32,638
and the forest
is a place to be feared,
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00:14:32,639 --> 00:14:35,542
not a place to sustain you.
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00:14:40,347 --> 00:14:42,481
Cultural ideas about anything,
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and especially about wolves,
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00:14:44,551 --> 00:14:46,652
don't exist in a vacuum.
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00:14:46,653 --> 00:14:49,388
The people who traveled
to the Americas from Britain,
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00:14:49,389 --> 00:14:53,626
they brought stories over
with them.
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00:15:04,537 --> 00:15:08,674
The livestock were
a critical colonial partner.
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00:15:08,675 --> 00:15:11,177
They were property
that you could move.
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00:15:11,178 --> 00:15:12,578
Especially English colonists
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00:15:12,579 --> 00:15:15,881
came over with
domesticated animals,
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00:15:15,882 --> 00:15:18,417
so they both landed
on the beach together.
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00:15:18,418 --> 00:15:20,719
They met wolves right away,
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00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,589
so within the first year,
the first decade,
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00:15:23,590 --> 00:15:25,757
what you had were conflicts
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00:15:25,758 --> 00:15:28,760
between wolves
and the colonists' livestock,
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00:15:28,761 --> 00:15:30,696
because there were
not enough people
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00:15:30,697 --> 00:15:34,200
to take care of them every day,
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00:15:34,201 --> 00:15:36,435
so in most of the colonies,
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00:15:36,436 --> 00:15:38,504
they preferred animals
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00:15:38,505 --> 00:15:39,939
that could take care
of themselves.
270
00:15:41,874 --> 00:15:46,579
They were often set loose
on the landscape...
271
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,449
and then people would go out
and collect them.
272
00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:53,452
Sometimes it was the job
of really tiny kids,
273
00:15:53,453 --> 00:15:56,222
maybe three, four,
five years old
274
00:15:56,223 --> 00:15:58,890
would be sent out
to collect the cows
275
00:15:58,891 --> 00:16:00,593
wherever they wandered...
276
00:16:02,629 --> 00:16:05,931
and some of the earliest
government actions
277
00:16:05,932 --> 00:16:07,933
in the English colonies
278
00:16:07,934 --> 00:16:11,570
were laws or bounties
that were passed
279
00:16:11,571 --> 00:16:14,773
to try to deal with
livestock depredation
280
00:16:14,774 --> 00:16:15,808
caused by wolves.
281
00:16:18,445 --> 00:16:20,112
They actually nailed
the heads of wolves
282
00:16:20,113 --> 00:16:22,481
to their meeting houses,
283
00:16:22,482 --> 00:16:24,150
which is not what we think of
when we think of Puritans
284
00:16:24,151 --> 00:16:27,420
and their churches.
285
00:16:28,655 --> 00:16:30,822
The colonists' heads are full
286
00:16:30,823 --> 00:16:33,925
of all different kinds
of stories,
287
00:16:33,926 --> 00:16:37,296
which in part
explains their behaviors.
288
00:16:41,334 --> 00:16:43,102
They would dig pit traps,
289
00:16:43,103 --> 00:16:45,271
and then bait those traps,
290
00:16:45,272 --> 00:16:47,073
and they would capture wolves
291
00:16:47,074 --> 00:16:48,407
after they went for the bait
292
00:16:48,408 --> 00:16:50,642
and dropped into these pits,
293
00:16:50,643 --> 00:16:55,447
which meant that they were
often handling live animals.
294
00:16:55,448 --> 00:16:57,516
The farmers,
when they found these animals,
295
00:16:57,517 --> 00:16:59,851
usually the wolves cowered,
296
00:16:59,852 --> 00:17:03,489
or behaved submissively
in front of humans
297
00:17:03,490 --> 00:17:05,191
in this situation,
298
00:17:05,192 --> 00:17:07,427
and often
humans tortured them.
299
00:17:08,761 --> 00:17:13,265
You'd have to imagine
dispersal of livestock
300
00:17:13,266 --> 00:17:15,367
going wherever they want to go,
301
00:17:15,368 --> 00:17:17,869
and this led
to enormous conflicts
302
00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:20,772
between colonists
and Native people,
303
00:17:20,773 --> 00:17:22,274
because the two groups of people
304
00:17:22,275 --> 00:17:24,810
might not be
in each other's face,
305
00:17:24,811 --> 00:17:28,480
but the colonists' livestock
were a constant nuisance
306
00:17:28,481 --> 00:17:31,183
for Native maize fields,
307
00:17:31,184 --> 00:17:33,785
for ruining oyster beds,
308
00:17:33,786 --> 00:17:35,954
and during wars
between the two groups,
309
00:17:35,955 --> 00:17:39,291
the first thing
that Native warriors would do
310
00:17:39,292 --> 00:17:40,526
was kill livestock
311
00:17:40,527 --> 00:17:44,697
as an expression
of them not taking it anymore.
312
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:49,868
Through
the colonial lens of history,
313
00:17:49,869 --> 00:17:52,671
the Indigenous people and wolves
314
00:17:52,672 --> 00:17:54,740
stood in the way of improvement.
315
00:17:55,908 --> 00:17:58,510
They belonged
to the howling wilderness.
316
00:18:00,513 --> 00:18:01,847
As we all know,
317
00:18:01,848 --> 00:18:04,015
wolves howl,
318
00:18:04,016 --> 00:18:05,751
they communicate,
319
00:18:05,752 --> 00:18:07,886
and they do it for many reasons,
320
00:18:07,887 --> 00:18:09,421
bonding,
321
00:18:09,422 --> 00:18:11,056
or as a coordinated chorus
322
00:18:11,057 --> 00:18:14,760
to sound like a larger pack
marking their territory,
323
00:18:14,761 --> 00:18:19,365
and the sound that travels,
well, it ends up in folklore,
324
00:18:19,366 --> 00:18:21,066
folklore that often focused
325
00:18:21,067 --> 00:18:24,236
on stories
about people hearing wolves,
326
00:18:24,237 --> 00:18:27,005
thinking they're going to be
surrounded by wolves,
327
00:18:27,006 --> 00:18:28,440
attacked by wolves,
328
00:18:28,441 --> 00:18:30,676
but in reality...
329
00:18:30,677 --> 00:18:32,611
it's just a conversation
330
00:18:32,612 --> 00:18:36,081
that has
nothing to do with them.
331
00:18:36,082 --> 00:18:38,049
It fed a foundation idea
332
00:18:38,050 --> 00:18:41,953
of what it meant
to pacify a wilderness.
333
00:18:41,954 --> 00:18:46,358
To civilize a wilderness
was to get rid of the wolves.
334
00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:48,294
If you could get rid
of the howling,
335
00:18:48,295 --> 00:18:50,629
well, you were one step closer
336
00:18:50,630 --> 00:18:53,800
to getting rid
of the wilderness.
337
00:18:56,035 --> 00:19:00,872
Colonists themselves
were often urban or semi-urban.
338
00:19:00,873 --> 00:19:03,475
They entered into
a disease environment
339
00:19:03,476 --> 00:19:05,777
that was very favorable to them,
340
00:19:05,778 --> 00:19:07,813
and this was expressed
341
00:19:07,814 --> 00:19:11,317
in them having families
that were massive.
342
00:19:11,318 --> 00:19:12,984
You have to measure this
343
00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:15,120
against the diseases
that they brought over
344
00:19:15,121 --> 00:19:19,090
that were devastating
to Native peoples,
345
00:19:19,091 --> 00:19:21,793
so this was
a disease environment
346
00:19:21,794 --> 00:19:24,964
that was very unequal.
347
00:19:26,466 --> 00:19:28,667
Each of these families
had an ambition
348
00:19:28,668 --> 00:19:30,302
to set their children up,
349
00:19:30,303 --> 00:19:31,603
not to become rich,
350
00:19:31,604 --> 00:19:33,972
but to have
a comfortable livelihood.
351
00:19:33,973 --> 00:19:37,142
This put a lot of pressure
on those families
352
00:19:37,143 --> 00:19:38,844
to find additional land
353
00:19:38,845 --> 00:19:42,681
that they could set
their children up on,
354
00:19:42,682 --> 00:19:44,650
so these large families
355
00:19:44,651 --> 00:19:47,486
actually became
an engine of colonization
356
00:19:47,487 --> 00:19:49,588
as each one of them
went in search
357
00:19:49,589 --> 00:19:52,792
of finding a farm for 15 kids.
358
00:19:54,694 --> 00:19:56,695
Ecological change.
359
00:19:56,696 --> 00:20:00,532
The new world began
to look like the old world.
360
00:20:02,535 --> 00:20:05,437
The British Wool Act of 1699,
361
00:20:05,438 --> 00:20:08,374
which restricted
colonial wool production
362
00:20:08,375 --> 00:20:09,641
to local use
363
00:20:09,642 --> 00:20:12,878
and banned exports
and intercolonial trade
364
00:20:12,879 --> 00:20:15,547
to protect England's
woolen industry,
365
00:20:15,548 --> 00:20:19,785
sowed the early seeds
of colonial resentment.
366
00:20:19,786 --> 00:20:20,952
But resentment?
367
00:20:20,953 --> 00:20:22,654
Well, it's like a loose thread.
368
00:20:22,655 --> 00:20:25,023
You pull too hard...
369
00:20:26,225 --> 00:20:28,059
...things start to unravel.
370
00:20:30,697 --> 00:20:32,631
The way of life
our forefathers established
371
00:20:32,632 --> 00:20:35,667
n this foundation of freedoms.o
372
00:20:35,668 --> 00:20:37,903
In a world
of fields and fences,
373
00:20:37,904 --> 00:20:41,640
the New Republic maintained
bounties on wolves,
374
00:20:41,641 --> 00:20:44,643
but also bounties on creatures.
375
00:20:44,644 --> 00:20:46,845
Vermin, as they were labeled,
376
00:20:46,846 --> 00:20:48,680
were seen as a nuisance
377
00:20:48,681 --> 00:20:51,318
to this agricultural
transformation.
378
00:20:54,020 --> 00:20:57,489
That came with a set of ideas
about animals and land
379
00:20:57,490 --> 00:21:00,892
that would forever change
the continent.
380
00:21:00,893 --> 00:21:04,663
Meanwhile, beyond
the newly formed borders
381
00:21:04,664 --> 00:21:06,832
lay vast territories
382
00:21:06,833 --> 00:21:09,267
shaped by traditions
and practices
383
00:21:09,268 --> 00:21:12,438
in ways that the citizens
of the new republic
384
00:21:12,439 --> 00:21:14,741
could scarcely imagine.
385
00:21:30,957 --> 00:21:32,791
Our territory was vast
386
00:21:32,792 --> 00:21:34,192
so that we would be able
387
00:21:34,193 --> 00:21:37,897
to utilize various resources
throughout the year.
388
00:21:40,132 --> 00:21:43,936
For our people,
there was nothing wild here.
389
00:21:48,708 --> 00:21:51,109
The predators,
wolves, and bears,
390
00:21:51,110 --> 00:21:54,813
are recognized as our relatives.
391
00:21:54,814 --> 00:21:58,249
We lived for millennia
with wolves and bears,
392
00:21:58,250 --> 00:22:01,553
with the four-legged,
the winged,
393
00:22:01,554 --> 00:22:02,954
the ones that swim,
394
00:22:02,955 --> 00:22:05,492
the ones that crawl
above and below the ground.
395
00:22:06,826 --> 00:22:08,794
The health of our communities
396
00:22:08,795 --> 00:22:12,131
was directly related
to the biodiversity.
397
00:22:18,838 --> 00:22:20,305
That animal economy
398
00:22:20,306 --> 00:22:25,512
was really the foundation
for our economy.
399
00:22:28,448 --> 00:22:30,582
That biodiversity that existed
400
00:22:30,583 --> 00:22:34,921
largely was
because of the buffalo.
401
00:22:37,990 --> 00:22:39,290
In the early 1600s,
402
00:22:39,291 --> 00:22:41,927
when French fur trappers
first encountered them
403
00:22:41,928 --> 00:22:43,328
in North America,
404
00:22:43,329 --> 00:22:46,097
they called them "boeuf,"
405
00:22:46,098 --> 00:22:49,868
likely because of the Water
and Cape Buffalo they knew
406
00:22:49,869 --> 00:22:52,170
from other parts of the world.
407
00:22:52,171 --> 00:22:53,672
In the mid 1700s,
408
00:22:53,673 --> 00:22:56,708
"Bison bison"
became the scientific name,
409
00:22:56,709 --> 00:22:58,209
but in our tribal communities,
410
00:22:58,210 --> 00:23:01,312
we more often refer to them
as buffalo,
411
00:23:01,313 --> 00:23:04,716
although there's over
330 distinct languages
412
00:23:04,717 --> 00:23:06,051
on this continent.
413
00:23:06,052 --> 00:23:08,620
We all have our terms
for the animal
414
00:23:08,621 --> 00:23:10,055
in our own languages.
415
00:23:10,056 --> 00:23:12,157
In Shoshone, it's "Boy-zshan"
416
00:23:12,158 --> 00:23:14,159
or "Kuittsu."
417
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,395
In Northern Arapaho,
it's "Heneecee"
418
00:23:17,396 --> 00:23:19,198
or "Hii3einon."
419
00:23:20,399 --> 00:23:22,568
For our grandmas and grandpas,
our ancestors,
420
00:23:22,569 --> 00:23:24,703
this animal
was life's commissary.
421
00:23:26,072 --> 00:23:28,173
Of course,
there was no refrigeration,
422
00:23:28,174 --> 00:23:31,910
and so, imagine
a 2,000-pound animal
423
00:23:31,911 --> 00:23:33,812
and preserving the meat
424
00:23:33,813 --> 00:23:36,582
so that it would last you
for months.
425
00:23:36,583 --> 00:23:38,684
When you dry the meat,
426
00:23:38,685 --> 00:23:40,752
all of the protein is preserved.
427
00:23:40,753 --> 00:23:41,920
None of it gets denatured,
428
00:23:41,921 --> 00:23:44,055
which happens when you cook it.
429
00:23:44,056 --> 00:23:46,758
All of that buffalo had a use.
430
00:23:49,361 --> 00:23:51,997
That buffalo contains
all of the parts
431
00:23:51,998 --> 00:23:54,766
to be able to sustain yourself
432
00:23:54,767 --> 00:23:57,536
if you have the knowledge
and know-how.
433
00:23:57,537 --> 00:23:59,437
The bones made into tools,
434
00:23:59,438 --> 00:24:00,572
our clothing,
435
00:24:00,573 --> 00:24:01,940
our shelter,
436
00:24:01,941 --> 00:24:04,075
but it's also central
to who we are
437
00:24:04,076 --> 00:24:06,244
in our spirituality,
438
00:24:06,245 --> 00:24:09,448
central to our ceremonies
even still today.
439
00:24:19,959 --> 00:24:21,560
The lodge, the tipi,
440
00:24:21,561 --> 00:24:23,895
allowed us to be mobile.
441
00:24:26,298 --> 00:24:30,135
A lodge takes 16 to 18 hides
to make a 20-foot tipi,
442
00:24:30,136 --> 00:24:32,804
so if you have a community
of 20 tipis,
443
00:24:32,805 --> 00:24:34,072
that's over 300 buffalo
444
00:24:34,073 --> 00:24:36,643
just in the lodges alone.
445
00:24:39,411 --> 00:24:40,879
Some people think
the term "nomadic"
446
00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,749
means wandering aimlessly,
447
00:24:43,750 --> 00:24:45,384
but that is inaccurate.
448
00:24:46,553 --> 00:24:47,986
Wandering aimlessly
449
00:24:47,987 --> 00:24:49,287
is no way to describe
450
00:24:49,288 --> 00:24:51,757
what the Shoshone people
were doing
451
00:24:51,758 --> 00:24:54,159
on our landscape,
on our territory.
452
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:55,827
We knew exactly
where we were going,
453
00:24:55,828 --> 00:24:58,730
and exactly for what and when.
454
00:25:23,189 --> 00:25:25,591
Our people were very athletic.
455
00:25:25,592 --> 00:25:28,194
They had to move vast distances.
456
00:25:38,204 --> 00:25:39,370
The Apsáalooke people,
457
00:25:39,371 --> 00:25:42,608
which translates
to the "Crow people,"
458
00:25:42,609 --> 00:25:44,943
are strong and rich in culture.
459
00:25:54,053 --> 00:25:55,386
What I understand
460
00:25:55,387 --> 00:25:58,223
and what I was told
through oral history,
461
00:25:58,224 --> 00:26:00,959
there was a time where we lived
in a great civilization
462
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,496
in a metropolis
around the Ohio Valley.
463
00:26:06,565 --> 00:26:10,501
Two brothers decided
to go on a vision quest.
464
00:26:10,502 --> 00:26:12,037
Because of a vision quest
465
00:26:12,038 --> 00:26:15,140
and because of the search
of the sacred tobacco plant,
466
00:26:15,141 --> 00:26:19,577
those are the reasons
why we are here.
467
00:26:22,381 --> 00:26:23,414
"Apsáalooke."
468
00:26:23,415 --> 00:26:26,718
"Children
of the Large-Beaked Bird."
469
00:26:26,719 --> 00:26:29,087
The bird, the raven.
470
00:26:29,088 --> 00:26:30,421
Through misinterpretation,
471
00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:33,224
when they tried to translate
who we are,
472
00:26:33,225 --> 00:26:34,993
"Children
of the Large-Beaked Bird,"
473
00:26:34,994 --> 00:26:36,762
from European contact,
474
00:26:36,763 --> 00:26:38,596
and they called us the "Crow."
475
00:26:42,935 --> 00:26:46,437
Before we had the horse,
we had the dog.
476
00:26:46,438 --> 00:26:49,340
The first dogs
that Crow came upon,
477
00:26:49,341 --> 00:26:53,945
they were basically wolves
that roamed this territory.
478
00:26:53,946 --> 00:26:56,214
It was the wolf
that was domesticated
479
00:26:56,215 --> 00:26:58,416
by the Plains Indians tribes,
480
00:26:58,417 --> 00:26:59,417
by our people,
481
00:26:59,418 --> 00:27:01,453
that were the first
beasts of burdens...
482
00:27:04,190 --> 00:27:08,126
...and the dogs would be
carrying a travois,
483
00:27:08,127 --> 00:27:12,063
and it would be carrying
the belongings.
484
00:27:12,064 --> 00:27:14,766
Dogs were really
well respected in ceremony
485
00:27:14,767 --> 00:27:17,969
and held positions in the Crow.
486
00:27:23,109 --> 00:27:24,109
It is the horse...
487
00:27:25,712 --> 00:27:28,047
...he's our beast of burden now.
488
00:27:37,623 --> 00:27:40,792
Which translates to
"My name is Horse Woman.
489
00:27:40,793 --> 00:27:41,728
I am Greasy Mouth."
490
00:27:42,895 --> 00:27:45,496
I descend
from Chief Pretty Eagle,
491
00:27:45,497 --> 00:27:49,000
one of the last-known chiefs
of the Crow tribe.
492
00:27:55,474 --> 00:27:57,342
Ever since I was
two years old,
493
00:27:57,343 --> 00:27:58,510
I have been on a horse.
494
00:28:07,686 --> 00:28:10,255
The horse
in the Crow language
495
00:28:10,256 --> 00:28:11,757
is descriptive,
496
00:28:11,758 --> 00:28:14,025
and it's called "Ichilay,"
497
00:28:14,026 --> 00:28:15,660
and that means
498
00:28:15,661 --> 00:28:18,697
that you use it
to look for things.
499
00:28:24,536 --> 00:28:28,039
The horses weren't always here
among the Crow.
500
00:28:30,676 --> 00:28:33,444
The conquistadors
brought the first horses
501
00:28:33,445 --> 00:28:34,545
to the south
502
00:28:34,546 --> 00:28:36,848
back in the 1500s,
503
00:28:36,849 --> 00:28:38,216
and later,
504
00:28:38,217 --> 00:28:41,219
when the Pueblo people
revolted against the Spanish,
505
00:28:41,220 --> 00:28:42,988
thousands of horses escaped
506
00:28:42,989 --> 00:28:45,891
and were also traded north.
507
00:28:45,892 --> 00:28:49,394
It became important
to the Crows.
508
00:28:49,395 --> 00:28:52,330
They would use them
to go on war parties,
509
00:28:52,331 --> 00:28:54,733
to go hunting for buffalo.
510
00:28:56,702 --> 00:28:58,336
They didn't have guns,
511
00:28:58,337 --> 00:29:01,006
they had arrows
made out of arrowheads,
512
00:29:01,007 --> 00:29:03,074
but that's where
these buffalo jumps
513
00:29:03,075 --> 00:29:04,742
became very important.
514
00:29:04,743 --> 00:29:08,579
They would chase them down
into those buffalo jumps,
515
00:29:08,580 --> 00:29:13,084
and that's how they would get
a majority of their meat.
516
00:29:15,922 --> 00:29:20,025
We believe
that they have spirits.
517
00:29:20,026 --> 00:29:21,927
Horses have spirits,
518
00:29:21,928 --> 00:29:25,763
and when you become one
with them,
519
00:29:25,764 --> 00:29:28,766
they trust you,
520
00:29:28,767 --> 00:29:31,336
you trust them.
521
00:29:31,337 --> 00:29:33,238
If you're nervous or something,
522
00:29:33,239 --> 00:29:35,707
they can feel it.
523
00:29:40,847 --> 00:29:43,781
Some horses, they were sacred.
524
00:29:43,782 --> 00:29:45,450
They would cherish them,
525
00:29:45,451 --> 00:29:48,386
and so they had
an important horse
526
00:29:48,387 --> 00:29:50,256
that did everything for them.
527
00:29:52,524 --> 00:29:56,594
They believed that the horse
would actually tippy-toe.
528
00:29:56,595 --> 00:29:59,297
It would sneak up
on an enemy camp,
529
00:29:59,298 --> 00:30:02,633
and that's how powerful
530
00:30:02,634 --> 00:30:05,636
the horse and the warriors'
medicine is.
531
00:30:05,637 --> 00:30:08,907
They would just
go into the enemy camp
532
00:30:08,908 --> 00:30:10,876
and steal all their horses.
533
00:30:17,483 --> 00:30:21,586
Hunting was a way of life
for the Crow.
534
00:30:22,488 --> 00:30:24,655
When they successfully
hunted elk,
535
00:30:24,656 --> 00:30:27,492
the elk teeth
were sewn into clothing
536
00:30:27,493 --> 00:30:29,094
to show the skill of the hunter
537
00:30:29,095 --> 00:30:32,397
and the honor of his family.
538
00:30:32,398 --> 00:30:35,000
They called those "iichíilihte."
539
00:30:49,648 --> 00:30:51,682
The wilderness concept
540
00:30:51,683 --> 00:30:55,153
"untrammeled by man"
or "leave no trace,"
541
00:30:55,154 --> 00:30:57,689
that makes no sense
to Native people.
542
00:31:01,093 --> 00:31:03,661
We used our region,
543
00:31:03,662 --> 00:31:05,863
whether it was high elevation
or low elevation,
544
00:31:05,864 --> 00:31:07,165
for over 20,000 years,
545
00:31:07,166 --> 00:31:10,101
just by
the archaeological evidence.
546
00:31:10,102 --> 00:31:13,538
We even say longer than that.
547
00:31:21,647 --> 00:31:23,448
The animals...
548
00:31:23,449 --> 00:31:26,684
those that live without fire.
549
00:31:26,685 --> 00:31:29,887
When it came to the land
and animals,
550
00:31:29,888 --> 00:31:32,390
the Indigenous people,
551
00:31:32,391 --> 00:31:34,859
they respected them so much
552
00:31:34,860 --> 00:31:36,661
that they would
name their children
553
00:31:36,662 --> 00:31:40,331
and children's children
after animals,
554
00:31:40,332 --> 00:31:42,067
because of the significant
power source
555
00:31:42,068 --> 00:31:44,402
that was within them.
556
00:31:50,076 --> 00:31:51,876
And nobody should be surprised
557
00:31:51,877 --> 00:31:55,581
that this was always
a managed landscape.
558
00:31:58,050 --> 00:32:02,053
Euro-Americans were kind of
dedicated to the idea
559
00:32:02,054 --> 00:32:04,990
that they were
the primary actors
560
00:32:04,991 --> 00:32:06,391
in this landscape,
561
00:32:06,392 --> 00:32:09,927
so they actively erased
or hid the evidence
562
00:32:09,928 --> 00:32:15,200
that the people before them
were managing these landscapes,
563
00:32:15,201 --> 00:32:17,202
so the idea of a wilderness
564
00:32:17,203 --> 00:32:20,238
is very much a fantasy.
565
00:32:46,565 --> 00:32:48,299
Pushed forward by newspapers
566
00:32:48,300 --> 00:32:50,768
and promoters
of American nationalism,
567
00:32:50,769 --> 00:32:53,371
"Manifest Destiny" is an idea
568
00:32:53,372 --> 00:32:56,641
that flourishes
in the mid 19th century,
569
00:32:56,642 --> 00:32:59,477
that America was destined
to stretch
570
00:32:59,478 --> 00:33:02,580
from the Atlantic
to the Pacific.
571
00:33:02,581 --> 00:33:05,650
The people who were in the way
were Indigenous peoples,
572
00:33:05,651 --> 00:33:08,486
but also rival European powers
573
00:33:08,487 --> 00:33:10,488
like the Spanish
and the French,
574
00:33:10,489 --> 00:33:13,058
who would be obstacles
to this destiny,
575
00:33:13,059 --> 00:33:16,327
this "obvious destiny,"
576
00:33:16,328 --> 00:33:20,231
reframing what were actually
political choices
577
00:33:20,232 --> 00:33:22,133
to be in the hands of God
578
00:33:22,134 --> 00:33:24,803
instead of human beings...
579
00:33:26,105 --> 00:33:28,339
so people pushed on,
580
00:33:28,340 --> 00:33:30,908
encouraged to find a promise,
581
00:33:30,909 --> 00:33:33,112
a hope, a dream.
582
00:33:44,356 --> 00:33:47,992
And as they came upon lands
of the Plains Indians tribes,
583
00:33:47,993 --> 00:33:52,130
we did everything we could
to protect our home
584
00:33:52,131 --> 00:33:54,600
like they would protect theirs.
585
00:33:56,868 --> 00:33:59,137
To me, when I think about
"Manifest Destiny,"
586
00:33:59,138 --> 00:34:02,973
I feel that is a word of...
587
00:34:02,974 --> 00:34:04,176
genocide.
588
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:10,781
When Lewis and Clark
came west in 1804,
589
00:34:10,782 --> 00:34:14,219
they witnessed
30 to 60 million bison.
590
00:34:14,220 --> 00:34:18,224
By 1902, there were less than
23 left in Yellowstone.
591
00:34:25,631 --> 00:34:28,499
What was imposed upon us
592
00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:30,468
was systems of land management
593
00:34:30,469 --> 00:34:34,472
that were contrary
to our belief system.
594
00:34:34,473 --> 00:34:36,374
They basically told us that
595
00:34:36,375 --> 00:34:37,875
if you don't become farmers
and ranchers,
596
00:34:37,876 --> 00:34:39,678
we're going
to take your land...
597
00:34:40,846 --> 00:34:42,580
and they did.
598
00:34:42,581 --> 00:34:44,582
Forces of nature were removed,
599
00:34:44,583 --> 00:34:46,252
and we were removed too.
600
00:34:48,854 --> 00:34:51,055
The things that they eliminated,
601
00:34:51,056 --> 00:34:53,491
anything that could be
perceived as a threat,
602
00:34:53,492 --> 00:34:57,362
killing every predator,
603
00:34:57,363 --> 00:34:59,598
and it meant
getting rid of fire.
604
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,535
The Native American people knew
605
00:35:04,536 --> 00:35:06,704
that there was
this deep connection
606
00:35:06,705 --> 00:35:09,507
between the plant communities
and the animals and fire
607
00:35:09,508 --> 00:35:11,709
that was beneficial,
608
00:35:11,710 --> 00:35:15,446
and so intentionally set
this mosaic of fires,
609
00:35:15,447 --> 00:35:17,582
low-severity fires,
610
00:35:17,583 --> 00:35:19,917
not the mega fires
611
00:35:19,918 --> 00:35:23,354
that, you know,
burn up entire forests.
612
00:35:23,355 --> 00:35:25,623
When you set a fire
in the system,
613
00:35:25,624 --> 00:35:27,258
within 24 hours,
614
00:35:27,259 --> 00:35:29,760
the grasses are sprouting again,
615
00:35:29,761 --> 00:35:33,864
and the sprouting of the grasses
calls in the animals,
616
00:35:33,865 --> 00:35:37,402
so then, Native Americans
would be able to get an elk
617
00:35:37,403 --> 00:35:39,069
or a deer or a bison.
618
00:35:39,070 --> 00:35:41,739
All these animals know
when there's fire,
619
00:35:41,740 --> 00:35:43,642
that means it's like
ringing the dinner bell.
620
00:35:45,076 --> 00:35:48,613
These light fires
were incredibly beneficial
621
00:35:48,614 --> 00:35:50,147
to the whole system,
622
00:35:50,148 --> 00:35:53,219
and caused the nutrients
to cycle more vigorously...
623
00:35:55,487 --> 00:35:58,324
until very recently,
until about 1850.
624
00:36:00,158 --> 00:36:02,593
Settlers thought they were
doing the right thing,
625
00:36:02,594 --> 00:36:05,496
making a landscape
much safer for people,
626
00:36:05,497 --> 00:36:07,765
and better for agriculture,
627
00:36:07,766 --> 00:36:09,834
and instead, what happened
628
00:36:09,835 --> 00:36:12,503
is that they created a system
629
00:36:12,504 --> 00:36:14,672
that has been functioning
like an engine
630
00:36:14,673 --> 00:36:16,742
missing critical parts.
631
00:36:18,844 --> 00:36:22,613
The system is governed
by these relationships
632
00:36:22,614 --> 00:36:25,616
that are ancient
and evolutionary...
633
00:36:26,685 --> 00:36:29,854
...so you have
the wolf at the top,
634
00:36:29,855 --> 00:36:32,189
you have its preferred prey,
635
00:36:32,190 --> 00:36:37,328
in this area,
95% of what wolves eat is elk.
636
00:36:37,329 --> 00:36:38,629
They're all muscle,
637
00:36:38,630 --> 00:36:39,630
because they run
638
00:36:39,631 --> 00:36:41,932
and travel so far,
639
00:36:41,933 --> 00:36:45,202
and so their meat
has a higher protein content
640
00:36:45,203 --> 00:36:46,371
and a lower fat content,
641
00:36:46,372 --> 00:36:48,038
and if you're a wolf,
642
00:36:48,039 --> 00:36:53,043
that's exactly what you need
to survive optimally,
643
00:36:53,044 --> 00:36:55,546
and then, you have the food
that elk eat,
644
00:36:55,547 --> 00:36:57,448
which, they eat mostly grass
645
00:36:57,449 --> 00:36:59,284
in the warm time of the year
646
00:36:59,285 --> 00:37:02,953
when the protein level
in the grasses drops.
647
00:37:02,954 --> 00:37:05,857
They switch to eating
aspen trees in winter.
648
00:37:07,893 --> 00:37:10,795
Aspen has a lot of protein
in it,
649
00:37:10,796 --> 00:37:14,733
the buds of aspen
and also under the bark...
650
00:37:17,503 --> 00:37:20,571
and if there are no wolves
in the area
651
00:37:20,572 --> 00:37:21,906
and a lot of elk,
652
00:37:21,907 --> 00:37:25,676
the little sprouts
get browsed to death.
653
00:37:25,677 --> 00:37:27,645
Then the elk will just
mow them down,
654
00:37:27,646 --> 00:37:29,747
and they're not allowed
to recruit,
655
00:37:29,748 --> 00:37:31,682
which means reach maturity,
656
00:37:31,683 --> 00:37:33,184
become adult trees.
657
00:37:35,020 --> 00:37:37,588
The elk, they come up
to something like this,
658
00:37:37,589 --> 00:37:38,556
and if wolves are around,
659
00:37:38,557 --> 00:37:40,658
they can take a nip, like, here,
660
00:37:40,659 --> 00:37:42,060
but then they just
have to keep going...
661
00:37:47,399 --> 00:37:50,901
...and this whole business
of the wolves are gone,
662
00:37:50,902 --> 00:37:54,605
so we can just stand around
like we're lawn ornaments,
663
00:37:54,606 --> 00:37:56,941
wreaks havoc with food webs,
664
00:37:56,942 --> 00:37:59,009
and that eliminates habitat
665
00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:03,013
for things like
American Redstart warblers,
666
00:38:03,014 --> 00:38:03,949
for example.
667
00:38:12,424 --> 00:38:13,724
Entanglement.
668
00:38:13,725 --> 00:38:17,194
We're always entangled
in relationships,
669
00:38:17,195 --> 00:38:19,196
a web of relationships
670
00:38:19,197 --> 00:38:24,370
forged over long,
long periods of time.
671
00:38:30,809 --> 00:38:33,277
The settlers
reshaped the Plains,
672
00:38:33,278 --> 00:38:34,612
and the large outlines
673
00:38:34,613 --> 00:38:36,547
of the story of American beef
674
00:38:36,548 --> 00:38:39,484
in the 19th century began.
675
00:38:39,485 --> 00:38:41,085
Grass.
676
00:38:41,086 --> 00:38:44,655
Letting your livestock run free.
677
00:38:44,656 --> 00:38:46,891
A way of taking advantage
of grass
678
00:38:46,892 --> 00:38:49,326
without needing
to claim ownership.
679
00:38:49,327 --> 00:38:50,828
An open range.
680
00:38:50,829 --> 00:38:53,330
A kind of freedom.
681
00:38:56,668 --> 00:38:58,002
The Great Plains
682
00:38:58,003 --> 00:39:01,506
are one of the best places
to graze large ungulates
683
00:39:01,507 --> 00:39:03,475
in the entire world.
684
00:39:06,978 --> 00:39:10,981
One of the big moments
comes after the Civil War...
685
00:39:12,918 --> 00:39:16,087
...a lot of the markets
for cattle were shut down.
686
00:39:17,355 --> 00:39:19,123
The herds started to build up
687
00:39:19,124 --> 00:39:21,125
in places
especially like Texas,
688
00:39:21,126 --> 00:39:24,930
and these were semi-feral
Longhorn cattle.
689
00:39:27,032 --> 00:39:29,634
There was, uh, estimated to be
690
00:39:29,635 --> 00:39:32,369
about 3.5 million Longhorns
around Texas
691
00:39:32,370 --> 00:39:33,671
after the Civil War.
692
00:39:36,975 --> 00:39:40,210
People were trying
to figure out how to survive
693
00:39:40,211 --> 00:39:43,047
and make some money
off of these Longhorns
694
00:39:43,048 --> 00:39:45,716
that no one
wanted to pay anything for.
695
00:39:48,053 --> 00:39:50,455
If they could get those cows
up to Kansas,
696
00:39:50,456 --> 00:39:53,858
to those early railroads
coming across Kansas,
697
00:39:53,859 --> 00:39:57,562
there was potential
to make about $40 per cow,
698
00:39:57,563 --> 00:39:58,863
so that was
some pretty good money.
699
00:40:06,872 --> 00:40:08,072
The short trip to Kansas,
700
00:40:08,073 --> 00:40:10,407
that was about two
to three months in length,
701
00:40:10,408 --> 00:40:12,743
that trip to Montana here
702
00:40:12,744 --> 00:40:16,380
could take five to six months
on average.
703
00:40:16,381 --> 00:40:18,749
Eventually, if they could
get that cow to Chicago
704
00:40:18,750 --> 00:40:20,818
or New York City,
705
00:40:20,819 --> 00:40:23,053
they could make potentially
even more money.
706
00:40:23,054 --> 00:40:25,556
Then once the cows were here
in the Northern Plains,
707
00:40:25,557 --> 00:40:29,560
there weren't fences
to keep those cattle contained.
708
00:40:29,561 --> 00:40:31,596
It was an open range,
709
00:40:31,597 --> 00:40:35,399
which is where the name
of this time period comes from,
710
00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,001
and after the Civil War,
711
00:40:37,002 --> 00:40:39,069
there were a lot
of surplus army wagons.
712
00:40:39,070 --> 00:40:43,007
They had iron axles
and iron tires.
713
00:40:43,008 --> 00:40:45,943
This was modified
into the chuck wagon.
714
00:40:45,944 --> 00:40:48,012
This is the center
715
00:40:48,013 --> 00:40:50,748
of where all life
was taking place.
716
00:41:05,230 --> 00:41:07,264
They did have
one community toothbrush,
717
00:41:07,265 --> 00:41:09,635
and they all used
the same toothbrush.
718
00:41:11,937 --> 00:41:13,370
You have lots of units,
719
00:41:13,371 --> 00:41:14,772
or a lot of outfits,
720
00:41:14,773 --> 00:41:17,474
who are also moving cattle
at the same time.
721
00:41:17,475 --> 00:41:19,376
You could almost think of them
like giant superhighways
722
00:41:19,377 --> 00:41:21,646
out here in the West.
723
00:41:26,818 --> 00:41:28,485
If you looked off
in the distance,
724
00:41:28,486 --> 00:41:29,987
you would have seen dust
725
00:41:29,988 --> 00:41:32,657
from all of these
different herds.
726
00:41:35,426 --> 00:41:36,260
Lots of different things
727
00:41:36,261 --> 00:41:38,428
that come up in Hollywood movies
728
00:41:38,429 --> 00:41:39,597
are definitely myths.
729
00:41:39,598 --> 00:41:40,665
Cut!
730
00:41:40,666 --> 00:41:41,633
That does it, boys.
731
00:41:42,634 --> 00:41:43,634
You okay?
732
00:41:43,635 --> 00:41:44,635
Your vision might be
733
00:41:44,636 --> 00:41:46,837
a cowboy on a horse, by himself,
734
00:41:46,838 --> 00:41:49,740
riding off into the sunset.
735
00:41:51,009 --> 00:41:53,177
This was a team job.
736
00:41:53,178 --> 00:41:57,081
You're talking
15-to 25-year-old young men
737
00:41:57,082 --> 00:41:59,149
and 3,000 to 5,000
head of cattle,
738
00:41:59,150 --> 00:42:01,786
and these are typically
Longhorn cows
739
00:42:01,787 --> 00:42:04,088
with big six
and eight-foot-long horns,
740
00:42:04,089 --> 00:42:05,823
four hooves per cow.
741
00:42:05,824 --> 00:42:08,826
That's a lot of horns
and hooves.
742
00:42:13,932 --> 00:42:15,199
Think of those cattle towns
743
00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:17,034
like Dodge City and Abilene
744
00:42:17,035 --> 00:42:19,469
that start popping up
across Kansas
745
00:42:19,470 --> 00:42:22,206
as the railroads start
making their way westward
746
00:42:22,207 --> 00:42:25,010
across the open plains.
747
00:42:26,645 --> 00:42:28,512
As these cattle drive towns
748
00:42:28,513 --> 00:42:30,114
that originally are set up
749
00:42:30,115 --> 00:42:33,884
so that they can simply get cows
to those railheads
750
00:42:33,885 --> 00:42:35,152
and get them on trains,
751
00:42:35,153 --> 00:42:37,055
a whole town establishes itself.
752
00:42:40,025 --> 00:42:42,727
From 1870 to 1890,
753
00:42:42,728 --> 00:42:44,128
the railroads,
754
00:42:44,129 --> 00:42:47,197
the most powerful engine
of Western conquest,
755
00:42:47,198 --> 00:42:49,667
brought farmers
by the carload...
756
00:42:50,736 --> 00:42:51,736
...and lands were sold
757
00:42:51,737 --> 00:42:53,804
to a flood of new immigrants.
758
00:43:01,647 --> 00:43:03,380
Once the town is established,
759
00:43:03,381 --> 00:43:05,215
farming and homesteading
is established,
760
00:43:05,216 --> 00:43:06,550
they don't want these cattle
761
00:43:06,551 --> 00:43:08,919
coming through
their fields anymore,
762
00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:11,555
or through their streets
of their town anymore...
763
00:43:15,593 --> 00:43:17,828
...and as that railroad
continues to push west,
764
00:43:17,829 --> 00:43:21,232
the cattle-drive trails
will have to shift as well.
765
00:43:23,434 --> 00:43:25,770
These railroads
were connected to Chicago.
766
00:43:25,771 --> 00:43:27,004
Chicago is a place
767
00:43:27,005 --> 00:43:30,107
where the meatpackers
Swift and Armour
768
00:43:30,108 --> 00:43:32,877
invented the refrigerated cars,
769
00:43:32,878 --> 00:43:36,013
where they could put these
beef carcasses on the trains
770
00:43:36,014 --> 00:43:38,548
and ship them all the way
to Philadelphia
771
00:43:38,549 --> 00:43:41,119
and New York City.
772
00:43:44,089 --> 00:43:46,123
Americans wanted their beef
to be cheap,
773
00:43:46,124 --> 00:43:48,125
because they wanted
to eat a lot of it.
774
00:43:48,126 --> 00:43:50,194
It was the symbol
of the good life,
775
00:43:50,195 --> 00:43:53,630
was having a steak on your table
776
00:43:53,631 --> 00:43:54,532
almost every night.
777
00:43:57,302 --> 00:43:59,770
The cattle boom
ignited a frenzy
778
00:43:59,771 --> 00:44:00,938
across the United States
779
00:44:00,939 --> 00:44:04,308
as ranchers, investors,
and cowboys
780
00:44:04,309 --> 00:44:08,645
chased fortunes
fueled by soaring beef demand.
781
00:44:08,646 --> 00:44:10,380
Profits skyrocketed,
782
00:44:10,381 --> 00:44:13,818
but overgrazing
left the plains vulnerable.
783
00:44:16,054 --> 00:44:19,657
Then came the winter
that changed everything.
784
00:44:25,230 --> 00:44:28,465
An early freeze
gripped the northern plains,
785
00:44:28,466 --> 00:44:31,001
followed by a fleeting
Chinook wind
786
00:44:31,002 --> 00:44:32,669
that melted snow,
787
00:44:32,670 --> 00:44:34,571
only for an Arctic blast
788
00:44:34,572 --> 00:44:36,073
to lock the landscape
789
00:44:36,074 --> 00:44:40,010
under an impenetrable
sheet of ice.
790
00:44:40,011 --> 00:44:43,280
Starving cattle,
desperate for food and water,
791
00:44:43,281 --> 00:44:46,016
did what they always did
on the open range,
792
00:44:46,017 --> 00:44:47,752
they kept walking.
793
00:44:50,688 --> 00:44:53,323
Hundreds of thousands
of cattle perished,
794
00:44:53,324 --> 00:44:56,026
with losses reaching
up to 90% of herds
795
00:44:56,027 --> 00:44:57,527
in some areas,
796
00:44:57,528 --> 00:45:01,098
and left
most cattle ranchers bankrupt.
797
00:45:01,099 --> 00:45:03,633
Remembered as the "Big Die-Up,"
798
00:45:03,634 --> 00:45:05,369
it forced a reckoning.
799
00:45:05,370 --> 00:45:08,638
It marked the end
of the open-range era.
800
00:45:08,639 --> 00:45:10,875
Laws changed,
801
00:45:10,876 --> 00:45:12,943
driving the fence-in movement,
802
00:45:12,944 --> 00:45:17,982
which required ranchers
to own and enclose their land.
803
00:45:17,983 --> 00:45:20,517
Barbed wire became
the defining symbol
804
00:45:20,518 --> 00:45:23,654
of a controlled
and settled west.
805
00:45:26,191 --> 00:45:27,124
When fences go up,
806
00:45:27,125 --> 00:45:29,960
that officially
closes the range,
807
00:45:29,961 --> 00:45:31,361
so you no longer are living
808
00:45:31,362 --> 00:45:33,363
in an open-range era.
809
00:45:33,364 --> 00:45:36,901
Once you have fencing up,
and your cattle are contained,
810
00:45:36,902 --> 00:45:38,568
they're not free to then roam
811
00:45:38,569 --> 00:45:41,872
wherever they're going to
for food and water,
812
00:45:41,873 --> 00:45:45,742
so now you need to provide
those things for your cattle.
813
00:45:50,381 --> 00:45:53,150
Now you need to learn how to hay
814
00:45:53,151 --> 00:45:56,420
and create bales
and storage of hay
815
00:45:56,421 --> 00:45:59,689
for your livestock
to be able to eat.
816
00:46:01,860 --> 00:46:04,094
That meant you needed to deal
with water rights,
817
00:46:04,095 --> 00:46:06,363
and who has access to the water,
818
00:46:06,364 --> 00:46:07,998
who has the right to the water,
819
00:46:07,999 --> 00:46:09,533
who owns the water,
820
00:46:09,534 --> 00:46:11,068
and there's a lot of land
out there
821
00:46:11,069 --> 00:46:13,338
that has no water
running through it.
822
00:46:14,705 --> 00:46:17,407
The livestock growers,
the ranchers,
823
00:46:17,408 --> 00:46:19,509
assumed a lot of the risk
824
00:46:19,510 --> 00:46:22,079
while these kind of monopolies
825
00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:25,283
were able to take
most of the profits.
826
00:46:26,684 --> 00:46:29,619
In fact, the secret
of the packers
827
00:46:29,620 --> 00:46:31,788
and the people who had
a lot of power
828
00:46:31,789 --> 00:46:33,023
and developed that power
829
00:46:33,024 --> 00:46:34,258
early on
in the late 19th century
830
00:46:34,259 --> 00:46:36,460
and early 20th century,
831
00:46:36,461 --> 00:46:40,397
they passed along
the risk of the market
832
00:46:40,398 --> 00:46:42,466
down to the ranchers.
833
00:46:42,467 --> 00:46:45,970
The people
nearest to the animals
834
00:46:45,971 --> 00:46:49,940
were the ones that were
in the most precarious position,
835
00:46:49,941 --> 00:46:51,876
which makes them
feel vulnerable,
836
00:46:51,877 --> 00:46:52,809
and they were.
837
00:46:57,082 --> 00:46:59,383
Federal government
began to get involved,
838
00:46:59,384 --> 00:47:02,386
especially in the 1880s
and the 1890s,
839
00:47:02,387 --> 00:47:03,954
in wolf control
840
00:47:03,955 --> 00:47:06,123
in order to protect livestock.
841
00:47:06,124 --> 00:47:10,394
It was often in partnership
with agricultural organizations,
842
00:47:10,395 --> 00:47:13,497
so for example, in Colorado
in the early 20th century,
843
00:47:13,498 --> 00:47:15,565
it was
the Wool Growers Association
844
00:47:15,566 --> 00:47:19,669
that helped pay
for these programs.
845
00:47:20,805 --> 00:47:21,838
Progress.
846
00:47:21,839 --> 00:47:23,740
Urban expansion.
847
00:47:23,741 --> 00:47:26,410
In the late 19th
and early 20th centuries,
848
00:47:26,411 --> 00:47:29,113
folks were getting real nervous
849
00:47:29,114 --> 00:47:31,281
about running out
of resources...
850
00:47:34,785 --> 00:47:38,488
...so conservation
became a big deal.
851
00:47:38,489 --> 00:47:40,090
The government stepped in,
852
00:47:40,091 --> 00:47:42,859
setting up
the US Forest Service,
853
00:47:42,860 --> 00:47:44,361
the US Forest Reserve,
854
00:47:44,362 --> 00:47:45,996
and National Parks.
855
00:47:45,997 --> 00:47:50,134
It was about managing
what people thought was useful,
856
00:47:50,135 --> 00:47:52,502
like trees and game animals,
857
00:47:52,503 --> 00:47:56,873
while eliminating
the useless ones.
858
00:48:02,981 --> 00:48:05,882
There was even a policy
in Yellowstone National Park
859
00:48:05,883 --> 00:48:10,120
of killing wolves,
getting rid of these predators,
860
00:48:10,121 --> 00:48:13,357
because there was the idea
in Yellowstone National Park
861
00:48:13,358 --> 00:48:15,392
that there were good animals
and bad animals,
862
00:48:15,393 --> 00:48:18,062
and the good animals
were the big, gentle animals
863
00:48:18,063 --> 00:48:20,697
like elk, and moose, and bison
864
00:48:20,698 --> 00:48:22,299
that people wanted to look at,
865
00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:24,568
and therefore, the bad animals
were any animals
866
00:48:24,569 --> 00:48:27,804
that preyed on
those good animals.
867
00:48:30,508 --> 00:48:33,177
The people who managed
Yellowstone National Park
868
00:48:33,178 --> 00:48:34,844
in the early 20th century
869
00:48:34,845 --> 00:48:40,318
were systematically killing off
mountain lion and wolves.
870
00:48:46,491 --> 00:48:48,358
When Yellowstone National Park
was founded,
871
00:48:48,359 --> 00:48:50,927
it was not founded
as a wildlife refuge.
872
00:48:50,928 --> 00:48:55,600
It was not founded
to protect wild animals.
873
00:48:57,768 --> 00:49:00,770
It was founded as a park
for people to visit,
874
00:49:00,771 --> 00:49:05,543
to see the geological splendors,
the landscape.
875
00:49:27,298 --> 00:49:28,898
This was 1872,
876
00:49:28,899 --> 00:49:30,900
and part of the idea
877
00:49:30,901 --> 00:49:34,938
was that if this great place
of scenic splendor
878
00:49:34,939 --> 00:49:36,073
were protected,
879
00:49:36,074 --> 00:49:37,707
then the Northern
Pacific Railroad
880
00:49:37,708 --> 00:49:39,309
could sell tickets to tourists
881
00:49:39,310 --> 00:49:41,412
who wanted to come out
and visit it...
882
00:49:42,780 --> 00:49:45,482
and some of the people involved
in the founding of Yellowstone
883
00:49:45,483 --> 00:49:47,484
were economically involved
884
00:49:47,485 --> 00:49:48,918
with the Northern Pacific
Railroad,
885
00:49:48,919 --> 00:49:51,655
so it was, in some ways,
a very commercial,
886
00:49:51,656 --> 00:49:53,923
I don't want to quite say
cynical idea,
887
00:49:53,924 --> 00:49:56,826
but it was not tremendously
idealistic,
888
00:49:56,827 --> 00:49:59,664
focused on the protection
of a wild ecosystem.
889
00:50:03,668 --> 00:50:06,836
Mountain lion
were not extirpated,
890
00:50:06,837 --> 00:50:09,306
but wolves were extirpated
from Yellowstone,
891
00:50:09,307 --> 00:50:12,976
and then they were
reintroduced in 1995
892
00:50:12,977 --> 00:50:14,678
because ideas had changed
893
00:50:14,679 --> 00:50:17,013
about the purpose
of our national parks,
894
00:50:17,014 --> 00:50:19,449
and about how to manage
our national parks
895
00:50:19,450 --> 00:50:23,987
in a more natural way,
with complete ecosystems.
896
00:50:32,663 --> 00:50:35,465
People had gotten beyond
that idea
897
00:50:35,466 --> 00:50:38,035
that there are good animals
and bad animals.
898
00:50:42,373 --> 00:50:44,708
So wolves have thrived,
899
00:50:44,709 --> 00:50:48,978
and they are again
fulfilling their role
900
00:50:48,979 --> 00:50:50,480
in the ecosystem.
901
00:50:54,719 --> 00:50:56,686
Their populations
have increased,
902
00:50:56,687 --> 00:50:58,288
they have dispersed,
903
00:50:58,289 --> 00:51:00,624
so now
there are wolves in places
904
00:51:00,625 --> 00:51:02,659
where there hadn't been wolves
905
00:51:02,660 --> 00:51:05,896
for the last 60 or 70 years...
906
00:51:07,398 --> 00:51:09,533
so there are some conflicts.
907
00:51:09,534 --> 00:51:10,900
There are some occasions
908
00:51:10,901 --> 00:51:13,703
where wolves
are killing livestock,
909
00:51:13,704 --> 00:51:15,972
and of course, everybody
gets very upset about that.
910
00:51:15,973 --> 00:51:17,507
Ranchers
get very upset about that,
911
00:51:17,508 --> 00:51:18,975
because ranchers,
912
00:51:18,976 --> 00:51:22,479
people who really run
working commercial ranches,
913
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:23,880
especially family ranches
914
00:51:23,881 --> 00:51:26,583
in Idaho,
or Wyoming, or Montana,
915
00:51:26,584 --> 00:51:29,254
are generally not making
a ton of money.
916
00:51:30,588 --> 00:51:35,225
If they lose cows or calves
917
00:51:35,226 --> 00:51:37,494
to a pack of wolves,
918
00:51:37,495 --> 00:51:39,530
it's a serious problem.
919
00:51:42,600 --> 00:51:43,933
The cowboy,
920
00:51:43,934 --> 00:51:47,070
immortalized through
generations of popular culture,
921
00:51:47,071 --> 00:51:50,440
became a metaphor
for American exceptionalism...
922
00:51:51,842 --> 00:51:54,678
...reinforcing the idea
of the United States
923
00:51:54,679 --> 00:51:57,381
as a unique
and pioneering nation,
924
00:51:57,382 --> 00:52:01,785
a nation
that tamed the wilderness,
925
00:52:01,786 --> 00:52:04,789
and now, the wolves are back.
926
00:52:07,792 --> 00:52:09,793
Yes, we like to sing
about the beauty
927
00:52:09,794 --> 00:52:12,596
and the romance
of the Old West.
928
00:52:15,866 --> 00:52:17,301
Oh...
929
00:52:17,302 --> 00:52:18,802
Excuse me.
930
00:52:18,803 --> 00:52:20,537
Ranchers and cowboys
931
00:52:20,538 --> 00:52:25,309
are emblems of independence,
932
00:52:25,310 --> 00:52:27,577
and the media tied that in
933
00:52:27,578 --> 00:52:30,547
to what it meant to be
an American.
934
00:52:30,548 --> 00:52:32,549
To be an American...
935
00:52:32,550 --> 00:52:35,319
Ah, to be an American
936
00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:38,988
is to be unencumbered and free.
937
00:52:38,989 --> 00:52:42,392
♪ Must it be
938
00:52:42,393 --> 00:52:44,428
♪ Can it be
939
00:52:44,429 --> 00:52:49,499
♪ Can it be, oh, Lord
940
00:52:49,500 --> 00:52:52,436
♪ Have mercy ♪
941
00:52:52,437 --> 00:52:56,906
♪ On poor me ♪
942
00:52:56,907 --> 00:52:58,775
I recall I grew up
dreaming of being a cowboy.
943
00:52:58,776 --> 00:53:00,977
That's all I ever wanted to be.
944
00:53:07,017 --> 00:53:09,686
I like rural.
945
00:53:09,687 --> 00:53:11,588
I like the mountains.
946
00:53:11,589 --> 00:53:14,859
It's not everybody's gig.
947
00:53:15,760 --> 00:53:17,994
Just look around you.
948
00:53:17,995 --> 00:53:20,129
How many years
would you have to be alive
949
00:53:20,130 --> 00:53:21,965
to ride all this country?
950
00:53:25,270 --> 00:53:26,503
Gave it a good shot.
951
00:53:31,842 --> 00:53:33,443
And I bought this place
952
00:53:33,444 --> 00:53:34,478
'cause I always said
953
00:53:34,479 --> 00:53:35,879
I was never gonna own a place
954
00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:39,349
that I couldn't crack my gate
and ride through,
955
00:53:39,350 --> 00:53:40,951
and be on public land.
956
00:53:43,521 --> 00:53:47,223
A range rider, cowboy,
gay cowboy.
957
00:53:47,224 --> 00:53:48,892
Cowboys kinda think
958
00:53:48,893 --> 00:53:50,827
they're supposed
to just ride horses
959
00:53:50,828 --> 00:53:52,829
and take care of livestock,
960
00:53:52,830 --> 00:53:54,030
but more and more,
961
00:53:54,031 --> 00:53:57,301
the West has just gotten, uh,
barbed wire,
962
00:53:57,302 --> 00:54:00,337
uh, smaller pastures, and...
963
00:54:00,338 --> 00:54:05,041
Back when I was a kid,
you had a cowboy out.
964
00:54:08,145 --> 00:54:11,681
They weren't looking
for predators
965
00:54:11,682 --> 00:54:15,319
so much as they were
checking the cattle,
966
00:54:15,320 --> 00:54:16,753
and checking the salt,
967
00:54:16,754 --> 00:54:19,188
making sure the cattle
were up off the crick bottoms
968
00:54:19,189 --> 00:54:21,057
and out on the ridges,
969
00:54:21,058 --> 00:54:23,427
and that's all changed today.
970
00:54:23,428 --> 00:54:26,262
There are people today
971
00:54:26,263 --> 00:54:28,197
who are very dedicated
972
00:54:28,198 --> 00:54:32,001
to carrying on
older traditions and this,
973
00:54:32,002 --> 00:54:36,840
but it's hard to move
even cattle 50, 60 miles today
974
00:54:36,841 --> 00:54:39,008
with highways and fences
975
00:54:39,009 --> 00:54:42,412
and getting people
to let you ride through.
976
00:54:42,413 --> 00:54:44,180
The guy that
owns this ranch now,
977
00:54:44,181 --> 00:54:46,350
he's from New York.
978
00:54:46,351 --> 00:54:47,885
Uh...
979
00:54:50,955 --> 00:54:54,791
Most of my family
that grew up around here
980
00:54:54,792 --> 00:54:56,960
is gone or moved on.
981
00:54:56,961 --> 00:55:00,730
And we are the east entrance
to Yellowstone National Park,
982
00:55:00,731 --> 00:55:02,966
so people literally ask,
want to know,
983
00:55:02,967 --> 00:55:06,403
"Where are the cages they put
these animals in at night?"
984
00:55:06,404 --> 00:55:08,638
You say,
"Nah, nobody asks that."
985
00:55:08,639 --> 00:55:10,974
Yeah, they do!
986
00:55:10,975 --> 00:55:14,811
And people, like, down there
987
00:55:14,812 --> 00:55:16,813
that move out here,
988
00:55:16,814 --> 00:55:21,317
they move out here
because of what it is,
989
00:55:21,318 --> 00:55:25,155
and then they immediately wanna
make it something different.
990
00:55:26,991 --> 00:55:29,393
And the first people they cuss
are the ranchers
991
00:55:29,394 --> 00:55:30,927
and the farmers.
992
00:55:30,928 --> 00:55:34,465
We're the ones
that took care of it forever.
993
00:55:36,834 --> 00:55:38,267
The icon of the cowboy.
994
00:55:38,268 --> 00:55:41,771
These are people that
are rugged individualists.
995
00:55:41,772 --> 00:55:43,239
So you have that
on the one hand,
996
00:55:43,240 --> 00:55:47,343
but also you have the reality
of the American West
997
00:55:47,344 --> 00:55:48,277
as very much
998
00:55:48,278 --> 00:55:52,782
being tied
to the federal government.
999
00:56:00,825 --> 00:56:04,628
It's the federal army
that conquered this territory,
1000
00:56:04,629 --> 00:56:07,531
so this idea
of the independent cowboy
1001
00:56:07,532 --> 00:56:12,536
has always been in relationship
with this state power.
1002
00:56:20,511 --> 00:56:21,878
Federal lands
1003
00:56:21,879 --> 00:56:24,948
dominate
the western United States.
1004
00:56:24,949 --> 00:56:28,217
It is as unique as it is vast.
1005
00:56:28,218 --> 00:56:31,354
Public lands are not owned
by individuals,
1006
00:56:31,355 --> 00:56:34,892
but held in trust
for the benefit of all.
1007
00:56:37,127 --> 00:56:40,630
Grazing permits
or allotments for livestock
1008
00:56:40,631 --> 00:56:42,799
on public forest service
and grasslands,
1009
00:56:42,800 --> 00:56:44,501
if managed correctly,
1010
00:56:44,502 --> 00:56:46,136
remains an integral part.
1011
00:56:48,138 --> 00:56:50,406
This is the annual
winter roundup
1012
00:56:50,407 --> 00:56:52,075
for the big drive
from the summer pastures,
1013
00:56:52,076 --> 00:56:53,977
now covered with snow,
1014
00:56:53,978 --> 00:56:55,913
to the home range
farther south.
1015
00:57:02,419 --> 00:57:05,254
This is the last day
we're permitted to be on...
1016
00:57:05,255 --> 00:57:06,856
on our allotment,
1017
00:57:06,857 --> 00:57:10,760
so we're gathering cows
to go home
1018
00:57:10,761 --> 00:57:12,028
and do all our fall work,
1019
00:57:12,029 --> 00:57:15,832
um, sort and wean
and preg test, and...
1020
00:57:15,833 --> 00:57:18,367
Big shipping time of year
1021
00:57:18,368 --> 00:57:20,937
when we get
our once-a-year paycheck.
1022
00:57:25,776 --> 00:57:28,277
I turned out 160 pairs,
1023
00:57:28,278 --> 00:57:29,746
cow-calf pairs,
1024
00:57:29,747 --> 00:57:33,449
and 122 yearling heifers
and steers.
1025
00:57:35,853 --> 00:57:38,287
We do have some wolves,
1026
00:57:38,288 --> 00:57:40,957
but I didn't see one
this summer.
1027
00:57:40,958 --> 00:57:44,227
Yeah, I haven't seen a griz
or a wolf with my own eyes
1028
00:57:44,228 --> 00:57:45,862
on this allotment this summer,
1029
00:57:45,863 --> 00:57:47,631
but my trail cameras
have caught quite a few.
1030
00:57:47,632 --> 00:57:48,932
Yeah.
1031
00:57:48,933 --> 00:57:50,900
Uh, including some wolves
and cattle on one camera
1032
00:57:50,901 --> 00:57:51,935
on the same day.
1033
00:57:53,203 --> 00:57:54,137
I guess there's some
below the road.
1034
00:57:54,138 --> 00:57:55,204
Huh?
1035
00:57:55,205 --> 00:57:56,640
I know there are some
down in those trees
1036
00:57:56,641 --> 00:57:58,241
below the road.
- Yeah...
1037
00:57:58,242 --> 00:58:00,076
The wilderness
areas in the northern Rockies
1038
00:58:00,077 --> 00:58:02,812
are already essentially
full of wolves.
1039
00:58:02,813 --> 00:58:05,782
It's where people live and work
1040
00:58:05,783 --> 00:58:09,118
that the future of wolves
will be decided.
1041
00:58:09,119 --> 00:58:11,655
Most of these ranches
1042
00:58:11,656 --> 00:58:13,923
would not be viable
economic units
1043
00:58:13,924 --> 00:58:17,827
without some kind of
a public land grazing permit.
1044
00:58:21,065 --> 00:58:22,431
North of town, I guess,
1045
00:58:22,432 --> 00:58:26,002
they have more issues
than we do.
1046
00:58:26,003 --> 00:58:28,171
They had some younger wolves
this spring
1047
00:58:28,172 --> 00:58:30,840
that were learning how to hunt,
1048
00:58:30,841 --> 00:58:33,743
and they didn't kill any cows,
1049
00:58:33,744 --> 00:58:36,581
but they tore a few of them up.
1050
00:58:39,016 --> 00:58:42,686
I don't think anybody would say
we don't like wolves.
1051
00:58:42,687 --> 00:58:44,621
We don't like the effect
they have on us.
1052
00:58:44,622 --> 00:58:46,924
Yeah, we're gonna try
to co-exist with them.
1053
00:58:48,492 --> 00:58:50,493
They're fun to look at.
1054
00:58:50,494 --> 00:58:51,861
They're cool to be around.
1055
00:58:51,862 --> 00:58:56,200
I don't live here because
I wanted to live in a...
1056
00:58:57,367 --> 00:59:00,269
I guess a...
1057
00:59:00,270 --> 00:59:01,838
I wanted to live someplace wild.
1058
00:59:06,143 --> 00:59:09,212
We just have cattle up here
in the spring, summer, and fall,
1059
00:59:09,213 --> 00:59:11,615
and we ship 'em
in mid-October...
1060
00:59:14,384 --> 00:59:16,653
...and, uh, the only way you can
move cattle around here
1061
00:59:16,654 --> 00:59:17,721
is really on a horse.
1062
00:59:19,023 --> 00:59:20,023
It's high country,
1063
00:59:20,024 --> 00:59:21,791
about 8,400 feet,
1064
00:59:21,792 --> 00:59:26,195
and our ranch probably climbs
up to about 10,000 feet,
1065
00:59:26,196 --> 00:59:29,232
and we also have cattle
back on the Forest Service,
1066
00:59:29,233 --> 00:59:31,901
so that's
tens of thousands of acres.
1067
00:59:31,902 --> 00:59:35,905
By far the biggest use
of public lands,
1068
00:59:35,906 --> 00:59:38,507
or any lands agriculturally,
1069
00:59:38,508 --> 00:59:39,809
is grazing.
1070
00:59:39,810 --> 00:59:43,079
If you look at a grazing map
of the western United States,
1071
00:59:43,080 --> 00:59:44,714
it's-it's huge.
1072
00:59:44,715 --> 00:59:45,915
Got all kinds of wildlife.
1073
00:59:45,916 --> 00:59:47,083
We have deer and elk
1074
00:59:47,084 --> 00:59:49,553
and fox and coyote
and badgers.
1075
00:59:50,921 --> 00:59:52,656
I think the majority of ranchers
1076
00:59:52,657 --> 00:59:54,257
don't wanna bring the wolf back.
1077
00:59:54,258 --> 00:59:57,160
It's a pretty polarizing issue.
1078
00:59:57,161 --> 00:59:59,028
A lot of ranchers
are against it.
1079
00:59:59,029 --> 01:00:01,097
They're afraid they'll lose
all their livestock,
1080
01:00:01,098 --> 01:00:03,933
or it'll really
cut into their livelihood
1081
01:00:03,934 --> 01:00:05,101
raising cattle and sheep.
1082
01:00:12,376 --> 01:00:13,877
If you stand
next to this chute,
1083
01:00:13,878 --> 01:00:15,879
the lambs may jump out,
1084
01:00:15,880 --> 01:00:18,948
so be very aware
that they could jump out,
1085
01:00:18,949 --> 01:00:20,016
and if you're on top next to it,
1086
01:00:20,017 --> 01:00:21,384
they'll jump on you,
1087
01:00:21,385 --> 01:00:23,119
but also,
if you put your hands up,
1088
01:00:23,120 --> 01:00:24,420
and you keep 'em from jumping,
1089
01:00:24,421 --> 01:00:27,056
we'd greatly appreciate
that behavior too.
1090
01:00:27,057 --> 01:00:28,624
Maybe. Let's see...
1091
01:00:28,625 --> 01:00:30,794
We have uno, dos, tres .
1092
01:00:30,795 --> 01:00:31,895
Let's have actually...
1093
01:00:31,896 --> 01:00:33,096
dos hombres aquí.
1094
01:00:33,097 --> 01:00:35,464
Uno izquierda,
uno drecha posatare.
1095
01:00:35,465 --> 01:00:37,066
Con palitos.
1096
01:00:38,936 --> 01:00:40,136
Push 'em up!
1097
01:00:40,137 --> 01:00:42,772
Push 'em up, push 'em up.
1098
01:00:42,773 --> 01:00:43,707
Push 'em up.
1099
01:00:48,278 --> 01:00:50,246
Before,
when I was a youngster,
1100
01:00:50,247 --> 01:00:54,550
we'd have had to move
these sheep 10 or 12 miles
1101
01:00:54,551 --> 01:00:56,452
to a railhead
1102
01:00:56,453 --> 01:00:59,789
to put the sheep, the lambs,
on a rail car.
1103
01:00:59,790 --> 01:01:02,258
Now we can bring the truck
to the top of the mountain
1104
01:01:02,259 --> 01:01:04,828
and do the job right here.
1105
01:01:07,231 --> 01:01:08,664
Yeah,
they stayed here last night,
1106
01:01:08,665 --> 01:01:11,267
but they have a night pen,
1107
01:01:11,268 --> 01:01:13,169
which I can show you
this afternoon.
1108
01:01:13,170 --> 01:01:16,472
Dos hombres, dos paneles.
1109
01:01:31,188 --> 01:01:32,255
Sheep have been domesticated
1110
01:01:32,256 --> 01:01:34,590
way before the birth of Christ,
1111
01:01:34,591 --> 01:01:37,460
and they've always lived
with predators.
1112
01:01:37,461 --> 01:01:39,929
As they became domesticated,
1113
01:01:39,930 --> 01:01:42,799
they depended more and more
upon man
1114
01:01:42,800 --> 01:01:46,135
to provide their protection,
1115
01:01:46,136 --> 01:01:49,705
and it's kind of
a symbiotic relationship
1116
01:01:49,706 --> 01:01:51,140
between man and their sheep...
1117
01:01:53,177 --> 01:01:54,543
...and a lot of people
have asked me,
1118
01:01:54,544 --> 01:01:58,114
you know,
the predator problem,
1119
01:01:58,115 --> 01:02:01,684
and they look at it
as a financial loss.
1120
01:02:01,685 --> 01:02:05,021
I don't look at it
as a financial loss.
1121
01:02:05,022 --> 01:02:08,057
I look at it
as I failed in my job
1122
01:02:08,058 --> 01:02:10,126
to protect that sheep.
1123
01:02:10,127 --> 01:02:12,395
That's my God-given job
1124
01:02:12,396 --> 01:02:14,497
is to protect those sheep,
1125
01:02:14,498 --> 01:02:16,399
and if a predator comes in,
1126
01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:18,902
there isn't enough money
in the world
1127
01:02:18,903 --> 01:02:21,971
that can replace
the loss I feel,
1128
01:02:21,972 --> 01:02:23,973
the failure that I feel,
1129
01:02:23,974 --> 01:02:25,542
for not being able
to take care of 'em.
1130
01:02:30,815 --> 01:02:33,516
When the wagon trains
came out of the east,
1131
01:02:33,517 --> 01:02:36,085
they all had sheep with them
1132
01:02:36,086 --> 01:02:38,587
for a food source
down the trail,
1133
01:02:38,588 --> 01:02:40,389
that when they got here
to Oregon,
1134
01:02:40,390 --> 01:02:42,258
the sheep numbers just exploded,
1135
01:02:42,259 --> 01:02:44,027
because it's great
sheep country.
1136
01:02:45,029 --> 01:02:46,362
At one time,
1137
01:02:46,363 --> 01:02:48,097
there was probably
over 10 million head of sheep
1138
01:02:48,098 --> 01:02:50,366
in Oregon.
1139
01:02:50,367 --> 01:02:54,003
The numbers were too high
for the natural resources.
1140
01:02:54,004 --> 01:02:58,274
The people that came out here
and homesteaded the ground,
1141
01:02:58,275 --> 01:03:01,444
they chose the best pieces,
1142
01:03:01,445 --> 01:03:04,213
and that left tens of thousands,
1143
01:03:04,214 --> 01:03:08,051
if not hundreds of thousands,
of unclaimed land
1144
01:03:08,052 --> 01:03:10,786
that the federal government
still owned,
1145
01:03:10,787 --> 01:03:14,357
so people started just using it.
1146
01:03:14,358 --> 01:03:16,559
There was no ownership to it,
1147
01:03:16,560 --> 01:03:18,561
and in so doing,
1148
01:03:18,562 --> 01:03:22,298
they overgrazed a lot of it,
1149
01:03:22,299 --> 01:03:24,533
and that's where
the range wars started,
1150
01:03:24,534 --> 01:03:28,371
because people would steal grass
1151
01:03:28,372 --> 01:03:31,975
from where other people
thought they should have it.
1152
01:03:33,243 --> 01:03:35,912
My great uncle,
he went to Washington D.C.
1153
01:03:35,913 --> 01:03:37,780
with 15 or 20 other guys,
1154
01:03:37,781 --> 01:03:39,715
and they sat down,
1155
01:03:39,716 --> 01:03:43,287
and they drafted
the Taylor Grazing Act.
1156
01:03:44,488 --> 01:03:48,157
The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934
1157
01:03:48,158 --> 01:03:50,493
put a stop to overgrazing
1158
01:03:50,494 --> 01:03:54,497
and folks using public land
like a free buffet.
1159
01:03:54,498 --> 01:03:57,733
The act set up grazing permits.
1160
01:03:57,734 --> 01:04:00,236
If you wanted
to run cattle or sheep,
1161
01:04:00,237 --> 01:04:04,007
you had to play by the rules.
1162
01:04:04,008 --> 01:04:06,911
It shaped a multi-use landscape.
1163
01:04:08,946 --> 01:04:11,180
Conservation,
1164
01:04:11,181 --> 01:04:13,950
forestry,
1165
01:04:13,951 --> 01:04:16,085
recreation...
1166
01:04:16,086 --> 01:04:17,786
all sharing space,
1167
01:04:17,787 --> 01:04:20,356
and now, with wolves
roaming free,
1168
01:04:20,357 --> 01:04:22,525
the range wars may have ended,
1169
01:04:22,526 --> 01:04:25,628
but what is allowed
on public land?
1170
01:04:25,629 --> 01:04:28,698
Well, that story
is still being written.
1171
01:04:29,934 --> 01:04:32,701
And compromising
is a tough deal,
1172
01:04:32,702 --> 01:04:36,872
uh, especially if you've
operated in a certain way
1173
01:04:36,873 --> 01:04:38,541
for many, many years,
1174
01:04:38,542 --> 01:04:41,377
and I mean sometimes
generations.
1175
01:04:41,378 --> 01:04:44,447
It is important, in many cases,
1176
01:04:44,448 --> 01:04:48,351
for those people who run ranches
to stay on the land
1177
01:04:48,352 --> 01:04:51,387
if the alternative
is selling those ranches
1178
01:04:51,388 --> 01:04:54,291
for development
and further sprawl.
1179
01:04:55,225 --> 01:04:56,625
If that's the alternative,
1180
01:04:56,626 --> 01:05:00,063
selling the big ranches
to be subdivided for sprawl,
1181
01:05:00,064 --> 01:05:02,531
then we're much better off
1182
01:05:02,532 --> 01:05:04,733
keeping those ranches intact,
1183
01:05:04,734 --> 01:05:08,171
working even in the presence
of big predators,
1184
01:05:08,172 --> 01:05:10,639
even in the presence of wolves.
1185
01:05:10,640 --> 01:05:12,708
If I was living in Colorado
in the 1870s or 1880s,
1186
01:05:12,709 --> 01:05:14,577
I'd probably
be afraid of it too,
1187
01:05:14,578 --> 01:05:17,413
and I'd probably want
to kill them all,
1188
01:05:17,414 --> 01:05:20,016
but there's a lot of stories,
there's a lot of myth,
1189
01:05:20,017 --> 01:05:21,884
and I don't think we need
to be scared of 'em
1190
01:05:21,885 --> 01:05:23,252
in this day and age.
1191
01:05:23,253 --> 01:05:25,588
Well, we always check
on our herd anyway.
1192
01:05:25,589 --> 01:05:29,592
Probably have to be
a little more diligent.
1193
01:05:29,593 --> 01:05:31,094
They're kind of shy animals.
1194
01:05:31,095 --> 01:05:32,495
They...
1195
01:05:32,496 --> 01:05:33,862
I think they'll stay
out of trouble when they can,
1196
01:05:33,863 --> 01:05:36,433
at least stay away
from human beings when they can.
1197
01:05:37,434 --> 01:05:39,068
Every three or four days,
1198
01:05:39,069 --> 01:05:42,271
we move different campsites
1199
01:05:42,272 --> 01:05:44,940
and keep 'em on fresh feed.
1200
01:05:44,941 --> 01:05:46,209
They do better,
1201
01:05:46,210 --> 01:05:48,944
the rangeland does better.
1202
01:05:48,945 --> 01:05:51,747
We put the sheep
inside these pens every night
1203
01:05:51,748 --> 01:05:53,449
to protect them from predation.
1204
01:05:53,450 --> 01:05:55,784
The fence is electrified,
1205
01:05:55,785 --> 01:05:56,752
as you can see here,
1206
01:05:56,753 --> 01:05:59,288
with a solar, uh,
battery-powered charger,
1207
01:05:59,289 --> 01:06:02,525
but the electrification isn't
to keep the sheep in the pen,
1208
01:06:02,526 --> 01:06:04,560
it's actually
to keep predators out.
1209
01:06:04,561 --> 01:06:07,096
Basically,
all you have to do is whistle,
1210
01:06:07,097 --> 01:06:09,065
and they'll run into the pen
1211
01:06:09,066 --> 01:06:10,633
looking for that protection
1212
01:06:10,634 --> 01:06:13,302
that that electric wire
provides.
1213
01:06:13,303 --> 01:06:14,770
We use biological deterrents,
1214
01:06:14,771 --> 01:06:17,073
so guardian dogs,
big, large Pyrenees.
1215
01:06:17,074 --> 01:06:20,576
Those dogs then can patrol
this cleared space,
1216
01:06:20,577 --> 01:06:22,745
and they act as sentries,
1217
01:06:22,746 --> 01:06:26,549
so if the predator encroaches
or approaches the pen,
1218
01:06:26,550 --> 01:06:28,484
um, even if he's just curious,
1219
01:06:28,485 --> 01:06:31,154
the guard dogs
then sound the alarm,
1220
01:06:31,155 --> 01:06:32,388
create a lot of noise,
1221
01:06:32,389 --> 01:06:34,223
haze the predator off,
1222
01:06:34,224 --> 01:06:35,991
and/or wake up the herder,
1223
01:06:35,992 --> 01:06:39,428
and the herders' camp
is just behind us, uh...
1224
01:06:39,429 --> 01:06:42,398
oh, about 100 yards
from the night pen here,
1225
01:06:42,399 --> 01:06:44,500
and then the herder can respond,
1226
01:06:44,501 --> 01:06:48,671
and, you know,
address what is going on.
1227
01:06:48,672 --> 01:06:51,107
We've been using night pens
for over ten years,
1228
01:06:51,108 --> 01:06:53,509
and we have not had
a single night-time predation.
1229
01:06:59,583 --> 01:07:01,517
Blake practices
holistic management.
1230
01:07:01,518 --> 01:07:05,321
He's got a grazing plan
based on those ideas,
1231
01:07:05,322 --> 01:07:07,490
and how we can best
use this country.
1232
01:07:07,491 --> 01:07:09,925
Come on, get up here.
1233
01:07:12,929 --> 01:07:16,832
This holistic management
seems to incorporate a...
1234
01:07:16,833 --> 01:07:19,535
a future landscape
that you envision
1235
01:07:19,536 --> 01:07:24,006
more than a lot of
other philosophies do.
1236
01:07:25,142 --> 01:07:29,378
It's in large part
a decision-making process.
1237
01:07:29,379 --> 01:07:31,480
Those key insights show
1238
01:07:31,481 --> 01:07:35,218
that controlled,
planned grazing of livestock
1239
01:07:35,219 --> 01:07:37,120
is very beneficial
1240
01:07:37,121 --> 01:07:39,888
for the grasslands of the world.
1241
01:07:39,889 --> 01:07:42,991
There's been good years
and bad years, of course,
1242
01:07:42,992 --> 01:07:45,128
but figuring out
what you were doing
1243
01:07:45,129 --> 01:07:45,895
that's causing problems...
1244
01:07:47,697 --> 01:07:51,634
You know, send old cows up here
that got bad hips,
1245
01:07:51,635 --> 01:07:54,470
and ask them to hike up and down
a mountain twice a day,
1246
01:07:54,471 --> 01:07:57,072
you're gonna have problems.
1247
01:07:57,073 --> 01:07:58,307
Um...
1248
01:07:58,308 --> 01:08:00,409
sending too young of calves,
1249
01:08:00,410 --> 01:08:02,645
or cows that aren't...
1250
01:08:02,646 --> 01:08:06,014
uh, prepared
to keep track of their calves
1251
01:08:06,015 --> 01:08:09,718
and fend off a predator.
1252
01:08:09,719 --> 01:08:11,654
The more we know our land,
1253
01:08:11,655 --> 01:08:14,089
the more of a positive
influence we can be.
1254
01:08:14,090 --> 01:08:15,158
Mm-hmm.
1255
01:08:15,159 --> 01:08:16,592
The more you're part of it,
1256
01:08:16,593 --> 01:08:19,162
the better you feel it.
1257
01:08:22,432 --> 01:08:24,700
I think humans just got to get
1258
01:08:24,701 --> 01:08:28,103
a little more in tune to nature.
1259
01:08:33,577 --> 01:08:36,445
In the bustling cities
and towns,
1260
01:08:36,446 --> 01:08:39,348
in the places
where progress hums,
1261
01:08:39,349 --> 01:08:42,084
the wild feels distant.
1262
01:08:45,389 --> 01:08:48,557
Most people
will never encounter a wolf
1263
01:08:48,558 --> 01:08:51,360
outside of a zoo
or wildlife center,
1264
01:08:51,361 --> 01:08:53,929
yet, if you look closely,
1265
01:08:53,930 --> 01:08:56,765
wolf behavior is all around us,
1266
01:08:56,766 --> 01:08:58,301
carrying within them
1267
01:08:58,302 --> 01:09:02,571
the echoes
of their wild ancestors.
1268
01:09:02,572 --> 01:09:05,241
I've worked with wolves
for three years,
1269
01:09:05,242 --> 01:09:07,710
and then have spent
over 15 years studying,
1270
01:09:07,711 --> 01:09:10,413
observing wolves in the wild,
wolves in captivity,
1271
01:09:10,414 --> 01:09:12,315
and also our canine friends,
1272
01:09:12,316 --> 01:09:15,784
and I see so many similarities
in their behavior,
1273
01:09:15,785 --> 01:09:18,153
in their communication.
1274
01:09:19,155 --> 01:09:21,490
Here in England,
1275
01:09:21,491 --> 01:09:24,493
the last wolf was shot
in the 1700s.
1276
01:09:24,494 --> 01:09:27,896
The landscape, as a result,
has suffered,
1277
01:09:27,897 --> 01:09:30,833
because wolves were only seen
as a predator,
1278
01:09:30,834 --> 01:09:32,635
but they are intelligent,
social animals,
1279
01:09:32,636 --> 01:09:34,603
just like our dogs.
1280
01:09:34,604 --> 01:09:37,440
Everything
from our canine friends
1281
01:09:37,441 --> 01:09:41,176
wanting to lick us
when they meet us,
1282
01:09:41,177 --> 01:09:43,312
when they greet us,
1283
01:09:43,313 --> 01:09:45,080
their beautiful wagging tails,
1284
01:09:45,081 --> 01:09:48,116
and so much in their behavior
and communication
1285
01:09:48,117 --> 01:09:49,919
that goes unnoticed...
1286
01:09:50,787 --> 01:09:53,088
things that we may not enjoy
1287
01:09:53,089 --> 01:09:53,856
or may not understand,
1288
01:09:53,857 --> 01:09:56,660
like our dogs scent rolling.
1289
01:09:57,761 --> 01:10:00,864
Information
like communicating trust.
1290
01:10:02,699 --> 01:10:05,634
By going into this position,
1291
01:10:05,635 --> 01:10:08,671
a lot of people would say
our dog is submitting,
1292
01:10:08,672 --> 01:10:09,972
and it's a little bit like that,
1293
01:10:09,973 --> 01:10:11,440
but there's more
information
1294
01:10:11,441 --> 01:10:13,376
than just surrendering
and submitting.
1295
01:10:13,377 --> 01:10:14,710
They're actually saying,
1296
01:10:14,711 --> 01:10:17,145
"Hey, you could take
my life here.
1297
01:10:17,146 --> 01:10:20,148
You could place your muzzle
around my throat,
1298
01:10:20,149 --> 01:10:23,452
or bite me all around
these vulnerable areas,
1299
01:10:23,453 --> 01:10:25,788
but I have so much trust
and faith in you,
1300
01:10:25,789 --> 01:10:29,057
I know that that's not
what's going to happen..."
1301
01:10:29,058 --> 01:10:31,226
and we may see
one of our canine friends
1302
01:10:31,227 --> 01:10:34,196
display this behavior
towards ourselves...
1303
01:10:36,232 --> 01:10:39,736
...just like wolves would do
to each other...
1304
01:10:40,904 --> 01:10:44,673
and in particular,
one absolute similarity
1305
01:10:44,674 --> 01:10:48,811
I see between wolves
and our canine friends
1306
01:10:48,812 --> 01:10:51,180
is something that's called
functional character.
1307
01:10:52,916 --> 01:10:56,585
Our dogs do have
functional characters,
1308
01:10:56,586 --> 01:10:58,587
and functional character
is really amazing,
1309
01:10:58,588 --> 01:11:01,256
because it takes us away
from, again, this story,
1310
01:11:01,257 --> 01:11:02,891
this myth, this tale
1311
01:11:02,892 --> 01:11:05,093
that wolves have a hierarchy.
1312
01:11:05,094 --> 01:11:07,664
Wolves don't exist
in this linear system.
1313
01:11:08,998 --> 01:11:13,436
Every individual that is
in a particular group
1314
01:11:13,437 --> 01:11:16,605
does so because of
the functional purpose it holds
1315
01:11:16,606 --> 01:11:19,508
to support and harmonize
the safety
1316
01:11:19,509 --> 01:11:24,079
and functioning
of that wolf group.
1317
01:11:24,080 --> 01:11:26,582
For example,
your breeding pairs,
1318
01:11:26,583 --> 01:11:28,517
where they're seen
as the guides,
1319
01:11:28,518 --> 01:11:31,019
they anchor the group together,
1320
01:11:31,020 --> 01:11:33,856
and they are absolutely
the go-to individual
1321
01:11:33,857 --> 01:11:36,359
that the rest of the wolf family
are gonna go to.
1322
01:11:37,961 --> 01:11:40,263
They would traditionally
be known as the alpha.
1323
01:11:41,197 --> 01:11:44,132
They have the knowledge
and the wisdom
1324
01:11:44,133 --> 01:11:46,569
that anchor
the rest of that group together
1325
01:11:46,570 --> 01:11:48,737
so that group can survive.
1326
01:11:50,807 --> 01:11:52,908
We have other
functional characters
1327
01:11:52,909 --> 01:11:54,977
that then support the group.
1328
01:11:54,978 --> 01:11:57,780
For example,
defenders or enforcers.
1329
01:11:57,781 --> 01:11:59,147
They defend the group
1330
01:11:59,148 --> 01:12:00,816
from other individuals
and intruders
1331
01:12:00,817 --> 01:12:03,318
that might be coming in.
1332
01:12:06,122 --> 01:12:08,991
Now, this might be
a rival wolf group.
1333
01:12:08,992 --> 01:12:11,795
It could be a bear
coming in to forage.
1334
01:12:14,764 --> 01:12:16,999
They're also the enforcers
within the group.
1335
01:12:17,000 --> 01:12:18,767
They can teach the younger ones.
1336
01:12:18,768 --> 01:12:22,004
They can teach the adolescents
and the juveniles
1337
01:12:22,005 --> 01:12:24,139
what is the correct way of being
1338
01:12:24,140 --> 01:12:27,310
and communicating
within their wolf family.
1339
01:12:28,344 --> 01:12:30,913
We then have followers.
1340
01:12:30,914 --> 01:12:32,247
They're there
to make up the size
1341
01:12:32,248 --> 01:12:33,816
and number of the group,
1342
01:12:33,817 --> 01:12:36,485
so that if there's
a rival wolf group nearby,
1343
01:12:36,486 --> 01:12:38,754
then because maybe
that neighboring wolf group
1344
01:12:38,755 --> 01:12:41,156
has many more followers,
1345
01:12:41,157 --> 01:12:46,595
then it means that they're
at less risk of rivalry.
1346
01:12:48,465 --> 01:12:49,832
Remembering that
just like dogs,
1347
01:12:49,833 --> 01:12:53,836
wolves are individuals,
1348
01:12:53,837 --> 01:12:55,103
and that can also really
help us to understand
1349
01:12:55,104 --> 01:12:57,005
how we can coexist with wolves
1350
01:12:57,006 --> 01:12:59,442
by not just seeing them
as a predator,
1351
01:12:59,443 --> 01:13:03,111
but the functional character
that they are,
1352
01:13:03,112 --> 01:13:05,113
and just like dogs need guidance
1353
01:13:05,114 --> 01:13:07,215
so they don't get into trouble,
1354
01:13:07,216 --> 01:13:08,717
it's a fact
1355
01:13:08,718 --> 01:13:10,218
that many more dogs
kill livestock
1356
01:13:10,219 --> 01:13:11,987
than wolves.
1357
01:13:11,988 --> 01:13:14,557
Wolves need guidance too,
1358
01:13:14,558 --> 01:13:16,058
and sadly, there are occasions
1359
01:13:16,059 --> 01:13:19,394
when some wolves
do kill livestock,
1360
01:13:19,395 --> 01:13:22,030
and one of the reasons can be
where a guide,
1361
01:13:22,031 --> 01:13:23,499
or what is known as the alpha,
1362
01:13:23,500 --> 01:13:26,301
that individual
that can really lead the hunt
1363
01:13:26,302 --> 01:13:29,705
and pass on information
to the rest of her family
1364
01:13:29,706 --> 01:13:31,206
of what to hunt,
1365
01:13:31,207 --> 01:13:32,708
are eradicated.
1366
01:13:32,709 --> 01:13:34,409
They're shot, killed,
1367
01:13:34,410 --> 01:13:37,180
removed by us humans.
1368
01:13:38,882 --> 01:13:39,982
Managers,
1369
01:13:39,983 --> 01:13:42,918
in keeping
with wolf-management plans
1370
01:13:42,919 --> 01:13:45,253
that were part of
the Wolf Recovery program
1371
01:13:45,254 --> 01:13:47,656
and the Endangered Species Act,
1372
01:13:47,657 --> 01:13:49,224
said, "Well,
now they've recovered.
1373
01:13:49,225 --> 01:13:51,326
They've met all the criteria.
1374
01:13:51,327 --> 01:13:53,161
Let's hunt them."
1375
01:13:53,162 --> 01:13:55,531
You open up a hunting season
on wolves,
1376
01:13:55,532 --> 01:13:56,732
what gets taken
1377
01:13:56,733 --> 01:13:59,101
is wolves
are not being hunted for meat,
1378
01:13:59,102 --> 01:14:02,104
they're being hunted
as trophies.
1379
01:14:02,105 --> 01:14:06,274
You kill these wise,
mature wolves
1380
01:14:06,275 --> 01:14:09,878
that teach the younger wolves,
their young,
1381
01:14:09,879 --> 01:14:11,847
and various
generations of wolves
1382
01:14:11,848 --> 01:14:13,749
how to be good wolves,
1383
01:14:13,750 --> 01:14:16,619
and you remove them
from the population.
1384
01:14:18,421 --> 01:14:19,722
It takes about four years
1385
01:14:19,723 --> 01:14:21,891
for wolves to learn to hunt
really well.
1386
01:14:23,126 --> 01:14:24,693
So then what's happened
1387
01:14:24,694 --> 01:14:26,562
since these wolf hunts
have started,
1388
01:14:26,563 --> 01:14:28,063
and this has been
widely observed,
1389
01:14:28,064 --> 01:14:29,297
is that the conflicts,
1390
01:14:29,298 --> 01:14:30,699
these young wolves
1391
01:14:30,700 --> 01:14:32,868
don't know what the heck
they're doing.
1392
01:14:32,869 --> 01:14:35,270
They have, just like
a human 13-year-old,
1393
01:14:35,271 --> 01:14:37,205
raging hormones.
1394
01:14:37,206 --> 01:14:38,406
They don't know what to do,
1395
01:14:38,407 --> 01:14:40,643
and so they'll go
and start eating chickens
1396
01:14:40,644 --> 01:14:42,911
in somebody's chicken coop,
1397
01:14:42,912 --> 01:14:44,747
and then they'll go
and kill somebody's dog,
1398
01:14:44,748 --> 01:14:46,281
and before you know it,
1399
01:14:46,282 --> 01:14:48,083
they start doing
all sorts of bad things,
1400
01:14:48,084 --> 01:14:50,253
'cause they don't know
which way is up.
1401
01:14:51,621 --> 01:14:53,455
You're disrupting the pack life
1402
01:14:53,456 --> 01:14:56,792
when you allow for
an indiscriminate hunt,
1403
01:14:56,793 --> 01:14:59,227
and as you increase
the amount of hunting,
1404
01:14:59,228 --> 01:15:02,599
these situations
just get worse and worse.
1405
01:15:04,467 --> 01:15:06,835
So, here we are,
1406
01:15:06,836 --> 01:15:09,071
where we started.
1407
01:15:09,072 --> 01:15:11,406
As America continues
its tug of war
1408
01:15:11,407 --> 01:15:14,509
between conservation
and control,
1409
01:15:14,510 --> 01:15:16,144
in some areas of the West,
1410
01:15:16,145 --> 01:15:19,782
the bounties on wolves are back.
1411
01:15:19,783 --> 01:15:21,917
They feed an old fear
1412
01:15:21,918 --> 01:15:23,451
that something wild,
1413
01:15:23,452 --> 01:15:25,020
something untamed,
1414
01:15:25,021 --> 01:15:28,124
might take what belongs to us.
1415
01:15:30,459 --> 01:15:32,861
And there are
some contemporary examples
1416
01:15:32,862 --> 01:15:34,863
of people torturing wolves
1417
01:15:34,864 --> 01:15:38,934
in the last few years,
1418
01:15:38,935 --> 01:15:41,136
and if you really engage
with this history,
1419
01:15:41,137 --> 01:15:43,038
I think that, uh, first of all,
1420
01:15:43,039 --> 01:15:44,039
you can understand
1421
01:15:44,040 --> 01:15:45,541
where this stuff
is coming from...
1422
01:15:53,382 --> 01:15:55,017
and I think it would be
a testament
1423
01:15:55,018 --> 01:15:57,886
to our ability as human beings
1424
01:15:57,887 --> 01:16:00,856
to change the way
that we think and behave
1425
01:16:00,857 --> 01:16:03,692
to make space
for these creatures
1426
01:16:03,693 --> 01:16:06,394
that have been with us
throughout our history.
1427
01:16:08,064 --> 01:16:10,198
It's very important
for our young people
1428
01:16:10,199 --> 01:16:12,000
to know our history
1429
01:16:12,001 --> 01:16:14,737
as well as
our contemporary place
1430
01:16:14,738 --> 01:16:16,238
on our landscape,
1431
01:16:16,239 --> 01:16:20,242
and so we are no longer
able to access
1432
01:16:20,243 --> 01:16:22,410
much of
our traditional territory,
1433
01:16:22,411 --> 01:16:24,713
but we as caretakers
1434
01:16:24,714 --> 01:16:27,916
are just part of the system.
1435
01:16:27,917 --> 01:16:30,518
Recognizing the importance
of buffalo
1436
01:16:30,519 --> 01:16:32,320
as a keystone species,
1437
01:16:32,321 --> 01:16:35,157
managed as wildlife,
as we describe them today.
1438
01:16:35,158 --> 01:16:41,029
The importance of wolves
and bears to the ecosystem.
1439
01:16:41,030 --> 01:16:43,098
Being balanced mentally,
spiritually,
1440
01:16:43,099 --> 01:16:44,432
emotionally, physically.
1441
01:16:44,433 --> 01:16:47,936
This holistic understanding
of how we see the world
1442
01:16:47,937 --> 01:16:50,005
teaches us that...
1443
01:16:50,006 --> 01:16:53,008
that all of the components
of our natural world,
1444
01:16:53,009 --> 01:16:55,077
all are very important.
1445
01:16:58,614 --> 01:16:59,948
And those wolves,
1446
01:16:59,949 --> 01:17:01,917
I've ridden
right alongside of 'em,
1447
01:17:01,918 --> 01:17:05,954
within them being 30 yards
off to the side,
1448
01:17:05,955 --> 01:17:09,391
right going parallel with me,
1449
01:17:09,392 --> 01:17:11,193
and they just looked at me,
1450
01:17:11,194 --> 01:17:12,961
and my horse and me
are trotting along,
1451
01:17:12,962 --> 01:17:14,362
and I look at them.
1452
01:17:14,363 --> 01:17:16,598
I'm not worried about them
trying to take me.
1453
01:17:16,599 --> 01:17:17,733
They aren't gonna do that.
1454
01:17:17,734 --> 01:17:20,302
You check fences,
you check salt, you check water,
1455
01:17:20,303 --> 01:17:23,706
you check where the cows are,
1456
01:17:23,707 --> 01:17:26,041
and in that presence,
1457
01:17:26,042 --> 01:17:27,876
I think it helps
with all predators,
1458
01:17:27,877 --> 01:17:29,978
be it grizzly bears, wolves,
1459
01:17:29,979 --> 01:17:33,049
mountain lions, whatever...
1460
01:17:34,250 --> 01:17:36,785
and it's what I did.
1461
01:17:36,786 --> 01:17:40,989
As far as being a range rider
and a... wolf spotter,
1462
01:17:40,990 --> 01:17:42,157
it don't take much.
1463
01:17:48,331 --> 01:17:50,598
Yeah, it's all a living system,
1464
01:17:50,599 --> 01:17:52,467
not just a home for cows.
1465
01:17:52,468 --> 01:17:53,836
It's a...
1466
01:17:53,837 --> 01:17:56,439
it's a place for life.
1467
01:18:00,076 --> 01:18:01,309
Much of our country
1468
01:18:01,310 --> 01:18:03,678
is now covered
with shopping malls,
1469
01:18:03,679 --> 01:18:05,680
cornfields,
1470
01:18:05,681 --> 01:18:06,949
and highways
1471
01:18:06,950 --> 01:18:09,584
that stretch across landscapes
1472
01:18:09,585 --> 01:18:12,687
once shaped by hoofbeats
1473
01:18:12,688 --> 01:18:15,324
and open skies...
1474
01:18:17,360 --> 01:18:21,463
but the land remembers.
1475
01:18:25,101 --> 01:18:29,504
There are roughly 385 million
unenclosed acres
1476
01:18:29,505 --> 01:18:31,874
in the western United States,
1477
01:18:31,875 --> 01:18:34,777
and that belongs to the people,
1478
01:18:34,778 --> 01:18:36,979
not some monarch.
1479
01:18:36,980 --> 01:18:38,446
That's a privilege,
1480
01:18:38,447 --> 01:18:40,983
and it's worth standing up for.
1481
01:18:40,984 --> 01:18:44,019
In the commons and beyond,
1482
01:18:44,020 --> 01:18:45,353
can we, the people,
1483
01:18:45,354 --> 01:18:49,792
work with
rather than against the wild?
1484
01:18:51,327 --> 01:18:56,832
Entanglement, history, myth,
1485
01:18:56,833 --> 01:18:59,501
and mutual dependence.
1486
01:18:59,502 --> 01:19:02,170
Wolves and people
remain co-travelers
1487
01:19:02,171 --> 01:19:04,039
in American history,
1488
01:19:04,040 --> 01:19:05,473
and this lingering partnership
1489
01:19:05,474 --> 01:19:08,911
reminds us that our concerns
and aspirations
1490
01:19:08,912 --> 01:19:11,546
exist alongside the others.
1491
01:19:12,548 --> 01:19:14,249
Where wildness and domestication
1492
01:19:14,250 --> 01:19:16,751
endlessly collide...
1493
01:19:18,221 --> 01:19:20,889
...a chance remains to restore,
1494
01:19:20,890 --> 01:19:23,491
to coexist,
1495
01:19:23,492 --> 01:19:28,163
to reimagine what it means
to share this world.
1496
01:19:28,164 --> 01:19:30,398
The story of the wolves
1497
01:19:30,399 --> 01:19:34,202
is ultimately the story of us,
1498
01:19:34,203 --> 01:19:36,004
a reflection
of how we choose to live
1499
01:19:36,005 --> 01:19:39,875
alongside the untamed,
1500
01:19:39,876 --> 01:19:42,277
and how we decide
1501
01:19:42,278 --> 01:19:46,515
what future we leave behind.