1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.BZ 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.BZ 3 00:00:10,811 --> 00:00:12,846 [***] 4 00:00:17,585 --> 00:00:21,354 [river running] 5 00:00:21,355 --> 00:00:23,524 [forest birds chirping] 6 00:00:24,358 --> 00:00:26,527 [wind gusting] 7 00:00:35,703 --> 00:00:39,139 [Jeff Bridges narrates] This is the stage, 8 00:00:39,140 --> 00:00:40,774 the American West. 9 00:00:42,943 --> 00:00:45,545 What you see... 10 00:00:45,546 --> 00:00:48,981 well, it depends on where you're standing. 11 00:00:48,982 --> 00:00:49,883 [horse blowing] 12 00:00:52,353 --> 00:00:53,986 [***] 13 00:00:53,987 --> 00:00:55,455 [cattle mooing] 14 00:00:55,456 --> 00:00:59,392 It is a landscape of myth and reality... 15 00:00:59,393 --> 00:01:01,394 [wagon wheels rattling] 16 00:01:01,395 --> 00:01:02,995 [horses neighing] 17 00:01:02,996 --> 00:01:05,833 [***] 18 00:01:07,301 --> 00:01:08,801 [hammers clanking] 19 00:01:08,802 --> 00:01:11,171 [Bridges] ...a place where the ensemble 20 00:01:11,172 --> 00:01:12,372 not only walks... 21 00:01:12,373 --> 00:01:13,373 [bears grunting] 22 00:01:13,374 --> 00:01:15,875 they trot, lope, 23 00:01:15,876 --> 00:01:17,144 stampede, 24 00:01:17,145 --> 00:01:20,247 and migrate through history. 25 00:01:20,248 --> 00:01:21,581 [buffalo grunting] 26 00:01:21,582 --> 00:01:25,185 [horses neighing] 27 00:01:25,186 --> 00:01:26,886 [***] 28 00:01:26,887 --> 00:01:29,356 [Bridges] Wolves, 29 00:01:29,357 --> 00:01:32,425 bison... 30 00:01:32,426 --> 00:01:34,361 [grunting] 31 00:01:34,362 --> 00:01:36,429 ...elk... 32 00:01:36,430 --> 00:01:38,531 [elk bugling] 33 00:01:38,532 --> 00:01:39,832 [sheep bleating] 34 00:01:39,833 --> 00:01:42,101 ...sheep... 35 00:01:42,102 --> 00:01:43,436 and cattle... 36 00:01:43,437 --> 00:01:45,238 [cattle lowing] 37 00:01:45,239 --> 00:01:46,406 ...horses... 38 00:01:46,407 --> 00:01:48,107 [horses neighing] 39 00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:50,076 ...and countless other beings... 40 00:01:50,077 --> 00:01:51,744 [***] 41 00:01:51,745 --> 00:01:53,946 [groundhogs chirping] 42 00:01:53,947 --> 00:01:56,283 [grasses rustling] 43 00:01:56,284 --> 00:01:58,285 [gentle splashing] 44 00:01:58,286 --> 00:02:01,020 [hooting] 45 00:02:01,021 --> 00:02:03,756 [Bridges] ...wild and domestic alike 46 00:02:03,757 --> 00:02:04,924 aren't just part of the scenery... 47 00:02:04,925 --> 00:02:05,958 [cow mooing] 48 00:02:05,959 --> 00:02:07,360 ...they're co-authors of a shared journey 49 00:02:07,361 --> 00:02:09,696 shaping history, 50 00:02:09,697 --> 00:02:13,032 as much as they are shaped by it, 51 00:02:13,033 --> 00:02:15,368 and when you start seeing the animals 52 00:02:15,369 --> 00:02:17,637 as more than just background, 53 00:02:17,638 --> 00:02:20,207 perspective shifts, 54 00:02:20,208 --> 00:02:22,041 time stretches, 55 00:02:22,042 --> 00:02:25,144 where the land is not just a stage. 56 00:02:25,145 --> 00:02:27,079 No, it remembers... 57 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:28,648 remembers every footstep. 58 00:02:28,649 --> 00:02:30,650 Where every living being 59 00:02:30,651 --> 00:02:33,152 shares the same purpose, 60 00:02:33,153 --> 00:02:34,621 to thrive 61 00:02:34,622 --> 00:02:38,325 and leave behind the spark of its existence 62 00:02:38,326 --> 00:02:40,493 that will endure into the future, 63 00:02:40,494 --> 00:02:43,996 a future that we all will share. 64 00:02:43,997 --> 00:02:45,666 [thunder rumbling] 65 00:02:48,502 --> 00:02:49,669 It's a critical moment 66 00:02:49,670 --> 00:02:51,938 to think about our relationship, 67 00:02:51,939 --> 00:02:53,506 uh, with nature, 68 00:02:53,507 --> 00:02:55,975 our relationship with other organisms, 69 00:02:55,976 --> 00:02:59,246 our relationship with animals. 70 00:02:59,247 --> 00:03:00,848 [***] 71 00:03:02,516 --> 00:03:04,150 It's important to recognize this history, 72 00:03:04,151 --> 00:03:07,454 this shared history that we all have, 73 00:03:07,455 --> 00:03:09,956 in order to come to terms with a future 74 00:03:09,957 --> 00:03:12,191 that we're going to have with one another. 75 00:03:12,192 --> 00:03:13,360 [wolf howling] 76 00:03:13,361 --> 00:03:15,295 Wolves give you that... 77 00:03:15,296 --> 00:03:17,930 that depth of a relationship, 78 00:03:17,931 --> 00:03:21,668 and this relationship is much older 79 00:03:21,669 --> 00:03:23,703 than the United States. 80 00:03:23,704 --> 00:03:25,706 [***] 81 00:03:43,056 --> 00:03:45,725 [Michelle Paver] No matter how different we are... 82 00:03:45,726 --> 00:03:47,059 [branch crackling] 83 00:03:47,060 --> 00:03:48,295 ...we look, 84 00:03:48,296 --> 00:03:49,729 we were all, every one of us, 85 00:03:49,730 --> 00:03:51,698 hunter-gatherers once 86 00:03:51,699 --> 00:03:54,301 back in our genes, 87 00:03:54,302 --> 00:03:56,370 our hunter-gatherer genes. 88 00:03:58,572 --> 00:04:01,642 [***] 89 00:04:05,078 --> 00:04:10,216 Whether you live in Japan, or Nigeria, or Alaska, 90 00:04:10,217 --> 00:04:11,651 for thousands of years, 91 00:04:11,652 --> 00:04:12,752 much longer than we've been 92 00:04:12,753 --> 00:04:14,754 so-called "civilized" human beings, 93 00:04:14,755 --> 00:04:17,425 we were hunter-gatherers, living off the land... 94 00:04:18,759 --> 00:04:20,927 [tapping flint] 95 00:04:20,928 --> 00:04:23,396 ...and it's also worth remembering 96 00:04:23,397 --> 00:04:26,433 that wolves 97 00:04:26,434 --> 00:04:27,935 were with us too... 98 00:04:31,739 --> 00:04:34,674 ...which is why they trot through all the folklore 99 00:04:34,675 --> 00:04:36,443 of pretty much every single country, 100 00:04:36,444 --> 00:04:37,878 every culture. 101 00:04:38,712 --> 00:04:40,781 [wolf howling] 102 00:04:45,353 --> 00:04:49,188 [ravens cawing] 103 00:04:49,189 --> 00:04:50,424 [***] 104 00:04:55,295 --> 00:04:57,798 [rumbling of many hooves] 105 00:05:05,973 --> 00:05:07,106 [Elizabeth Marshall] So often 106 00:05:07,107 --> 00:05:08,741 we approach animals in the natural world 107 00:05:08,742 --> 00:05:11,243 through the stories that we tell about them, 108 00:05:11,244 --> 00:05:12,812 the myths, the legend, 109 00:05:12,813 --> 00:05:15,214 rather than approaching the natural world and animals 110 00:05:15,215 --> 00:05:16,249 on their own terms. 111 00:05:19,152 --> 00:05:22,321 We interpret things in human cultural ways 112 00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:26,927 rather than allowing animals to speak for themselves... 113 00:05:27,828 --> 00:05:29,997 [***] 114 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:34,334 [gunshots] 115 00:05:37,170 --> 00:05:40,272 ...and it really affects how people view wolves, 116 00:05:40,273 --> 00:05:42,409 and particularly how they treat them 117 00:05:42,410 --> 00:05:43,744 in the real world. 118 00:05:47,781 --> 00:05:48,849 [drool dripping] 119 00:05:54,588 --> 00:05:55,456 [exploding] 120 00:05:59,460 --> 00:06:00,494 [growling] 121 00:06:02,930 --> 00:06:04,697 [Marshall] "Lupus in fabula." 122 00:06:04,698 --> 00:06:06,365 "The wolf in the story." 123 00:06:06,366 --> 00:06:07,367 [bell dinging] 124 00:06:08,636 --> 00:06:10,136 There was a superstition 125 00:06:10,137 --> 00:06:12,338 in ancient Greek and Roman culture 126 00:06:12,339 --> 00:06:15,442 which said that if a wolf saw a person 127 00:06:15,443 --> 00:06:17,677 before the person saw the wolf, 128 00:06:17,678 --> 00:06:19,011 then that person would be struck dumb. 129 00:06:19,012 --> 00:06:21,681 The wolf would steal their speech. 130 00:06:21,682 --> 00:06:24,884 The superstition that wolves could steal a person's speech 131 00:06:24,885 --> 00:06:26,218 was problematic, 132 00:06:26,219 --> 00:06:29,522 because speech was a marker of rationality 133 00:06:29,523 --> 00:06:32,058 and of human exceptionalism. 134 00:06:32,059 --> 00:06:35,528 If a person's speech was stolen by a wolf, 135 00:06:35,529 --> 00:06:38,064 an unthinking, unspeaking animal, 136 00:06:38,065 --> 00:06:41,200 they became no better than a savage beast, 137 00:06:41,201 --> 00:06:43,736 no better than a wolf themselves... 138 00:06:43,737 --> 00:06:45,071 [distant howling] 139 00:06:45,072 --> 00:06:47,039 ...and that's idiomatically equivalent 140 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:50,243 to the modern English phrase "speak of the devil." 141 00:06:51,311 --> 00:06:53,580 People know so much about wolves, 142 00:06:53,581 --> 00:06:55,047 not from a biological standpoint, 143 00:06:55,048 --> 00:06:58,351 but from a cultural standpoint. 144 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:01,353 Scram, bum. 145 00:07:01,354 --> 00:07:03,891 I'm workin' this side of the pasture. 146 00:07:04,925 --> 00:07:07,894 [Paver] Wolves are in our collective imagination. 147 00:07:07,895 --> 00:07:09,228 [distant howling] 148 00:07:09,229 --> 00:07:10,229 In England, 149 00:07:10,230 --> 00:07:13,199 we certainly have our fair share of fear... 150 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:14,534 although, of course, wolves 151 00:07:14,535 --> 00:07:18,405 haven't been around in this country for centuries. 152 00:07:21,374 --> 00:07:23,110 [***] 153 00:07:27,581 --> 00:07:29,115 In our hunter-gatherer past, 154 00:07:29,116 --> 00:07:32,085 we felt a sort of brotherhood with them. 155 00:07:34,087 --> 00:07:36,556 The wolf was a benign spirit, 156 00:07:36,557 --> 00:07:38,191 or a helper. 157 00:07:39,627 --> 00:07:40,727 [***] 158 00:07:40,728 --> 00:07:44,631 Wolves don't just feed their pack, 159 00:07:44,632 --> 00:07:46,599 they feed other animals as well. 160 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:48,968 The ravens follow the wolf pack. 161 00:07:48,969 --> 00:07:52,639 Mice, voles, rats. 162 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:53,573 Men, when they're very hungry, 163 00:07:53,574 --> 00:07:54,807 used to follow the wolf pack 164 00:07:54,808 --> 00:07:57,044 and pick up the scraps. 165 00:08:01,749 --> 00:08:04,383 In the Wolf Brother books, I write about the Mesolithic. 166 00:08:04,384 --> 00:08:06,819 This is the time of the hunter-gatherers 167 00:08:06,820 --> 00:08:09,222 before farming came along in Northern Europe. 168 00:08:16,930 --> 00:08:19,832 [***] 169 00:08:19,833 --> 00:08:21,100 It was often said 170 00:08:21,101 --> 00:08:23,335 a squirrel could hop from one end of England 171 00:08:23,336 --> 00:08:24,837 to Scotland, 172 00:08:24,838 --> 00:08:26,673 from tree to tree, you know, 173 00:08:26,674 --> 00:08:28,140 and never touch the ground, 174 00:08:28,141 --> 00:08:30,810 so it was one vast forest. 175 00:08:30,811 --> 00:08:32,580 [***] 176 00:08:36,116 --> 00:08:38,017 People have lived here 177 00:08:38,018 --> 00:08:39,619 for thousands and thousands of years 178 00:08:39,620 --> 00:08:41,521 and left their mark. 179 00:08:43,523 --> 00:08:45,625 There's a massive change 180 00:08:45,626 --> 00:08:48,761 in our attitudes to wolves 181 00:08:48,762 --> 00:08:50,697 from when we were hunter-gatherers 182 00:08:50,698 --> 00:08:53,533 to when farming came along. 183 00:08:56,870 --> 00:08:58,672 [sheep bleating] 184 00:09:00,507 --> 00:09:02,041 Agrarian cultures, 185 00:09:02,042 --> 00:09:03,442 pastoral cultures... 186 00:09:03,443 --> 00:09:05,277 [sheep bleating] 187 00:09:05,278 --> 00:09:06,445 ...the wolf becomes the enemy. 188 00:09:06,446 --> 00:09:08,649 [***] 189 00:09:12,519 --> 00:09:13,954 [sheep bleating] 190 00:09:15,022 --> 00:09:18,490 [Marshall] The people who wrote the Bible, 191 00:09:18,491 --> 00:09:20,126 the Old Testament and the New Testament, 192 00:09:20,127 --> 00:09:22,862 the passages that they included about wolves 193 00:09:22,863 --> 00:09:25,665 were directly drawn from their knowledge 194 00:09:25,666 --> 00:09:28,167 and their experience of wolves, of wolf behavior, 195 00:09:28,168 --> 00:09:30,069 so they saw wolves hunting, 196 00:09:30,070 --> 00:09:31,904 they saw them preying on sheep, 197 00:09:31,905 --> 00:09:34,874 and they incorporated those as metaphors, 198 00:09:34,875 --> 00:09:37,209 particularly for the behavior of the Devil 199 00:09:37,210 --> 00:09:39,578 preying upon Christian souls, 200 00:09:39,579 --> 00:09:44,084 and Christians were framed as sheep in Christ's flock. 201 00:09:45,318 --> 00:09:49,155 This metaphor probably resonated with later Christian farmers 202 00:09:49,156 --> 00:09:51,924 because it gave them an image to put these ideas to, 203 00:09:51,925 --> 00:09:53,893 so the Devil was a wolf 204 00:09:53,894 --> 00:09:55,561 who preyed upon Christian sheep, 205 00:09:55,562 --> 00:09:58,765 and if they saw a wolf preying upon a lamb, 206 00:09:58,766 --> 00:10:00,232 tearing a lamb apart 207 00:10:00,233 --> 00:10:02,735 in the same way that the Devil would tear apart their soul, 208 00:10:02,736 --> 00:10:05,838 that was a very real, very visceral image for them 209 00:10:05,839 --> 00:10:08,441 to attach their beliefs to. 210 00:10:10,410 --> 00:10:13,245 In early medieval England and in Scandinavia, 211 00:10:13,246 --> 00:10:15,581 there was also this comparison. 212 00:10:15,582 --> 00:10:17,016 Wolves and outlaws 213 00:10:17,017 --> 00:10:19,285 were considered to be akin to one another. 214 00:10:19,286 --> 00:10:21,453 They were both seen as wilderness dwellers 215 00:10:21,454 --> 00:10:24,056 who had been driven away from civilization 216 00:10:24,057 --> 00:10:28,427 to live in the wastes of the wood, or the fenland. 217 00:10:28,428 --> 00:10:30,963 They were also considered criminals, 218 00:10:30,964 --> 00:10:34,467 preying on the community like or as a wolf. 219 00:10:35,635 --> 00:10:38,771 [Paver] It becomes a symbol of all that's bad and wild 220 00:10:38,772 --> 00:10:39,972 and that we can't control, 221 00:10:39,973 --> 00:10:42,975 hence the idea of werewolves. 222 00:10:42,976 --> 00:10:44,712 [spectral howling] 223 00:10:54,054 --> 00:10:55,321 [Marshall] Pastoral activities 224 00:10:55,322 --> 00:10:57,890 were an important part of the medieval economy, 225 00:10:57,891 --> 00:10:59,258 and really, 226 00:10:59,259 --> 00:11:02,895 it was often tied up with ideas about ownership. 227 00:11:02,896 --> 00:11:05,164 Sheep were a very important part 228 00:11:05,165 --> 00:11:07,735 of people's diet. 229 00:11:09,336 --> 00:11:13,173 They were also kind of a marker of security and wealth. 230 00:11:14,241 --> 00:11:16,843 Wool paid for the development of key ports 231 00:11:16,844 --> 00:11:18,244 because wool was being traded 232 00:11:18,245 --> 00:11:20,279 and cloth was being sent overseas, 233 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:22,014 so these ports needed to develop 234 00:11:22,015 --> 00:11:25,484 to keep up with this supply and demand. 235 00:11:25,485 --> 00:11:28,420 The money from wool paid for manor houses, 236 00:11:28,421 --> 00:11:31,023 it paid for churches and cathedrals, 237 00:11:31,024 --> 00:11:32,191 and really, at this point 238 00:11:32,192 --> 00:11:35,161 is when there's very concerted efforts 239 00:11:35,162 --> 00:11:37,129 to exterminate wolves, 240 00:11:37,130 --> 00:11:39,331 because they were an active threat to the wool trade 241 00:11:39,332 --> 00:11:43,270 and the burgeoning prosperity of England at this time. 242 00:11:45,705 --> 00:11:48,775 [Jon Coleman] One of the main advantages of livestock 243 00:11:48,776 --> 00:11:52,979 was that you could cultivate multiple generations 244 00:11:52,980 --> 00:11:55,214 and use the reproduction of the animals 245 00:11:55,215 --> 00:11:58,450 actually to increase your wealth, 246 00:11:58,451 --> 00:12:00,552 so livestock was something 247 00:12:00,553 --> 00:12:01,954 that you could give to your children 248 00:12:01,955 --> 00:12:04,690 through natural reproduction, 249 00:12:04,691 --> 00:12:06,725 perpetuating households, 250 00:12:06,726 --> 00:12:08,828 perpetuating family names 251 00:12:08,829 --> 00:12:12,399 over long spans of time. 252 00:12:14,301 --> 00:12:16,969 [Marshall] When wool became such an important leg 253 00:12:16,970 --> 00:12:18,304 of the economic system, 254 00:12:18,305 --> 00:12:20,572 people were given land 255 00:12:20,573 --> 00:12:24,076 in exchange for removing wolves from an area, 256 00:12:24,077 --> 00:12:26,078 so they were given wealth, 257 00:12:26,079 --> 00:12:27,313 they were given status 258 00:12:27,314 --> 00:12:30,349 in exchange for getting rid of wolves. 259 00:12:30,350 --> 00:12:31,884 Basically, England's wealth 260 00:12:31,885 --> 00:12:35,521 was then predicated on the eradication of wolves. 261 00:12:35,522 --> 00:12:37,324 [***] 262 00:12:38,892 --> 00:12:41,327 [Bridges] Wealthy landowners, 263 00:12:41,328 --> 00:12:44,263 driven by the profitability of wool production, 264 00:12:44,264 --> 00:12:46,598 began enclosing common lands 265 00:12:46,599 --> 00:12:49,368 that had traditionally been used by peasants 266 00:12:49,369 --> 00:12:52,704 for subsistence farming and grazing. 267 00:12:52,705 --> 00:12:54,373 Not just wolves, 268 00:12:54,374 --> 00:12:57,076 the starving peasants suffered too. 269 00:12:57,077 --> 00:13:00,779 Stealing a sheep was punishable by death. 270 00:13:00,780 --> 00:13:03,049 Kind of reminds me of an Aesop's fable 271 00:13:03,050 --> 00:13:05,451 about human hypocrisy. 272 00:13:05,452 --> 00:13:08,354 A wolf, seeing some shepherds eating a sheep, 273 00:13:08,355 --> 00:13:10,957 commented, "What an uproar you would make 274 00:13:10,958 --> 00:13:13,393 if I were doing that." 275 00:13:15,562 --> 00:13:17,629 [Paver] So by the 17th century, 276 00:13:17,630 --> 00:13:20,399 what we call the English countryside 277 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,302 wasn't that different from the way it is now. 278 00:13:23,303 --> 00:13:24,871 I mean, okay, we've got more roads and things, 279 00:13:24,872 --> 00:13:26,605 but in essence, 280 00:13:26,606 --> 00:13:28,775 we'd cut down most of the forests. 281 00:13:29,977 --> 00:13:35,481 This country is still the least forested in Europe. 282 00:13:35,482 --> 00:13:36,582 We still have a few old trees, 283 00:13:36,583 --> 00:13:40,119 but we'd got rid of certainly the wolves, 284 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,155 and most of the other wild animals, 285 00:13:43,156 --> 00:13:45,758 and it was a pastoral place. 286 00:13:47,928 --> 00:13:51,397 For anyone going from that 287 00:13:51,398 --> 00:13:53,765 to somewhere like North America, 288 00:13:53,766 --> 00:13:56,335 which was much more the way Europe had been 289 00:13:56,336 --> 00:13:58,804 in the hunter-gatherer times, 290 00:13:58,805 --> 00:14:00,506 vast forests, 291 00:14:00,507 --> 00:14:03,842 people who still lived in traditional ways, 292 00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:05,177 hunter-gatherer ways, 293 00:14:05,178 --> 00:14:09,015 and wolves and bears and lynxes and things, 294 00:14:09,016 --> 00:14:11,150 that must have been enormous, 295 00:14:11,151 --> 00:14:14,120 not just the threat to survival, 296 00:14:14,121 --> 00:14:16,423 but also the culture clash. 297 00:14:18,258 --> 00:14:19,591 Communicating with people 298 00:14:19,592 --> 00:14:21,860 who believed wolves were their brothers, essentially, 299 00:14:21,861 --> 00:14:23,262 and respected them, 300 00:14:23,263 --> 00:14:25,531 whereas in England, 301 00:14:25,532 --> 00:14:27,499 by then you'd grown up with all the stories 302 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:29,168 about how terrible wolves are, 303 00:14:29,169 --> 00:14:30,269 and to be shunned, 304 00:14:30,270 --> 00:14:32,638 and the forest is a place to be feared, 305 00:14:32,639 --> 00:14:35,542 not a place to sustain you. 306 00:14:40,347 --> 00:14:42,481 Cultural ideas about anything, 307 00:14:42,482 --> 00:14:44,550 and especially about wolves, 308 00:14:44,551 --> 00:14:46,652 don't exist in a vacuum. 309 00:14:46,653 --> 00:14:49,388 The people who traveled to the Americas from Britain, 310 00:14:49,389 --> 00:14:53,626 they brought stories over with them. 311 00:14:55,228 --> 00:14:56,529 [***] 312 00:15:04,537 --> 00:15:08,674 [Coleman] The livestock were a critical colonial partner. 313 00:15:08,675 --> 00:15:11,177 They were property that you could move. 314 00:15:11,178 --> 00:15:12,578 Especially English colonists 315 00:15:12,579 --> 00:15:15,881 came over with domesticated animals, 316 00:15:15,882 --> 00:15:18,417 so they both landed on the beach together. 317 00:15:18,418 --> 00:15:20,719 They met wolves right away, 318 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,589 so within the first year, the first decade, 319 00:15:23,590 --> 00:15:25,757 what you had were conflicts 320 00:15:25,758 --> 00:15:28,760 between wolves and the colonists' livestock, 321 00:15:28,761 --> 00:15:30,696 because there were not enough people 322 00:15:30,697 --> 00:15:34,200 to take care of them every day, 323 00:15:34,201 --> 00:15:36,435 so in most of the colonies, 324 00:15:36,436 --> 00:15:38,504 they preferred animals 325 00:15:38,505 --> 00:15:39,939 that could take care of themselves. 326 00:15:41,874 --> 00:15:46,579 They were often set loose on the landscape... 327 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,449 and then people would go out and collect them. 328 00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:53,452 Sometimes it was the job of really tiny kids, 329 00:15:53,453 --> 00:15:56,222 maybe three, four, five years old 330 00:15:56,223 --> 00:15:58,890 would be sent out to collect the cows 331 00:15:58,891 --> 00:16:00,593 wherever they wandered... 332 00:16:02,629 --> 00:16:05,931 and some of the earliest government actions 333 00:16:05,932 --> 00:16:07,933 in the English colonies 334 00:16:07,934 --> 00:16:11,570 were laws or bounties that were passed 335 00:16:11,571 --> 00:16:14,773 to try to deal with livestock depredation 336 00:16:14,774 --> 00:16:15,808 caused by wolves. 337 00:16:18,445 --> 00:16:20,112 They actually nailed the heads of wolves 338 00:16:20,113 --> 00:16:22,481 to their meeting houses, 339 00:16:22,482 --> 00:16:24,150 which is not what we think of when we think of Puritans 340 00:16:24,151 --> 00:16:27,420 and their churches. 341 00:16:28,655 --> 00:16:30,822 The colonists' heads are full 342 00:16:30,823 --> 00:16:33,925 of all different kinds of stories, 343 00:16:33,926 --> 00:16:37,296 which in part explains their behaviors. 344 00:16:37,297 --> 00:16:40,167 [howling] 345 00:16:41,334 --> 00:16:43,102 They would dig pit traps, 346 00:16:43,103 --> 00:16:45,271 and then bait those traps, 347 00:16:45,272 --> 00:16:47,073 and they would capture wolves 348 00:16:47,074 --> 00:16:48,407 after they went for the bait 349 00:16:48,408 --> 00:16:50,642 and dropped into these pits, 350 00:16:50,643 --> 00:16:55,447 which meant that they were often handling live animals. 351 00:16:55,448 --> 00:16:57,516 The farmers, when they found these animals, 352 00:16:57,517 --> 00:16:59,851 usually the wolves cowered, 353 00:16:59,852 --> 00:17:03,489 or behaved submissively in front of humans 354 00:17:03,490 --> 00:17:05,191 in this situation, 355 00:17:05,192 --> 00:17:07,427 and often humans tortured them. 356 00:17:08,761 --> 00:17:13,265 You'd have to imagine dispersal of livestock 357 00:17:13,266 --> 00:17:15,367 going wherever they want to go, 358 00:17:15,368 --> 00:17:17,869 and this led to enormous conflicts 359 00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:20,772 between colonists and Native people, 360 00:17:20,773 --> 00:17:22,274 because the two groups of people 361 00:17:22,275 --> 00:17:24,810 might not be in each other's face, 362 00:17:24,811 --> 00:17:28,480 but the colonists' livestock were a constant nuisance 363 00:17:28,481 --> 00:17:31,183 for Native maize fields, 364 00:17:31,184 --> 00:17:33,785 for ruining oyster beds, 365 00:17:33,786 --> 00:17:35,954 and during wars between the two groups, 366 00:17:35,955 --> 00:17:39,291 the first thing that Native warriors would do 367 00:17:39,292 --> 00:17:40,526 was kill livestock 368 00:17:40,527 --> 00:17:44,697 as an expression of them not taking it anymore. 369 00:17:46,499 --> 00:17:47,799 [howling] 370 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:49,868 [Bridges] Through the colonial lens of history, 371 00:17:49,869 --> 00:17:52,671 the Indigenous people and wolves 372 00:17:52,672 --> 00:17:54,740 stood in the way of improvement. 373 00:17:54,741 --> 00:17:55,907 [howling] 374 00:17:55,908 --> 00:17:58,510 They belonged to the howling wilderness. 375 00:17:58,511 --> 00:18:00,512 [howling] 376 00:18:00,513 --> 00:18:01,847 As we all know, 377 00:18:01,848 --> 00:18:04,015 wolves howl, 378 00:18:04,016 --> 00:18:05,751 they communicate, 379 00:18:05,752 --> 00:18:07,886 and they do it for many reasons, 380 00:18:07,887 --> 00:18:09,421 bonding, 381 00:18:09,422 --> 00:18:11,056 or as a coordinated chorus 382 00:18:11,057 --> 00:18:14,760 to sound like a larger pack marking their territory, 383 00:18:14,761 --> 00:18:19,365 and the sound that travels, well, it ends up in folklore, 384 00:18:19,366 --> 00:18:21,066 folklore that often focused 385 00:18:21,067 --> 00:18:24,236 on stories about people hearing wolves, 386 00:18:24,237 --> 00:18:27,005 thinking they're going to be surrounded by wolves, 387 00:18:27,006 --> 00:18:28,440 attacked by wolves, 388 00:18:28,441 --> 00:18:30,676 but in reality... 389 00:18:30,677 --> 00:18:32,611 it's just a conversation 390 00:18:32,612 --> 00:18:36,081 that has nothing to do with them. 391 00:18:36,082 --> 00:18:38,049 It fed a foundation idea 392 00:18:38,050 --> 00:18:41,953 of what it meant to pacify a wilderness. 393 00:18:41,954 --> 00:18:46,358 To civilize a wilderness was to get rid of the wolves. 394 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:48,294 If you could get rid of the howling, 395 00:18:48,295 --> 00:18:50,629 well, you were one step closer 396 00:18:50,630 --> 00:18:53,800 to getting rid of the wilderness. 397 00:18:56,035 --> 00:19:00,872 Colonists themselves were often urban or semi-urban. 398 00:19:00,873 --> 00:19:03,475 They entered into a disease environment 399 00:19:03,476 --> 00:19:05,777 that was very favorable to them, 400 00:19:05,778 --> 00:19:07,813 and this was expressed 401 00:19:07,814 --> 00:19:11,317 in them having families that were massive. 402 00:19:11,318 --> 00:19:12,984 You have to measure this 403 00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:15,120 against the diseases that they brought over 404 00:19:15,121 --> 00:19:19,090 that were devastating to Native peoples, 405 00:19:19,091 --> 00:19:21,793 so this was a disease environment 406 00:19:21,794 --> 00:19:24,964 that was very unequal. 407 00:19:26,466 --> 00:19:28,667 Each of these families had an ambition 408 00:19:28,668 --> 00:19:30,302 to set their children up, 409 00:19:30,303 --> 00:19:31,603 not to become rich, 410 00:19:31,604 --> 00:19:33,972 but to have a comfortable livelihood. 411 00:19:33,973 --> 00:19:37,142 This put a lot of pressure on those families 412 00:19:37,143 --> 00:19:38,844 to find additional land 413 00:19:38,845 --> 00:19:42,681 that they could set their children up on, 414 00:19:42,682 --> 00:19:44,650 so these large families 415 00:19:44,651 --> 00:19:47,486 actually became an engine of colonization 416 00:19:47,487 --> 00:19:49,588 as each one of them went in search 417 00:19:49,589 --> 00:19:52,792 of finding a farm for 15 kids. 418 00:19:54,694 --> 00:19:56,695 [Bridges] Ecological change. 419 00:19:56,696 --> 00:20:00,532 The new world began to look like the old world. 420 00:20:00,533 --> 00:20:02,534 [sheep bleating] 421 00:20:02,535 --> 00:20:05,437 The British Wool Act of 1699, 422 00:20:05,438 --> 00:20:08,374 which restricted colonial wool production 423 00:20:08,375 --> 00:20:09,641 to local use 424 00:20:09,642 --> 00:20:12,878 and banned exports and intercolonial trade 425 00:20:12,879 --> 00:20:15,547 to protect England's woolen industry, 426 00:20:15,548 --> 00:20:19,785 sowed the early seeds of colonial resentment. 427 00:20:19,786 --> 00:20:20,952 But resentment? 428 00:20:20,953 --> 00:20:22,654 Well, it's like a loose thread. 429 00:20:22,655 --> 00:20:25,023 You pull too hard... 430 00:20:25,024 --> 00:20:26,224 [cannon firing] 431 00:20:26,225 --> 00:20:28,059 ...things start to unravel. 432 00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:29,629 [blasting] 433 00:20:30,697 --> 00:20:32,631 The way of life our forefathers established 434 00:20:32,632 --> 00:20:35,667 n this foundation of freedoms.o 435 00:20:35,668 --> 00:20:37,903 [Bridges] In a world of fields and fences, 436 00:20:37,904 --> 00:20:41,640 the New Republic maintained bounties on wolves, 437 00:20:41,641 --> 00:20:44,643 but also bounties on creatures. 438 00:20:44,644 --> 00:20:46,845 Vermin, as they were labeled, 439 00:20:46,846 --> 00:20:48,680 were seen as a nuisance 440 00:20:48,681 --> 00:20:51,318 to this agricultural transformation. 441 00:20:52,652 --> 00:20:54,019 [calling] 442 00:20:54,020 --> 00:20:57,489 That came with a set of ideas about animals and land 443 00:20:57,490 --> 00:21:00,892 that would forever change the continent. 444 00:21:00,893 --> 00:21:04,663 Meanwhile, beyond the newly formed borders 445 00:21:04,664 --> 00:21:06,832 lay vast territories 446 00:21:06,833 --> 00:21:09,267 shaped by traditions and practices 447 00:21:09,268 --> 00:21:12,438 in ways that the citizens of the new republic 448 00:21:12,439 --> 00:21:14,741 could scarcely imagine. 449 00:21:17,744 --> 00:21:19,779 [***] 450 00:21:30,957 --> 00:21:32,791 Our territory was vast 451 00:21:32,792 --> 00:21:34,192 so that we would be able 452 00:21:34,193 --> 00:21:37,897 to utilize various resources throughout the year. 453 00:21:40,132 --> 00:21:43,936 For our people, there was nothing wild here. 454 00:21:46,272 --> 00:21:48,707 [***] 455 00:21:48,708 --> 00:21:51,109 The predators, wolves, and bears, 456 00:21:51,110 --> 00:21:54,813 are recognized as our relatives. 457 00:21:54,814 --> 00:21:58,249 We lived for millennia with wolves and bears, 458 00:21:58,250 --> 00:22:01,553 with the four-legged, the winged, 459 00:22:01,554 --> 00:22:02,954 the ones that swim, 460 00:22:02,955 --> 00:22:05,492 the ones that crawl above and below the ground. 461 00:22:06,826 --> 00:22:08,794 The health of our communities 462 00:22:08,795 --> 00:22:12,131 was directly related to the biodiversity. 463 00:22:16,969 --> 00:22:18,837 [distant bird calling] 464 00:22:18,838 --> 00:22:20,305 That animal economy 465 00:22:20,306 --> 00:22:25,512 was really the foundation for our economy. 466 00:22:28,448 --> 00:22:30,582 That biodiversity that existed 467 00:22:30,583 --> 00:22:34,921 largely was because of the buffalo. 468 00:22:37,990 --> 00:22:39,290 In the early 1600s, 469 00:22:39,291 --> 00:22:41,927 when French fur trappers first encountered them 470 00:22:41,928 --> 00:22:43,328 in North America, 471 00:22:43,329 --> 00:22:46,097 they called them "boeuf," 472 00:22:46,098 --> 00:22:49,868 likely because of the Water and Cape Buffalo they knew 473 00:22:49,869 --> 00:22:52,170 from other parts of the world. 474 00:22:52,171 --> 00:22:53,672 In the mid 1700s, 475 00:22:53,673 --> 00:22:56,708 "Bison bison" became the scientific name, 476 00:22:56,709 --> 00:22:58,209 but in our tribal communities, 477 00:22:58,210 --> 00:23:01,312 we more often refer to them as buffalo, 478 00:23:01,313 --> 00:23:04,716 although there's over 330 distinct languages 479 00:23:04,717 --> 00:23:06,051 on this continent. 480 00:23:06,052 --> 00:23:08,620 We all have our terms for the animal 481 00:23:08,621 --> 00:23:10,055 in our own languages. 482 00:23:10,056 --> 00:23:12,157 In Shoshone, it's "Boy-zshan" 483 00:23:12,158 --> 00:23:14,159 or "Kuittsu." 484 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,395 In Northern Arapaho, it's "Heneecee" 485 00:23:17,396 --> 00:23:19,198 or "Hii3einon." 486 00:23:20,399 --> 00:23:22,568 For our grandmas and grandpas, our ancestors, 487 00:23:22,569 --> 00:23:24,703 this animal was life's commissary. 488 00:23:24,704 --> 00:23:26,071 [buffalo blowing] 489 00:23:26,072 --> 00:23:28,173 Of course, there was no refrigeration, 490 00:23:28,174 --> 00:23:31,910 and so, imagine a 2,000-pound animal 491 00:23:31,911 --> 00:23:33,812 and preserving the meat 492 00:23:33,813 --> 00:23:36,582 so that it would last you for months. 493 00:23:36,583 --> 00:23:38,684 When you dry the meat, 494 00:23:38,685 --> 00:23:40,752 all of the protein is preserved. 495 00:23:40,753 --> 00:23:41,920 None of it gets denatured, 496 00:23:41,921 --> 00:23:44,055 which happens when you cook it. 497 00:23:44,056 --> 00:23:46,758 All of that buffalo had a use. 498 00:23:46,759 --> 00:23:49,360 [buffalo bellowing] 499 00:23:49,361 --> 00:23:51,997 That buffalo contains all of the parts 500 00:23:51,998 --> 00:23:54,766 to be able to sustain yourself 501 00:23:54,767 --> 00:23:57,536 if you have the knowledge and know-how. 502 00:23:57,537 --> 00:23:59,437 The bones made into tools, 503 00:23:59,438 --> 00:24:00,572 our clothing, 504 00:24:00,573 --> 00:24:01,940 our shelter, 505 00:24:01,941 --> 00:24:04,075 but it's also central to who we are 506 00:24:04,076 --> 00:24:06,244 in our spirituality, 507 00:24:06,245 --> 00:24:09,448 central to our ceremonies even still today. 508 00:24:10,717 --> 00:24:13,251 [grunting] 509 00:24:13,252 --> 00:24:14,353 [snorting exhale] 510 00:24:16,022 --> 00:24:17,523 [bellowing grunts] 511 00:24:17,524 --> 00:24:19,958 [***] 512 00:24:19,959 --> 00:24:21,560 The lodge, the tipi, 513 00:24:21,561 --> 00:24:23,895 allowed us to be mobile. 514 00:24:23,896 --> 00:24:25,197 [***] 515 00:24:26,298 --> 00:24:30,135 A lodge takes 16 to 18 hides to make a 20-foot tipi, 516 00:24:30,136 --> 00:24:32,804 so if you have a community of 20 tipis, 517 00:24:32,805 --> 00:24:34,072 that's over 300 buffalo 518 00:24:34,073 --> 00:24:36,643 just in the lodges alone. 519 00:24:38,244 --> 00:24:39,410 [fire crackling] 520 00:24:39,411 --> 00:24:40,879 Some people think the term "nomadic" 521 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,749 means wandering aimlessly, 522 00:24:43,750 --> 00:24:45,384 but that is inaccurate. 523 00:24:46,553 --> 00:24:47,986 Wandering aimlessly 524 00:24:47,987 --> 00:24:49,287 is no way to describe 525 00:24:49,288 --> 00:24:51,757 what the Shoshone people were doing 526 00:24:51,758 --> 00:24:54,159 on our landscape, on our territory. 527 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:55,827 We knew exactly where we were going, 528 00:24:55,828 --> 00:24:58,730 and exactly for what and when. 529 00:24:58,731 --> 00:25:00,600 [***] 530 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,309 [birds calling] 531 00:25:17,817 --> 00:25:19,652 [wind gusting] 532 00:25:23,189 --> 00:25:25,591 Our people were very athletic. 533 00:25:25,592 --> 00:25:28,194 They had to move vast distances. 534 00:25:29,829 --> 00:25:32,632 [traditional singing and drumming] 535 00:25:36,368 --> 00:25:38,203 [***] 536 00:25:38,204 --> 00:25:39,370 [Taylor LaFrance] The Apsáalooke people, 537 00:25:39,371 --> 00:25:42,608 which translates to the "Crow people," 538 00:25:42,609 --> 00:25:44,943 are strong and rich in culture. 539 00:25:44,944 --> 00:25:47,345 [traditional singing and drumming continuing] 540 00:25:47,346 --> 00:25:49,447 [horse blowing] 541 00:25:49,448 --> 00:25:50,549 [***] 542 00:25:54,053 --> 00:25:55,386 [Noel Two Leggins] What I understand 543 00:25:55,387 --> 00:25:58,223 and what I was told through oral history, 544 00:25:58,224 --> 00:26:00,959 there was a time where we lived in a great civilization 545 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,496 in a metropolis around the Ohio Valley. 546 00:26:06,565 --> 00:26:10,501 Two brothers decided to go on a vision quest. 547 00:26:10,502 --> 00:26:12,037 Because of a vision quest 548 00:26:12,038 --> 00:26:15,140 and because of the search of the sacred tobacco plant, 549 00:26:15,141 --> 00:26:19,577 those are the reasons why we are here. 550 00:26:19,578 --> 00:26:21,347 [***] 551 00:26:22,381 --> 00:26:23,414 "Apsáalooke." 552 00:26:23,415 --> 00:26:26,718 "Children of the Large-Beaked Bird." 553 00:26:26,719 --> 00:26:29,087 The bird, the raven. 554 00:26:29,088 --> 00:26:30,421 Through misinterpretation, 555 00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:33,224 when they tried to translate who we are, 556 00:26:33,225 --> 00:26:34,993 "Children of the Large-Beaked Bird," 557 00:26:34,994 --> 00:26:36,762 from European contact, 558 00:26:36,763 --> 00:26:38,596 and they called us the "Crow." 559 00:26:38,597 --> 00:26:40,365 [***] 560 00:26:40,366 --> 00:26:42,001 [horse neighing] 561 00:26:42,935 --> 00:26:46,437 Before we had the horse, we had the dog. 562 00:26:46,438 --> 00:26:49,340 The first dogs that Crow came upon, 563 00:26:49,341 --> 00:26:53,945 they were basically wolves that roamed this territory. 564 00:26:53,946 --> 00:26:56,214 It was the wolf that was domesticated 565 00:26:56,215 --> 00:26:58,416 by the Plains Indians tribes, 566 00:26:58,417 --> 00:26:59,417 by our people, 567 00:26:59,418 --> 00:27:01,453 that were the first beasts of burdens... 568 00:27:04,190 --> 00:27:08,126 ...and the dogs would be carrying a travois, 569 00:27:08,127 --> 00:27:12,063 and it would be carrying the belongings. 570 00:27:12,064 --> 00:27:14,766 Dogs were really well respected in ceremony 571 00:27:14,767 --> 00:27:17,969 and held positions in the Crow. 572 00:27:17,970 --> 00:27:19,638 [***] 573 00:27:23,109 --> 00:27:24,109 It is the horse... 574 00:27:24,110 --> 00:27:25,711 [horses neighing] 575 00:27:25,712 --> 00:27:28,047 ...he's our beast of burden now. 576 00:27:29,481 --> 00:27:31,050 [***] 577 00:27:34,721 --> 00:27:37,622 [speaking Indigenous language] 578 00:27:37,623 --> 00:27:40,792 Which translates to "My name is Horse Woman. 579 00:27:40,793 --> 00:27:41,728 I am Greasy Mouth." 580 00:27:42,895 --> 00:27:45,496 I descend from Chief Pretty Eagle, 581 00:27:45,497 --> 00:27:49,000 one of the last-known chiefs of the Crow tribe. 582 00:27:49,001 --> 00:27:50,502 [***] 583 00:27:53,472 --> 00:27:54,473 [horse blowing] 584 00:27:55,474 --> 00:27:57,342 Ever since I was two years old, 585 00:27:57,343 --> 00:27:58,510 I have been on a horse. 586 00:28:02,648 --> 00:28:04,350 [horses neighing] 587 00:28:07,686 --> 00:28:10,255 [Lissa Whiteclay] The horse in the Crow language 588 00:28:10,256 --> 00:28:11,757 is descriptive, 589 00:28:11,758 --> 00:28:14,025 and it's called "Ichilay," 590 00:28:14,026 --> 00:28:15,660 and that means 591 00:28:15,661 --> 00:28:18,697 that you use it to look for things. 592 00:28:20,867 --> 00:28:22,301 [horses neighing] 593 00:28:24,536 --> 00:28:28,039 The horses weren't always here among the Crow. 594 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,675 [neighing] 595 00:28:30,676 --> 00:28:33,444 The conquistadors brought the first horses 596 00:28:33,445 --> 00:28:34,545 to the south 597 00:28:34,546 --> 00:28:36,848 back in the 1500s, 598 00:28:36,849 --> 00:28:38,216 and later, 599 00:28:38,217 --> 00:28:41,219 when the Pueblo people revolted against the Spanish, 600 00:28:41,220 --> 00:28:42,988 thousands of horses escaped 601 00:28:42,989 --> 00:28:45,891 and were also traded north. 602 00:28:45,892 --> 00:28:49,394 It became important to the Crows. 603 00:28:49,395 --> 00:28:52,330 They would use them to go on war parties, 604 00:28:52,331 --> 00:28:54,733 to go hunting for buffalo. 605 00:28:56,702 --> 00:28:58,336 They didn't have guns, 606 00:28:58,337 --> 00:29:01,006 they had arrows made out of arrowheads, 607 00:29:01,007 --> 00:29:03,074 but that's where these buffalo jumps 608 00:29:03,075 --> 00:29:04,742 became very important. 609 00:29:04,743 --> 00:29:08,579 They would chase them down into those buffalo jumps, 610 00:29:08,580 --> 00:29:13,084 and that's how they would get a majority of their meat. 611 00:29:13,085 --> 00:29:14,653 [horses blowing] 612 00:29:15,922 --> 00:29:20,025 We believe that they have spirits. 613 00:29:20,026 --> 00:29:21,927 Horses have spirits, 614 00:29:21,928 --> 00:29:25,763 and when you become one with them, 615 00:29:25,764 --> 00:29:28,766 they trust you, 616 00:29:28,767 --> 00:29:31,336 you trust them. 617 00:29:31,337 --> 00:29:33,238 If you're nervous or something, 618 00:29:33,239 --> 00:29:35,707 they can feel it. 619 00:29:40,847 --> 00:29:43,781 Some horses, they were sacred. 620 00:29:43,782 --> 00:29:45,450 They would cherish them, 621 00:29:45,451 --> 00:29:48,386 and so they had an important horse 622 00:29:48,387 --> 00:29:50,256 that did everything for them. 623 00:29:52,524 --> 00:29:56,594 They believed that the horse would actually tippy-toe. 624 00:29:56,595 --> 00:29:59,297 It would sneak up on an enemy camp, 625 00:29:59,298 --> 00:30:02,633 and that's how powerful 626 00:30:02,634 --> 00:30:05,636 the horse and the warriors' medicine is. 627 00:30:05,637 --> 00:30:08,907 They would just go into the enemy camp 628 00:30:08,908 --> 00:30:10,876 and steal all their horses. 629 00:30:10,877 --> 00:30:12,243 [horses neighing] 630 00:30:12,244 --> 00:30:14,280 [***] 631 00:30:17,483 --> 00:30:21,586 Hunting was a way of life for the Crow. 632 00:30:21,587 --> 00:30:22,487 [elk bugling] 633 00:30:22,488 --> 00:30:24,655 When they successfully hunted elk, 634 00:30:24,656 --> 00:30:27,492 the elk teeth were sewn into clothing 635 00:30:27,493 --> 00:30:29,094 to show the skill of the hunter 636 00:30:29,095 --> 00:30:32,397 and the honor of his family. 637 00:30:32,398 --> 00:30:35,000 They called those "iichíilihte." 638 00:30:35,001 --> 00:30:37,603 [***] 639 00:30:39,939 --> 00:30:41,673 [elk bugling] 640 00:30:49,648 --> 00:30:51,682 [Noel Two Leggins] The wilderness concept 641 00:30:51,683 --> 00:30:55,153 "untrammeled by man" or "leave no trace," 642 00:30:55,154 --> 00:30:57,689 that makes no sense to Native people. 643 00:31:01,093 --> 00:31:03,661 We used our region, 644 00:31:03,662 --> 00:31:05,863 whether it was high elevation or low elevation, 645 00:31:05,864 --> 00:31:07,165 for over 20,000 years, 646 00:31:07,166 --> 00:31:10,101 just by the archaeological evidence. 647 00:31:10,102 --> 00:31:13,538 We even say longer than that. 648 00:31:13,539 --> 00:31:15,774 [traditional singing and drumming] 649 00:31:17,977 --> 00:31:19,946 [bird squawking] 650 00:31:21,647 --> 00:31:23,448 The animals... 651 00:31:23,449 --> 00:31:26,684 those that live without fire. 652 00:31:26,685 --> 00:31:29,887 When it came to the land and animals, 653 00:31:29,888 --> 00:31:32,390 the Indigenous people, 654 00:31:32,391 --> 00:31:34,859 they respected them so much 655 00:31:34,860 --> 00:31:36,661 that they would name their children 656 00:31:36,662 --> 00:31:40,331 and children's children after animals, 657 00:31:40,332 --> 00:31:42,067 because of the significant power source 658 00:31:42,068 --> 00:31:44,402 that was within them. 659 00:31:44,403 --> 00:31:46,872 [buffalo bellowing] 660 00:31:50,076 --> 00:31:51,876 And nobody should be surprised 661 00:31:51,877 --> 00:31:55,581 that this was always a managed landscape. 662 00:31:58,050 --> 00:32:02,053 Euro-Americans were kind of dedicated to the idea 663 00:32:02,054 --> 00:32:04,990 that they were the primary actors 664 00:32:04,991 --> 00:32:06,391 in this landscape, 665 00:32:06,392 --> 00:32:09,927 so they actively erased or hid the evidence 666 00:32:09,928 --> 00:32:15,200 that the people before them were managing these landscapes, 667 00:32:15,201 --> 00:32:17,202 so the idea of a wilderness 668 00:32:17,203 --> 00:32:20,238 is very much a fantasy. 669 00:32:20,239 --> 00:32:22,774 [***] 670 00:32:46,565 --> 00:32:48,299 [Bridges] Pushed forward by newspapers 671 00:32:48,300 --> 00:32:50,768 and promoters of American nationalism, 672 00:32:50,769 --> 00:32:53,371 "Manifest Destiny" is an idea 673 00:32:53,372 --> 00:32:56,641 that flourishes in the mid 19th century, 674 00:32:56,642 --> 00:32:59,477 that America was destined to stretch 675 00:32:59,478 --> 00:33:02,580 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 676 00:33:02,581 --> 00:33:05,650 The people who were in the way were Indigenous peoples, 677 00:33:05,651 --> 00:33:08,486 but also rival European powers 678 00:33:08,487 --> 00:33:10,488 like the Spanish and the French, 679 00:33:10,489 --> 00:33:13,058 who would be obstacles to this destiny, 680 00:33:13,059 --> 00:33:16,327 this "obvious destiny," 681 00:33:16,328 --> 00:33:20,231 reframing what were actually political choices 682 00:33:20,232 --> 00:33:22,133 to be in the hands of God 683 00:33:22,134 --> 00:33:24,803 instead of human beings... 684 00:33:26,105 --> 00:33:28,339 so people pushed on, 685 00:33:28,340 --> 00:33:30,908 encouraged to find a promise, 686 00:33:30,909 --> 00:33:33,112 a hope, a dream. 687 00:33:37,916 --> 00:33:39,418 [***] 688 00:33:44,356 --> 00:33:47,992 And as they came upon lands of the Plains Indians tribes, 689 00:33:47,993 --> 00:33:52,130 we did everything we could to protect our home 690 00:33:52,131 --> 00:33:54,600 like they would protect theirs. 691 00:33:56,868 --> 00:33:59,137 To me, when I think about "Manifest Destiny," 692 00:33:59,138 --> 00:34:02,973 I feel that is a word of... 693 00:34:02,974 --> 00:34:04,176 genocide. 694 00:34:06,545 --> 00:34:08,679 [thunder rumbling] 695 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:10,781 When Lewis and Clark came west in 1804, 696 00:34:10,782 --> 00:34:14,219 they witnessed 30 to 60 million bison. 697 00:34:14,220 --> 00:34:18,224 By 1902, there were less than 23 left in Yellowstone. 698 00:34:20,392 --> 00:34:22,194 [***] 699 00:34:25,631 --> 00:34:28,499 [Baldes] What was imposed upon us 700 00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:30,468 was systems of land management 701 00:34:30,469 --> 00:34:34,472 that were contrary to our belief system. 702 00:34:34,473 --> 00:34:36,374 They basically told us that 703 00:34:36,375 --> 00:34:37,875 if you don't become farmers and ranchers, 704 00:34:37,876 --> 00:34:39,678 we're going to take your land... 705 00:34:40,846 --> 00:34:42,580 and they did. 706 00:34:42,581 --> 00:34:44,582 Forces of nature were removed, 707 00:34:44,583 --> 00:34:46,252 and we were removed too. 708 00:34:48,854 --> 00:34:51,055 The things that they eliminated, 709 00:34:51,056 --> 00:34:53,491 anything that could be perceived as a threat, 710 00:34:53,492 --> 00:34:57,362 killing every predator, 711 00:34:57,363 --> 00:34:59,598 and it meant getting rid of fire. 712 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,535 The Native American people knew 713 00:35:04,536 --> 00:35:06,704 that there was this deep connection 714 00:35:06,705 --> 00:35:09,507 between the plant communities and the animals and fire 715 00:35:09,508 --> 00:35:11,709 that was beneficial, 716 00:35:11,710 --> 00:35:15,446 and so intentionally set this mosaic of fires, 717 00:35:15,447 --> 00:35:17,582 low-severity fires, 718 00:35:17,583 --> 00:35:19,917 not the mega fires 719 00:35:19,918 --> 00:35:23,354 that, you know, burn up entire forests. 720 00:35:23,355 --> 00:35:25,623 When you set a fire in the system, 721 00:35:25,624 --> 00:35:27,258 within 24 hours, 722 00:35:27,259 --> 00:35:29,760 the grasses are sprouting again, 723 00:35:29,761 --> 00:35:33,864 and the sprouting of the grasses calls in the animals, 724 00:35:33,865 --> 00:35:37,402 so then, Native Americans would be able to get an elk 725 00:35:37,403 --> 00:35:39,069 or a deer or a bison. 726 00:35:39,070 --> 00:35:41,739 All these animals know when there's fire, 727 00:35:41,740 --> 00:35:43,642 that means it's like ringing the dinner bell. 728 00:35:45,076 --> 00:35:48,613 These light fires were incredibly beneficial 729 00:35:48,614 --> 00:35:50,147 to the whole system, 730 00:35:50,148 --> 00:35:53,219 and caused the nutrients to cycle more vigorously... 731 00:35:55,487 --> 00:35:58,324 until very recently, until about 1850. 732 00:36:00,158 --> 00:36:02,593 Settlers thought they were doing the right thing, 733 00:36:02,594 --> 00:36:05,496 making a landscape much safer for people, 734 00:36:05,497 --> 00:36:07,765 and better for agriculture, 735 00:36:07,766 --> 00:36:09,834 and instead, what happened 736 00:36:09,835 --> 00:36:12,503 is that they created a system 737 00:36:12,504 --> 00:36:14,672 that has been functioning like an engine 738 00:36:14,673 --> 00:36:16,742 missing critical parts. 739 00:36:18,844 --> 00:36:22,613 The system is governed by these relationships 740 00:36:22,614 --> 00:36:25,616 that are ancient and evolutionary... 741 00:36:25,617 --> 00:36:26,684 [elk bugling] 742 00:36:26,685 --> 00:36:29,854 ...so you have the wolf at the top, 743 00:36:29,855 --> 00:36:32,189 you have its preferred prey, 744 00:36:32,190 --> 00:36:37,328 in this area, 95% of what wolves eat is elk. 745 00:36:37,329 --> 00:36:38,629 They're all muscle, 746 00:36:38,630 --> 00:36:39,630 because they run 747 00:36:39,631 --> 00:36:41,932 and travel so far, 748 00:36:41,933 --> 00:36:45,202 and so their meat has a higher protein content 749 00:36:45,203 --> 00:36:46,371 and a lower fat content, 750 00:36:46,372 --> 00:36:48,038 and if you're a wolf, 751 00:36:48,039 --> 00:36:53,043 that's exactly what you need to survive optimally, 752 00:36:53,044 --> 00:36:55,546 and then, you have the food that elk eat, 753 00:36:55,547 --> 00:36:57,448 which, they eat mostly grass 754 00:36:57,449 --> 00:36:59,284 in the warm time of the year 755 00:36:59,285 --> 00:37:02,953 when the protein level in the grasses drops. 756 00:37:02,954 --> 00:37:05,857 They switch to eating aspen trees in winter. 757 00:37:07,893 --> 00:37:10,795 Aspen has a lot of protein in it, 758 00:37:10,796 --> 00:37:14,733 the buds of aspen and also under the bark... 759 00:37:17,503 --> 00:37:20,571 and if there are no wolves in the area 760 00:37:20,572 --> 00:37:21,906 and a lot of elk, 761 00:37:21,907 --> 00:37:25,676 the little sprouts get browsed to death. 762 00:37:25,677 --> 00:37:27,645 Then the elk will just mow them down, 763 00:37:27,646 --> 00:37:29,747 and they're not allowed to recruit, 764 00:37:29,748 --> 00:37:31,682 which means reach maturity, 765 00:37:31,683 --> 00:37:33,184 become adult trees. 766 00:37:35,020 --> 00:37:37,588 The elk, they come up to something like this, 767 00:37:37,589 --> 00:37:38,556 and if wolves are around, 768 00:37:38,557 --> 00:37:40,658 they can take a nip, like, here, 769 00:37:40,659 --> 00:37:42,060 but then they just have to keep going... 770 00:37:43,362 --> 00:37:44,495 [elk bugling] 771 00:37:44,496 --> 00:37:47,398 [wolves howling] 772 00:37:47,399 --> 00:37:50,901 ...and this whole business of the wolves are gone, 773 00:37:50,902 --> 00:37:54,605 so we can just stand around like we're lawn ornaments, 774 00:37:54,606 --> 00:37:56,941 wreaks havoc with food webs, 775 00:37:56,942 --> 00:37:59,009 and that eliminates habitat 776 00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:03,013 for things like American Redstart warblers, 777 00:38:03,014 --> 00:38:03,949 for example. 778 00:38:05,351 --> 00:38:07,085 [birds chirping] 779 00:38:12,424 --> 00:38:13,724 [Bridges] Entanglement. 780 00:38:13,725 --> 00:38:17,194 We're always entangled in relationships, 781 00:38:17,195 --> 00:38:19,196 a web of relationships 782 00:38:19,197 --> 00:38:24,370 forged over long, long periods of time. 783 00:38:30,809 --> 00:38:33,277 The settlers reshaped the Plains, 784 00:38:33,278 --> 00:38:34,612 and the large outlines 785 00:38:34,613 --> 00:38:36,547 of the story of American beef 786 00:38:36,548 --> 00:38:39,484 in the 19th century began. 787 00:38:39,485 --> 00:38:41,085 Grass. 788 00:38:41,086 --> 00:38:44,655 Letting your livestock run free. 789 00:38:44,656 --> 00:38:46,891 A way of taking advantage of grass 790 00:38:46,892 --> 00:38:49,326 without needing to claim ownership. 791 00:38:49,327 --> 00:38:50,828 An open range. 792 00:38:50,829 --> 00:38:53,330 A kind of freedom. 793 00:38:53,331 --> 00:38:55,166 [cattle lowing] 794 00:38:56,668 --> 00:38:58,002 [Coleman] The Great Plains 795 00:38:58,003 --> 00:39:01,506 are one of the best places to graze large ungulates 796 00:39:01,507 --> 00:39:03,475 in the entire world. 797 00:39:06,978 --> 00:39:10,981 One of the big moments comes after the Civil War... 798 00:39:10,982 --> 00:39:12,917 [gunshots, fifes playing] 799 00:39:12,918 --> 00:39:16,087 ...a lot of the markets for cattle were shut down. 800 00:39:17,355 --> 00:39:19,123 The herds started to build up 801 00:39:19,124 --> 00:39:21,125 in places especially like Texas, 802 00:39:21,126 --> 00:39:24,930 and these were semi-feral Longhorn cattle. 803 00:39:27,032 --> 00:39:29,634 There was, uh, estimated to be 804 00:39:29,635 --> 00:39:32,369 about 3.5 million Longhorns around Texas 805 00:39:32,370 --> 00:39:33,671 after the Civil War. 806 00:39:33,672 --> 00:39:35,706 [***] 807 00:39:35,707 --> 00:39:36,974 [cattle lowing] 808 00:39:36,975 --> 00:39:40,210 People were trying to figure out how to survive 809 00:39:40,211 --> 00:39:43,047 and make some money off of these Longhorns 810 00:39:43,048 --> 00:39:45,716 that no one wanted to pay anything for. 811 00:39:45,717 --> 00:39:48,052 [***] 812 00:39:48,053 --> 00:39:50,455 If they could get those cows up to Kansas, 813 00:39:50,456 --> 00:39:53,858 to those early railroads coming across Kansas, 814 00:39:53,859 --> 00:39:57,562 there was potential to make about $40 per cow, 815 00:39:57,563 --> 00:39:58,863 so that was some pretty good money. 816 00:39:58,864 --> 00:40:00,330 [***] 817 00:40:00,331 --> 00:40:02,033 [cattle mooing] 818 00:40:06,872 --> 00:40:08,072 The short trip to Kansas, 819 00:40:08,073 --> 00:40:10,407 that was about two to three months in length, 820 00:40:10,408 --> 00:40:12,743 that trip to Montana here 821 00:40:12,744 --> 00:40:16,380 could take five to six months on average. 822 00:40:16,381 --> 00:40:18,749 Eventually, if they could get that cow to Chicago 823 00:40:18,750 --> 00:40:20,818 or New York City, 824 00:40:20,819 --> 00:40:23,053 they could make potentially even more money. 825 00:40:23,054 --> 00:40:25,556 Then once the cows were here in the Northern Plains, 826 00:40:25,557 --> 00:40:29,560 there weren't fences to keep those cattle contained. 827 00:40:29,561 --> 00:40:31,596 It was an open range, 828 00:40:31,597 --> 00:40:35,399 which is where the name of this time period comes from, 829 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,001 and after the Civil War, 830 00:40:37,002 --> 00:40:39,069 there were a lot of surplus army wagons. 831 00:40:39,070 --> 00:40:43,007 They had iron axles and iron tires. 832 00:40:43,008 --> 00:40:45,943 This was modified into the chuck wagon. 833 00:40:45,944 --> 00:40:48,012 This is the center 834 00:40:48,013 --> 00:40:50,748 of where all life was taking place. 835 00:40:50,749 --> 00:40:51,782 [***] 836 00:40:51,783 --> 00:40:53,884 [alarm clock ringing] 837 00:40:53,885 --> 00:40:55,921 [***] 838 00:41:05,230 --> 00:41:07,264 They did have one community toothbrush, 839 00:41:07,265 --> 00:41:09,635 and they all used the same toothbrush. 840 00:41:11,937 --> 00:41:13,370 You have lots of units, 841 00:41:13,371 --> 00:41:14,772 or a lot of outfits, 842 00:41:14,773 --> 00:41:17,474 who are also moving cattle at the same time. 843 00:41:17,475 --> 00:41:19,376 You could almost think of them like giant superhighways 844 00:41:19,377 --> 00:41:21,646 out here in the West. 845 00:41:21,647 --> 00:41:22,913 [cattle lowing] 846 00:41:22,914 --> 00:41:24,815 [***] 847 00:41:24,816 --> 00:41:26,817 [horses neighing] 848 00:41:26,818 --> 00:41:28,485 If you looked off in the distance, 849 00:41:28,486 --> 00:41:29,987 you would have seen dust 850 00:41:29,988 --> 00:41:32,657 from all of these different herds. 851 00:41:32,658 --> 00:41:34,159 [***] 852 00:41:35,426 --> 00:41:36,260 Lots of different things 853 00:41:36,261 --> 00:41:38,428 that come up in Hollywood movies 854 00:41:38,429 --> 00:41:39,597 are definitely myths. 855 00:41:39,598 --> 00:41:40,665 Cut! [buzzer blaring] 856 00:41:40,666 --> 00:41:41,633 That does it, boys. 857 00:41:42,634 --> 00:41:43,634 You okay? 858 00:41:43,635 --> 00:41:44,635 Your vision might be 859 00:41:44,636 --> 00:41:46,837 a cowboy on a horse, by himself, 860 00:41:46,838 --> 00:41:49,740 riding off into the sunset. 861 00:41:49,741 --> 00:41:51,008 [cattle lowing] 862 00:41:51,009 --> 00:41:53,177 This was a team job. 863 00:41:53,178 --> 00:41:57,081 You're talking 15-to 25-year-old young men 864 00:41:57,082 --> 00:41:59,149 and 3,000 to 5,000 head of cattle, 865 00:41:59,150 --> 00:42:01,786 and these are typically Longhorn cows 866 00:42:01,787 --> 00:42:04,088 with big six and eight-foot-long horns, 867 00:42:04,089 --> 00:42:05,823 four hooves per cow. 868 00:42:05,824 --> 00:42:08,826 That's a lot of horns and hooves. 869 00:42:08,827 --> 00:42:12,130 [***] 870 00:42:13,932 --> 00:42:15,199 Think of those cattle towns 871 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:17,034 like Dodge City and Abilene 872 00:42:17,035 --> 00:42:19,469 that start popping up across Kansas 873 00:42:19,470 --> 00:42:22,206 as the railroads start making their way westward 874 00:42:22,207 --> 00:42:25,010 across the open plains. 875 00:42:26,645 --> 00:42:28,512 As these cattle drive towns 876 00:42:28,513 --> 00:42:30,114 that originally are set up 877 00:42:30,115 --> 00:42:33,884 so that they can simply get cows to those railheads 878 00:42:33,885 --> 00:42:35,152 and get them on trains, 879 00:42:35,153 --> 00:42:37,055 a whole town establishes itself. 880 00:42:40,025 --> 00:42:42,727 [Bridges] From 1870 to 1890, 881 00:42:42,728 --> 00:42:44,128 the railroads, 882 00:42:44,129 --> 00:42:47,197 the most powerful engine of Western conquest, 883 00:42:47,198 --> 00:42:49,667 brought farmers by the carload... 884 00:42:49,668 --> 00:42:50,735 [whistle blasting] 885 00:42:50,736 --> 00:42:51,736 ...and lands were sold 886 00:42:51,737 --> 00:42:53,804 to a flood of new immigrants. 887 00:42:53,805 --> 00:42:55,206 [drum beating] 888 00:43:01,647 --> 00:43:03,380 [Christal Tongish] Once the town is established, 889 00:43:03,381 --> 00:43:05,215 farming and homesteading is established, 890 00:43:05,216 --> 00:43:06,550 they don't want these cattle 891 00:43:06,551 --> 00:43:08,919 coming through their fields anymore, 892 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:11,555 or through their streets of their town anymore... 893 00:43:11,556 --> 00:43:13,258 [cattle mooing] 894 00:43:15,593 --> 00:43:17,828 ...and as that railroad continues to push west, 895 00:43:17,829 --> 00:43:21,232 the cattle-drive trails will have to shift as well. 896 00:43:23,434 --> 00:43:25,770 These railroads were connected to Chicago. 897 00:43:25,771 --> 00:43:27,004 Chicago is a place 898 00:43:27,005 --> 00:43:30,107 where the meatpackers Swift and Armour 899 00:43:30,108 --> 00:43:32,877 invented the refrigerated cars, 900 00:43:32,878 --> 00:43:36,013 where they could put these beef carcasses on the trains 901 00:43:36,014 --> 00:43:38,548 and ship them all the way to Philadelphia 902 00:43:38,549 --> 00:43:41,119 and New York City. 903 00:43:44,089 --> 00:43:46,123 Americans wanted their beef to be cheap, 904 00:43:46,124 --> 00:43:48,125 because they wanted to eat a lot of it. 905 00:43:48,126 --> 00:43:50,194 It was the symbol of the good life, 906 00:43:50,195 --> 00:43:53,630 was having a steak on your table 907 00:43:53,631 --> 00:43:54,532 almost every night. 908 00:43:57,302 --> 00:43:59,770 [Bridges] The cattle boom ignited a frenzy 909 00:43:59,771 --> 00:44:00,938 across the United States 910 00:44:00,939 --> 00:44:04,308 as ranchers, investors, and cowboys 911 00:44:04,309 --> 00:44:08,645 chased fortunes fueled by soaring beef demand. 912 00:44:08,646 --> 00:44:10,380 Profits skyrocketed, 913 00:44:10,381 --> 00:44:13,818 but overgrazing left the plains vulnerable. 914 00:44:13,819 --> 00:44:16,053 [cows mooing] 915 00:44:16,054 --> 00:44:19,657 Then came the winter that changed everything. 916 00:44:25,230 --> 00:44:28,465 An early freeze gripped the northern plains, 917 00:44:28,466 --> 00:44:31,001 followed by a fleeting Chinook wind 918 00:44:31,002 --> 00:44:32,669 that melted snow, 919 00:44:32,670 --> 00:44:34,571 only for an Arctic blast 920 00:44:34,572 --> 00:44:36,073 to lock the landscape 921 00:44:36,074 --> 00:44:40,010 under an impenetrable sheet of ice. 922 00:44:40,011 --> 00:44:43,280 Starving cattle, desperate for food and water, 923 00:44:43,281 --> 00:44:46,016 did what they always did on the open range, 924 00:44:46,017 --> 00:44:47,752 they kept walking. 925 00:44:47,753 --> 00:44:49,788 [cattle lowing] 926 00:44:50,688 --> 00:44:53,323 Hundreds of thousands of cattle perished, 927 00:44:53,324 --> 00:44:56,026 with losses reaching up to 90% of herds 928 00:44:56,027 --> 00:44:57,527 in some areas, 929 00:44:57,528 --> 00:45:01,098 and left most cattle ranchers bankrupt. 930 00:45:01,099 --> 00:45:03,633 Remembered as the "Big Die-Up," 931 00:45:03,634 --> 00:45:05,369 it forced a reckoning. 932 00:45:05,370 --> 00:45:08,638 It marked the end of the open-range era. 933 00:45:08,639 --> 00:45:10,875 Laws changed, 934 00:45:10,876 --> 00:45:12,943 driving the fence-in movement, 935 00:45:12,944 --> 00:45:17,982 which required ranchers to own and enclose their land. 936 00:45:17,983 --> 00:45:20,517 Barbed wire became the defining symbol 937 00:45:20,518 --> 00:45:23,654 of a controlled and settled west. 938 00:45:26,191 --> 00:45:27,124 [Tongish] When fences go up, 939 00:45:27,125 --> 00:45:29,960 that officially closes the range, 940 00:45:29,961 --> 00:45:31,361 so you no longer are living 941 00:45:31,362 --> 00:45:33,363 in an open-range era. 942 00:45:33,364 --> 00:45:36,901 Once you have fencing up, and your cattle are contained, 943 00:45:36,902 --> 00:45:38,568 they're not free to then roam 944 00:45:38,569 --> 00:45:41,872 wherever they're going to for food and water, 945 00:45:41,873 --> 00:45:45,742 so now you need to provide those things for your cattle. 946 00:45:45,743 --> 00:45:48,379 [***] 947 00:45:50,381 --> 00:45:53,150 Now you need to learn how to hay 948 00:45:53,151 --> 00:45:56,420 and create bales and storage of hay 949 00:45:56,421 --> 00:45:59,689 for your livestock to be able to eat. 950 00:45:59,690 --> 00:46:01,859 [***] 951 00:46:01,860 --> 00:46:04,094 That meant you needed to deal with water rights, 952 00:46:04,095 --> 00:46:06,363 and who has access to the water, 953 00:46:06,364 --> 00:46:07,998 who has the right to the water, 954 00:46:07,999 --> 00:46:09,533 who owns the water, 955 00:46:09,534 --> 00:46:11,068 and there's a lot of land out there 956 00:46:11,069 --> 00:46:13,338 that has no water running through it. 957 00:46:14,705 --> 00:46:17,407 The livestock growers, the ranchers, 958 00:46:17,408 --> 00:46:19,509 assumed a lot of the risk 959 00:46:19,510 --> 00:46:22,079 while these kind of monopolies 960 00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:25,283 were able to take most of the profits. 961 00:46:26,684 --> 00:46:29,619 In fact, the secret of the packers 962 00:46:29,620 --> 00:46:31,788 and the people who had a lot of power 963 00:46:31,789 --> 00:46:33,023 and developed that power 964 00:46:33,024 --> 00:46:34,258 early on in the late 19th century 965 00:46:34,259 --> 00:46:36,460 and early 20th century, 966 00:46:36,461 --> 00:46:40,397 they passed along the risk of the market 967 00:46:40,398 --> 00:46:42,466 down to the ranchers. 968 00:46:42,467 --> 00:46:45,970 The people nearest to the animals 969 00:46:45,971 --> 00:46:49,940 were the ones that were in the most precarious position, 970 00:46:49,941 --> 00:46:51,876 which makes them feel vulnerable, 971 00:46:51,877 --> 00:46:52,809 and they were. 972 00:46:52,810 --> 00:46:54,445 [cattle lowing] 973 00:46:57,082 --> 00:46:59,383 Federal government began to get involved, 974 00:46:59,384 --> 00:47:02,386 especially in the 1880s and the 1890s, 975 00:47:02,387 --> 00:47:03,954 in wolf control 976 00:47:03,955 --> 00:47:06,123 in order to protect livestock. 977 00:47:06,124 --> 00:47:10,394 It was often in partnership with agricultural organizations, 978 00:47:10,395 --> 00:47:13,497 so for example, in Colorado in the early 20th century, 979 00:47:13,498 --> 00:47:15,565 it was the Wool Growers Association 980 00:47:15,566 --> 00:47:19,669 that helped pay for these programs. 981 00:47:19,670 --> 00:47:20,804 [sheep bleating] 982 00:47:20,805 --> 00:47:21,838 [Bridges] Progress. 983 00:47:21,839 --> 00:47:23,740 Urban expansion. 984 00:47:23,741 --> 00:47:26,410 In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 985 00:47:26,411 --> 00:47:29,113 folks were getting real nervous 986 00:47:29,114 --> 00:47:31,281 about running out of resources... 987 00:47:31,282 --> 00:47:32,816 [***] 988 00:47:32,817 --> 00:47:34,784 [train whistle blasting] 989 00:47:34,785 --> 00:47:38,488 ...so conservation became a big deal. 990 00:47:38,489 --> 00:47:40,090 The government stepped in, 991 00:47:40,091 --> 00:47:42,859 setting up the US Forest Service, 992 00:47:42,860 --> 00:47:44,361 the US Forest Reserve, 993 00:47:44,362 --> 00:47:45,996 and National Parks. 994 00:47:45,997 --> 00:47:50,134 It was about managing what people thought was useful, 995 00:47:50,135 --> 00:47:52,502 like trees and game animals, 996 00:47:52,503 --> 00:47:56,873 while eliminating the useless ones. 997 00:47:56,874 --> 00:47:58,609 [***] 998 00:48:02,981 --> 00:48:05,882 There was even a policy in Yellowstone National Park 999 00:48:05,883 --> 00:48:10,120 of killing wolves, getting rid of these predators, 1000 00:48:10,121 --> 00:48:13,357 because there was the idea in Yellowstone National Park 1001 00:48:13,358 --> 00:48:15,392 that there were good animals and bad animals, 1002 00:48:15,393 --> 00:48:18,062 and the good animals were the big, gentle animals 1003 00:48:18,063 --> 00:48:20,697 like elk, and moose, and bison 1004 00:48:20,698 --> 00:48:22,299 that people wanted to look at, 1005 00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:24,568 and therefore, the bad animals were any animals 1006 00:48:24,569 --> 00:48:27,804 that preyed on those good animals. 1007 00:48:27,805 --> 00:48:29,374 [elk bugling] 1008 00:48:30,508 --> 00:48:33,177 The people who managed Yellowstone National Park 1009 00:48:33,178 --> 00:48:34,844 in the early 20th century 1010 00:48:34,845 --> 00:48:40,318 were systematically killing off mountain lion and wolves. 1011 00:48:46,491 --> 00:48:48,358 When Yellowstone National Park was founded, 1012 00:48:48,359 --> 00:48:50,927 it was not founded as a wildlife refuge. 1013 00:48:50,928 --> 00:48:55,600 It was not founded to protect wild animals. 1014 00:48:57,768 --> 00:49:00,770 It was founded as a park for people to visit, 1015 00:49:00,771 --> 00:49:05,543 to see the geological splendors, the landscape. 1016 00:49:08,879 --> 00:49:10,948 [***] 1017 00:49:27,298 --> 00:49:28,898 This was 1872, 1018 00:49:28,899 --> 00:49:30,900 and part of the idea 1019 00:49:30,901 --> 00:49:34,938 was that if this great place of scenic splendor 1020 00:49:34,939 --> 00:49:36,073 were protected, 1021 00:49:36,074 --> 00:49:37,707 then the Northern Pacific Railroad 1022 00:49:37,708 --> 00:49:39,309 could sell tickets to tourists 1023 00:49:39,310 --> 00:49:41,412 who wanted to come out and visit it... 1024 00:49:42,780 --> 00:49:45,482 and some of the people involved in the founding of Yellowstone 1025 00:49:45,483 --> 00:49:47,484 were economically involved 1026 00:49:47,485 --> 00:49:48,918 with the Northern Pacific Railroad, 1027 00:49:48,919 --> 00:49:51,655 so it was, in some ways, a very commercial, 1028 00:49:51,656 --> 00:49:53,923 I don't want to quite say cynical idea, 1029 00:49:53,924 --> 00:49:56,826 but it was not tremendously idealistic, 1030 00:49:56,827 --> 00:49:59,664 focused on the protection of a wild ecosystem. 1031 00:50:01,332 --> 00:50:03,667 [***] 1032 00:50:03,668 --> 00:50:06,836 Mountain lion were not extirpated, 1033 00:50:06,837 --> 00:50:09,306 but wolves were extirpated from Yellowstone, 1034 00:50:09,307 --> 00:50:12,976 and then they were reintroduced in 1995 1035 00:50:12,977 --> 00:50:14,678 because ideas had changed 1036 00:50:14,679 --> 00:50:17,013 about the purpose of our national parks, 1037 00:50:17,014 --> 00:50:19,449 and about how to manage our national parks 1038 00:50:19,450 --> 00:50:23,987 in a more natural way, with complete ecosystems. 1039 00:50:23,988 --> 00:50:25,823 [***] 1040 00:50:28,959 --> 00:50:30,428 [bear grunting] 1041 00:50:32,663 --> 00:50:35,465 People had gotten beyond that idea 1042 00:50:35,466 --> 00:50:38,035 that there are good animals and bad animals. 1043 00:50:42,373 --> 00:50:44,708 So wolves have thrived, 1044 00:50:44,709 --> 00:50:48,978 and they are again fulfilling their role 1045 00:50:48,979 --> 00:50:50,480 in the ecosystem. 1046 00:50:50,481 --> 00:50:52,049 [howling] 1047 00:50:53,718 --> 00:50:54,718 [barking] 1048 00:50:54,719 --> 00:50:56,686 Their populations have increased, 1049 00:50:56,687 --> 00:50:58,288 they have dispersed, 1050 00:50:58,289 --> 00:51:00,624 so now there are wolves in places 1051 00:51:00,625 --> 00:51:02,659 where there hadn't been wolves 1052 00:51:02,660 --> 00:51:05,896 for the last 60 or 70 years... 1053 00:51:07,398 --> 00:51:09,533 so there are some conflicts. 1054 00:51:09,534 --> 00:51:10,900 There are some occasions 1055 00:51:10,901 --> 00:51:13,703 where wolves are killing livestock, 1056 00:51:13,704 --> 00:51:15,972 and of course, everybody gets very upset about that. 1057 00:51:15,973 --> 00:51:17,507 Ranchers get very upset about that, 1058 00:51:17,508 --> 00:51:18,975 because ranchers, 1059 00:51:18,976 --> 00:51:22,479 people who really run working commercial ranches, 1060 00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:23,880 especially family ranches 1061 00:51:23,881 --> 00:51:26,583 in Idaho, or Wyoming, or Montana, 1062 00:51:26,584 --> 00:51:29,254 are generally not making a ton of money. 1063 00:51:30,588 --> 00:51:35,225 If they lose cows or calves 1064 00:51:35,226 --> 00:51:37,494 to a pack of wolves, 1065 00:51:37,495 --> 00:51:39,530 it's a serious problem. 1066 00:51:42,600 --> 00:51:43,933 [Bridges] The cowboy, 1067 00:51:43,934 --> 00:51:47,070 immortalized through generations of popular culture, 1068 00:51:47,071 --> 00:51:50,440 became a metaphor for American exceptionalism... 1069 00:51:50,441 --> 00:51:51,841 [horse neighing] 1070 00:51:51,842 --> 00:51:54,678 ...reinforcing the idea of the United States 1071 00:51:54,679 --> 00:51:57,381 as a unique and pioneering nation, 1072 00:51:57,382 --> 00:52:01,785 a nation that tamed the wilderness, 1073 00:52:01,786 --> 00:52:04,789 and now, the wolves are back. 1074 00:52:06,691 --> 00:52:07,791 [***] 1075 00:52:07,792 --> 00:52:09,793 Yes, we like to sing about the beauty 1076 00:52:09,794 --> 00:52:12,596 and the romance of the Old West. 1077 00:52:12,597 --> 00:52:15,865 [***] 1078 00:52:15,866 --> 00:52:17,301 Oh... 1079 00:52:17,302 --> 00:52:18,802 Excuse me. 1080 00:52:18,803 --> 00:52:20,537 [Bridges] Ranchers and cowboys 1081 00:52:20,538 --> 00:52:25,309 are emblems of independence, 1082 00:52:25,310 --> 00:52:27,577 and the media tied that in 1083 00:52:27,578 --> 00:52:30,547 to what it meant to be an American. 1084 00:52:30,548 --> 00:52:32,549 To be an American... 1085 00:52:32,550 --> 00:52:35,319 Ah, to be an American 1086 00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:38,988 is to be unencumbered and free. 1087 00:52:38,989 --> 00:52:42,392 [singing in harmony] ♪ Must it be 1088 00:52:42,393 --> 00:52:44,428 ♪ Can it be 1089 00:52:44,429 --> 00:52:49,499 ♪ Can it be, oh, Lord 1090 00:52:49,500 --> 00:52:52,436 ♪ Have mercy ♪ 1091 00:52:52,437 --> 00:52:56,906 ♪ On poor me ♪ 1092 00:52:56,907 --> 00:52:58,775 I recall I grew up dreaming of being a cowboy. 1093 00:52:58,776 --> 00:53:00,977 That's all I ever wanted to be. 1094 00:53:00,978 --> 00:53:02,647 [***] 1095 00:53:07,017 --> 00:53:09,686 I like rural. 1096 00:53:09,687 --> 00:53:11,588 I like the mountains. 1097 00:53:11,589 --> 00:53:14,859 It's not everybody's gig. 1098 00:53:15,760 --> 00:53:17,994 Just look around you. 1099 00:53:17,995 --> 00:53:20,129 How many years would you have to be alive 1100 00:53:20,130 --> 00:53:21,965 to ride all this country? 1101 00:53:21,966 --> 00:53:23,301 [***] 1102 00:53:24,269 --> 00:53:25,269 [horse blowing] 1103 00:53:25,270 --> 00:53:26,503 Gave it a good shot. 1104 00:53:26,504 --> 00:53:29,006 [***] 1105 00:53:31,842 --> 00:53:33,443 [Val Giessler] And I bought this place 1106 00:53:33,444 --> 00:53:34,478 'cause I always said 1107 00:53:34,479 --> 00:53:35,879 I was never gonna own a place 1108 00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:39,349 that I couldn't crack my gate and ride through, 1109 00:53:39,350 --> 00:53:40,951 and be on public land. 1110 00:53:41,786 --> 00:53:43,520 [horse nickering] 1111 00:53:43,521 --> 00:53:47,223 A range rider, cowboy, gay cowboy. 1112 00:53:47,224 --> 00:53:48,892 Cowboys kinda think 1113 00:53:48,893 --> 00:53:50,827 they're supposed to just ride horses 1114 00:53:50,828 --> 00:53:52,829 and take care of livestock, 1115 00:53:52,830 --> 00:53:54,030 but more and more, 1116 00:53:54,031 --> 00:53:57,301 the West has just gotten, uh, barbed wire, 1117 00:53:57,302 --> 00:54:00,337 uh, smaller pastures, and... 1118 00:54:00,338 --> 00:54:05,041 Back when I was a kid, you had a cowboy out. 1119 00:54:05,042 --> 00:54:06,844 [***] 1120 00:54:08,145 --> 00:54:11,681 They weren't looking for predators 1121 00:54:11,682 --> 00:54:15,319 so much as they were checking the cattle, 1122 00:54:15,320 --> 00:54:16,753 and checking the salt, 1123 00:54:16,754 --> 00:54:19,188 making sure the cattle were up off the crick bottoms 1124 00:54:19,189 --> 00:54:21,057 and out on the ridges, 1125 00:54:21,058 --> 00:54:23,427 and that's all changed today. 1126 00:54:23,428 --> 00:54:26,262 There are people today 1127 00:54:26,263 --> 00:54:28,197 who are very dedicated 1128 00:54:28,198 --> 00:54:32,001 to carrying on older traditions and this, 1129 00:54:32,002 --> 00:54:36,840 but it's hard to move even cattle 50, 60 miles today 1130 00:54:36,841 --> 00:54:39,008 with highways and fences 1131 00:54:39,009 --> 00:54:42,412 and getting people to let you ride through. 1132 00:54:42,413 --> 00:54:44,180 The guy that owns this ranch now, 1133 00:54:44,181 --> 00:54:46,350 he's from New York. 1134 00:54:46,351 --> 00:54:47,885 Uh... 1135 00:54:50,955 --> 00:54:54,791 Most of my family that grew up around here 1136 00:54:54,792 --> 00:54:56,960 is gone or moved on. 1137 00:54:56,961 --> 00:55:00,730 And we are the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park, 1138 00:55:00,731 --> 00:55:02,966 so people literally ask, want to know, 1139 00:55:02,967 --> 00:55:06,403 "Where are the cages they put these animals in at night?" 1140 00:55:06,404 --> 00:55:08,638 You say, "Nah, nobody asks that." 1141 00:55:08,639 --> 00:55:10,974 Yeah, they do! 1142 00:55:10,975 --> 00:55:14,811 And people, like, down there 1143 00:55:14,812 --> 00:55:16,813 that move out here, 1144 00:55:16,814 --> 00:55:21,317 they move out here because of what it is, 1145 00:55:21,318 --> 00:55:25,155 and then they immediately wanna make it something different. 1146 00:55:26,991 --> 00:55:29,393 And the first people they cuss are the ranchers 1147 00:55:29,394 --> 00:55:30,927 and the farmers. 1148 00:55:30,928 --> 00:55:34,465 We're the ones that took care of it forever. 1149 00:55:36,834 --> 00:55:38,267 [Coleman] The icon of the cowboy. 1150 00:55:38,268 --> 00:55:41,771 These are people that are rugged individualists. 1151 00:55:41,772 --> 00:55:43,239 So you have that on the one hand, 1152 00:55:43,240 --> 00:55:47,343 but also you have the reality of the American West 1153 00:55:47,344 --> 00:55:48,277 as very much 1154 00:55:48,278 --> 00:55:52,782 being tied to the federal government. 1155 00:55:52,783 --> 00:55:54,118 [***] 1156 00:56:00,825 --> 00:56:04,628 It's the federal army that conquered this territory, 1157 00:56:04,629 --> 00:56:07,531 so this idea of the independent cowboy 1158 00:56:07,532 --> 00:56:12,536 has always been in relationship with this state power. 1159 00:56:12,537 --> 00:56:14,038 [***] 1160 00:56:20,511 --> 00:56:21,878 [Bridges] Federal lands 1161 00:56:21,879 --> 00:56:24,948 dominate the western United States. 1162 00:56:24,949 --> 00:56:28,217 It is as unique as it is vast. 1163 00:56:28,218 --> 00:56:31,354 Public lands are not owned by individuals, 1164 00:56:31,355 --> 00:56:34,892 but held in trust for the benefit of all. 1165 00:56:37,127 --> 00:56:40,630 Grazing permits or allotments for livestock 1166 00:56:40,631 --> 00:56:42,799 on public forest service and grasslands, 1167 00:56:42,800 --> 00:56:44,501 if managed correctly, 1168 00:56:44,502 --> 00:56:46,136 remains an integral part. 1169 00:56:48,138 --> 00:56:50,406 [newsreel] This is the annual winter roundup 1170 00:56:50,407 --> 00:56:52,075 for the big drive from the summer pastures, 1171 00:56:52,076 --> 00:56:53,977 now covered with snow, 1172 00:56:53,978 --> 00:56:55,913 to the home range farther south. 1173 00:56:56,747 --> 00:56:58,182 [horse nickering] 1174 00:57:02,419 --> 00:57:05,254 This is the last day we're permitted to be on... 1175 00:57:05,255 --> 00:57:06,856 on our allotment, 1176 00:57:06,857 --> 00:57:10,760 so we're gathering cows to go home 1177 00:57:10,761 --> 00:57:12,028 and do all our fall work, 1178 00:57:12,029 --> 00:57:15,832 um, sort and wean and preg test, and... 1179 00:57:15,833 --> 00:57:18,367 Big shipping time of year 1180 00:57:18,368 --> 00:57:20,937 when we get our once-a-year paycheck. 1181 00:57:20,938 --> 00:57:23,339 [horse blowing] 1182 00:57:23,340 --> 00:57:25,775 [***] 1183 00:57:25,776 --> 00:57:28,277 I turned out 160 pairs, 1184 00:57:28,278 --> 00:57:29,746 cow-calf pairs, 1185 00:57:29,747 --> 00:57:33,449 and 122 yearling heifers and steers. 1186 00:57:33,450 --> 00:57:35,852 [***] 1187 00:57:35,853 --> 00:57:38,287 We do have some wolves, 1188 00:57:38,288 --> 00:57:40,957 but I didn't see one this summer. 1189 00:57:40,958 --> 00:57:44,227 Yeah, I haven't seen a griz or a wolf with my own eyes 1190 00:57:44,228 --> 00:57:45,862 on this allotment this summer, 1191 00:57:45,863 --> 00:57:47,631 but my trail cameras have caught quite a few. 1192 00:57:47,632 --> 00:57:48,932 Yeah. 1193 00:57:48,933 --> 00:57:50,900 Uh, including some wolves and cattle on one camera 1194 00:57:50,901 --> 00:57:51,935 on the same day. 1195 00:57:51,936 --> 00:57:53,202 [***] 1196 00:57:53,203 --> 00:57:54,137 I guess there's some below the road. 1197 00:57:54,138 --> 00:57:55,204 Huh? 1198 00:57:55,205 --> 00:57:56,640 I know there are some down in those trees 1199 00:57:56,641 --> 00:57:58,241 below the road. - Yeah... 1200 00:57:58,242 --> 00:58:00,076 [Matt Barnes] The wilderness areas in the northern Rockies 1201 00:58:00,077 --> 00:58:02,812 are already essentially full of wolves. 1202 00:58:02,813 --> 00:58:05,782 It's where people live and work 1203 00:58:05,783 --> 00:58:09,118 that the future of wolves will be decided. 1204 00:58:09,119 --> 00:58:11,655 Most of these ranches 1205 00:58:11,656 --> 00:58:13,923 would not be viable economic units 1206 00:58:13,924 --> 00:58:17,827 without some kind of a public land grazing permit. 1207 00:58:17,828 --> 00:58:19,597 [***] 1208 00:58:21,065 --> 00:58:22,431 [Blake Wyatt] North of town, I guess, 1209 00:58:22,432 --> 00:58:26,002 they have more issues than we do. 1210 00:58:26,003 --> 00:58:28,171 They had some younger wolves this spring 1211 00:58:28,172 --> 00:58:30,840 that were learning how to hunt, 1212 00:58:30,841 --> 00:58:33,743 and they didn't kill any cows, 1213 00:58:33,744 --> 00:58:36,581 but they tore a few of them up. 1214 00:58:39,016 --> 00:58:42,686 I don't think anybody would say we don't like wolves. 1215 00:58:42,687 --> 00:58:44,621 We don't like the effect they have on us. 1216 00:58:44,622 --> 00:58:46,924 Yeah, we're gonna try to co-exist with them. 1217 00:58:48,492 --> 00:58:50,493 They're fun to look at. 1218 00:58:50,494 --> 00:58:51,861 They're cool to be around. 1219 00:58:51,862 --> 00:58:56,200 I don't live here because I wanted to live in a... 1220 00:58:57,367 --> 00:59:00,269 I guess a... 1221 00:59:00,270 --> 00:59:01,838 I wanted to live someplace wild. 1222 00:59:01,839 --> 00:59:03,674 [***] 1223 00:59:06,143 --> 00:59:09,212 We just have cattle up here in the spring, summer, and fall, 1224 00:59:09,213 --> 00:59:11,615 and we ship 'em in mid-October... 1225 00:59:11,616 --> 00:59:13,016 [cattle mooing] 1226 00:59:13,017 --> 00:59:14,383 [man whistling] 1227 00:59:14,384 --> 00:59:16,653 ...and, uh, the only way you can move cattle around here 1228 00:59:16,654 --> 00:59:17,721 is really on a horse. 1229 00:59:17,722 --> 00:59:19,022 [cattle mooing] 1230 00:59:19,023 --> 00:59:20,023 It's high country, 1231 00:59:20,024 --> 00:59:21,791 about 8,400 feet, 1232 00:59:21,792 --> 00:59:26,195 and our ranch probably climbs up to about 10,000 feet, 1233 00:59:26,196 --> 00:59:29,232 and we also have cattle back on the Forest Service, 1234 00:59:29,233 --> 00:59:31,901 so that's tens of thousands of acres. 1235 00:59:31,902 --> 00:59:35,905 By far the biggest use of public lands, 1236 00:59:35,906 --> 00:59:38,507 or any lands agriculturally, 1237 00:59:38,508 --> 00:59:39,809 is grazing. 1238 00:59:39,810 --> 00:59:43,079 If you look at a grazing map of the western United States, 1239 00:59:43,080 --> 00:59:44,714 it's-it's huge. 1240 00:59:44,715 --> 00:59:45,915 Got all kinds of wildlife. 1241 00:59:45,916 --> 00:59:47,083 We have deer and elk 1242 00:59:47,084 --> 00:59:49,553 and fox and coyote and badgers. 1243 00:59:50,921 --> 00:59:52,656 I think the majority of ranchers 1244 00:59:52,657 --> 00:59:54,257 don't wanna bring the wolf back. 1245 00:59:54,258 --> 00:59:57,160 It's a pretty polarizing issue. 1246 00:59:57,161 --> 00:59:59,028 A lot of ranchers are against it. 1247 00:59:59,029 --> 01:00:01,097 They're afraid they'll lose all their livestock, 1248 01:00:01,098 --> 01:00:03,933 or it'll really cut into their livelihood 1249 01:00:03,934 --> 01:00:05,101 raising cattle and sheep. 1250 01:00:05,102 --> 01:00:06,370 [sheep bleating] 1251 01:00:12,376 --> 01:00:13,877 [Cameron Krebs] If you stand next to this chute, 1252 01:00:13,878 --> 01:00:15,879 the lambs may jump out, 1253 01:00:15,880 --> 01:00:18,948 so be very aware that they could jump out, 1254 01:00:18,949 --> 01:00:20,016 and if you're on top next to it, 1255 01:00:20,017 --> 01:00:21,384 they'll jump on you, 1256 01:00:21,385 --> 01:00:23,119 but also, if you put your hands up, 1257 01:00:23,120 --> 01:00:24,420 and you keep 'em from jumping, 1258 01:00:24,421 --> 01:00:27,056 we'd greatly appreciate that behavior too. 1259 01:00:27,057 --> 01:00:28,624 Maybe. Let's see... 1260 01:00:28,625 --> 01:00:30,794 We have uno, dos, tres . 1261 01:00:30,795 --> 01:00:31,895 Let's have actually... 1262 01:00:31,896 --> 01:00:33,096 dos hombres aquí. 1263 01:00:33,097 --> 01:00:35,464 Uno izquierda, uno drecha posatare. 1264 01:00:35,465 --> 01:00:37,066 Con palitos. 1265 01:00:37,067 --> 01:00:38,067 [***] 1266 01:00:38,068 --> 01:00:38,935 [dogs barking] 1267 01:00:38,936 --> 01:00:40,136 Push 'em up! 1268 01:00:40,137 --> 01:00:42,772 Push 'em up, push 'em up. 1269 01:00:42,773 --> 01:00:43,707 Push 'em up. 1270 01:00:43,708 --> 01:00:45,541 [sheep bleating] 1271 01:00:45,542 --> 01:00:46,476 [***] 1272 01:00:48,278 --> 01:00:50,246 [Clint Krebs] Before, when I was a youngster, 1273 01:00:50,247 --> 01:00:54,550 we'd have had to move these sheep 10 or 12 miles 1274 01:00:54,551 --> 01:00:56,452 to a railhead 1275 01:00:56,453 --> 01:00:59,789 to put the sheep, the lambs, on a rail car. 1276 01:00:59,790 --> 01:01:02,258 Now we can bring the truck to the top of the mountain 1277 01:01:02,259 --> 01:01:04,828 and do the job right here. 1278 01:01:04,829 --> 01:01:07,230 [***] 1279 01:01:07,231 --> 01:01:08,664 [Cameron Krebs] Yeah, they stayed here last night, 1280 01:01:08,665 --> 01:01:11,267 but they have a night pen, 1281 01:01:11,268 --> 01:01:13,169 which I can show you this afternoon. 1282 01:01:13,170 --> 01:01:16,472 Dos hombres, dos paneles. 1283 01:01:16,473 --> 01:01:19,609 [***] 1284 01:01:23,013 --> 01:01:24,113 [***] 1285 01:01:24,114 --> 01:01:25,515 [dog barking] 1286 01:01:26,683 --> 01:01:27,684 [sheep bleating] 1287 01:01:31,188 --> 01:01:32,255 [Clint Krebs] Sheep have been domesticated 1288 01:01:32,256 --> 01:01:34,590 way before the birth of Christ, 1289 01:01:34,591 --> 01:01:37,460 and they've always lived with predators. 1290 01:01:37,461 --> 01:01:39,929 As they became domesticated, 1291 01:01:39,930 --> 01:01:42,799 they depended more and more upon man 1292 01:01:42,800 --> 01:01:46,135 to provide their protection, 1293 01:01:46,136 --> 01:01:49,705 and it's kind of a symbiotic relationship 1294 01:01:49,706 --> 01:01:51,140 between man and their sheep... 1295 01:01:51,141 --> 01:01:52,041 [sheep bleating] 1296 01:01:52,042 --> 01:01:53,176 [dog barking] 1297 01:01:53,177 --> 01:01:54,543 ...and a lot of people have asked me, 1298 01:01:54,544 --> 01:01:58,114 you know, the predator problem, 1299 01:01:58,115 --> 01:02:01,684 and they look at it as a financial loss. 1300 01:02:01,685 --> 01:02:05,021 I don't look at it as a financial loss. 1301 01:02:05,022 --> 01:02:08,057 I look at it as I failed in my job 1302 01:02:08,058 --> 01:02:10,126 to protect that sheep. 1303 01:02:10,127 --> 01:02:12,395 That's my God-given job 1304 01:02:12,396 --> 01:02:14,497 is to protect those sheep, 1305 01:02:14,498 --> 01:02:16,399 and if a predator comes in, 1306 01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:18,902 there isn't enough money in the world 1307 01:02:18,903 --> 01:02:21,971 that can replace the loss I feel, 1308 01:02:21,972 --> 01:02:23,973 the failure that I feel, 1309 01:02:23,974 --> 01:02:25,542 for not being able to take care of 'em. 1310 01:02:28,045 --> 01:02:29,679 [sheep bleating] 1311 01:02:30,815 --> 01:02:33,516 When the wagon trains came out of the east, 1312 01:02:33,517 --> 01:02:36,085 they all had sheep with them 1313 01:02:36,086 --> 01:02:38,587 for a food source down the trail, 1314 01:02:38,588 --> 01:02:40,389 that when they got here to Oregon, 1315 01:02:40,390 --> 01:02:42,258 the sheep numbers just exploded, 1316 01:02:42,259 --> 01:02:44,027 because it's great sheep country. 1317 01:02:44,028 --> 01:02:45,028 [bleating] 1318 01:02:45,029 --> 01:02:46,362 At one time, 1319 01:02:46,363 --> 01:02:48,097 there was probably over 10 million head of sheep 1320 01:02:48,098 --> 01:02:50,366 in Oregon. 1321 01:02:50,367 --> 01:02:54,003 The numbers were too high for the natural resources. 1322 01:02:54,004 --> 01:02:58,274 The people that came out here and homesteaded the ground, 1323 01:02:58,275 --> 01:03:01,444 they chose the best pieces, 1324 01:03:01,445 --> 01:03:04,213 and that left tens of thousands, 1325 01:03:04,214 --> 01:03:08,051 if not hundreds of thousands, of unclaimed land 1326 01:03:08,052 --> 01:03:10,786 that the federal government still owned, 1327 01:03:10,787 --> 01:03:14,357 so people started just using it. 1328 01:03:14,358 --> 01:03:16,559 There was no ownership to it, 1329 01:03:16,560 --> 01:03:18,561 and in so doing, 1330 01:03:18,562 --> 01:03:22,298 they overgrazed a lot of it, 1331 01:03:22,299 --> 01:03:24,533 and that's where the range wars started, 1332 01:03:24,534 --> 01:03:28,371 because people would steal grass 1333 01:03:28,372 --> 01:03:31,975 from where other people thought they should have it. 1334 01:03:31,976 --> 01:03:33,242 [gunshot] 1335 01:03:33,243 --> 01:03:35,912 My great uncle, he went to Washington D.C. 1336 01:03:35,913 --> 01:03:37,780 with 15 or 20 other guys, 1337 01:03:37,781 --> 01:03:39,715 and they sat down, 1338 01:03:39,716 --> 01:03:43,287 and they drafted the Taylor Grazing Act. 1339 01:03:44,488 --> 01:03:48,157 [Bridges] The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 1340 01:03:48,158 --> 01:03:50,493 put a stop to overgrazing 1341 01:03:50,494 --> 01:03:54,497 and folks using public land like a free buffet. 1342 01:03:54,498 --> 01:03:57,733 The act set up grazing permits. 1343 01:03:57,734 --> 01:04:00,236 If you wanted to run cattle or sheep, 1344 01:04:00,237 --> 01:04:04,007 you had to play by the rules. 1345 01:04:04,008 --> 01:04:06,911 It shaped a multi-use landscape. 1346 01:04:08,946 --> 01:04:11,180 Conservation, 1347 01:04:11,181 --> 01:04:13,950 forestry, 1348 01:04:13,951 --> 01:04:16,085 recreation... 1349 01:04:16,086 --> 01:04:17,786 all sharing space, 1350 01:04:17,787 --> 01:04:20,356 and now, with wolves roaming free, 1351 01:04:20,357 --> 01:04:22,525 the range wars may have ended, 1352 01:04:22,526 --> 01:04:25,628 but what is allowed on public land? 1353 01:04:25,629 --> 01:04:28,698 Well, that story is still being written. 1354 01:04:29,934 --> 01:04:32,701 And compromising is a tough deal, 1355 01:04:32,702 --> 01:04:36,872 uh, especially if you've operated in a certain way 1356 01:04:36,873 --> 01:04:38,541 for many, many years, 1357 01:04:38,542 --> 01:04:41,377 and I mean sometimes generations. 1358 01:04:41,378 --> 01:04:44,447 It is important, in many cases, 1359 01:04:44,448 --> 01:04:48,351 for those people who run ranches to stay on the land 1360 01:04:48,352 --> 01:04:51,387 if the alternative is selling those ranches 1361 01:04:51,388 --> 01:04:54,291 for development and further sprawl. 1362 01:04:55,225 --> 01:04:56,625 If that's the alternative, 1363 01:04:56,626 --> 01:05:00,063 selling the big ranches to be subdivided for sprawl, 1364 01:05:00,064 --> 01:05:02,531 then we're much better off 1365 01:05:02,532 --> 01:05:04,733 keeping those ranches intact, 1366 01:05:04,734 --> 01:05:08,171 working even in the presence of big predators, 1367 01:05:08,172 --> 01:05:10,639 even in the presence of wolves. 1368 01:05:10,640 --> 01:05:12,708 If I was living in Colorado in the 1870s or 1880s, 1369 01:05:12,709 --> 01:05:14,577 I'd probably be afraid of it too, 1370 01:05:14,578 --> 01:05:17,413 and I'd probably want to kill them all, 1371 01:05:17,414 --> 01:05:20,016 but there's a lot of stories, there's a lot of myth, 1372 01:05:20,017 --> 01:05:21,884 and I don't think we need to be scared of 'em 1373 01:05:21,885 --> 01:05:23,252 in this day and age. 1374 01:05:23,253 --> 01:05:25,588 Well, we always check on our herd anyway. 1375 01:05:25,589 --> 01:05:29,592 Probably have to be a little more diligent. 1376 01:05:29,593 --> 01:05:31,094 They're kind of shy animals. 1377 01:05:31,095 --> 01:05:32,495 They... 1378 01:05:32,496 --> 01:05:33,862 I think they'll stay out of trouble when they can, 1379 01:05:33,863 --> 01:05:36,433 at least stay away from human beings when they can. 1380 01:05:37,434 --> 01:05:39,068 [Clint Krebs] Every three or four days, 1381 01:05:39,069 --> 01:05:42,271 we move different campsites 1382 01:05:42,272 --> 01:05:44,940 and keep 'em on fresh feed. 1383 01:05:44,941 --> 01:05:46,209 They do better, 1384 01:05:46,210 --> 01:05:48,944 the rangeland does better. 1385 01:05:48,945 --> 01:05:51,747 We put the sheep inside these pens every night 1386 01:05:51,748 --> 01:05:53,449 to protect them from predation. 1387 01:05:53,450 --> 01:05:55,784 The fence is electrified, 1388 01:05:55,785 --> 01:05:56,752 as you can see here, 1389 01:05:56,753 --> 01:05:59,288 with a solar, uh, battery-powered charger, 1390 01:05:59,289 --> 01:06:02,525 but the electrification isn't to keep the sheep in the pen, 1391 01:06:02,526 --> 01:06:04,560 it's actually to keep predators out. 1392 01:06:04,561 --> 01:06:07,096 Basically, all you have to do is whistle, 1393 01:06:07,097 --> 01:06:09,065 and they'll run into the pen 1394 01:06:09,066 --> 01:06:10,633 looking for that protection 1395 01:06:10,634 --> 01:06:13,302 that that electric wire provides. 1396 01:06:13,303 --> 01:06:14,770 We use biological deterrents, 1397 01:06:14,771 --> 01:06:17,073 so guardian dogs, big, large Pyrenees. 1398 01:06:17,074 --> 01:06:20,576 Those dogs then can patrol this cleared space, 1399 01:06:20,577 --> 01:06:22,745 and they act as sentries, 1400 01:06:22,746 --> 01:06:26,549 so if the predator encroaches or approaches the pen, 1401 01:06:26,550 --> 01:06:28,484 um, even if he's just curious, 1402 01:06:28,485 --> 01:06:31,154 the guard dogs then sound the alarm, 1403 01:06:31,155 --> 01:06:32,388 create a lot of noise, 1404 01:06:32,389 --> 01:06:34,223 haze the predator off, 1405 01:06:34,224 --> 01:06:35,991 and/or wake up the herder, 1406 01:06:35,992 --> 01:06:39,428 and the herders' camp is just behind us, uh... 1407 01:06:39,429 --> 01:06:42,398 oh, about 100 yards from the night pen here, 1408 01:06:42,399 --> 01:06:44,500 and then the herder can respond, 1409 01:06:44,501 --> 01:06:48,671 and, you know, address what is going on. 1410 01:06:48,672 --> 01:06:51,107 We've been using night pens for over ten years, 1411 01:06:51,108 --> 01:06:53,509 and we have not had a single night-time predation. 1412 01:06:53,510 --> 01:06:55,444 [sheep bleating] 1413 01:06:55,445 --> 01:06:59,582 [***] 1414 01:06:59,583 --> 01:07:01,517 Blake practices holistic management. 1415 01:07:01,518 --> 01:07:05,321 He's got a grazing plan based on those ideas, 1416 01:07:05,322 --> 01:07:07,490 and how we can best use this country. 1417 01:07:07,491 --> 01:07:09,925 Come on, get up here. 1418 01:07:09,926 --> 01:07:11,161 [***] 1419 01:07:12,929 --> 01:07:16,832 [Wyatt] This holistic management seems to incorporate a... 1420 01:07:16,833 --> 01:07:19,535 a future landscape that you envision 1421 01:07:19,536 --> 01:07:24,006 more than a lot of other philosophies do. 1422 01:07:24,007 --> 01:07:25,141 [***] 1423 01:07:25,142 --> 01:07:29,378 It's in large part a decision-making process. 1424 01:07:29,379 --> 01:07:31,480 Those key insights show 1425 01:07:31,481 --> 01:07:35,218 that controlled, planned grazing of livestock 1426 01:07:35,219 --> 01:07:37,120 is very beneficial 1427 01:07:37,121 --> 01:07:39,888 for the grasslands of the world. 1428 01:07:39,889 --> 01:07:42,991 There's been good years and bad years, of course, 1429 01:07:42,992 --> 01:07:45,128 but figuring out what you were doing 1430 01:07:45,129 --> 01:07:45,895 that's causing problems... 1431 01:07:47,697 --> 01:07:51,634 You know, send old cows up here that got bad hips, 1432 01:07:51,635 --> 01:07:54,470 and ask them to hike up and down a mountain twice a day, 1433 01:07:54,471 --> 01:07:57,072 you're gonna have problems. 1434 01:07:57,073 --> 01:07:58,307 Um... 1435 01:07:58,308 --> 01:08:00,409 sending too young of calves, 1436 01:08:00,410 --> 01:08:02,645 or cows that aren't... 1437 01:08:02,646 --> 01:08:06,014 uh, prepared to keep track of their calves 1438 01:08:06,015 --> 01:08:09,718 and fend off a predator. 1439 01:08:09,719 --> 01:08:11,654 The more we know our land, 1440 01:08:11,655 --> 01:08:14,089 the more of a positive influence we can be. 1441 01:08:14,090 --> 01:08:15,158 Mm-hmm. 1442 01:08:15,159 --> 01:08:16,592 The more you're part of it, 1443 01:08:16,593 --> 01:08:19,162 the better you feel it. 1444 01:08:19,163 --> 01:08:20,697 [***] 1445 01:08:22,432 --> 01:08:24,700 I think humans just got to get 1446 01:08:24,701 --> 01:08:28,103 a little more in tune to nature. 1447 01:08:28,104 --> 01:08:29,906 [***] 1448 01:08:33,577 --> 01:08:36,445 [Bridges] In the bustling cities and towns, 1449 01:08:36,446 --> 01:08:39,348 in the places where progress hums, 1450 01:08:39,349 --> 01:08:42,084 the wild feels distant. 1451 01:08:42,085 --> 01:08:44,220 [hum of conversation] 1452 01:08:44,221 --> 01:08:45,388 [***] 1453 01:08:45,389 --> 01:08:48,557 Most people will never encounter a wolf 1454 01:08:48,558 --> 01:08:51,360 outside of a zoo or wildlife center, 1455 01:08:51,361 --> 01:08:53,929 yet, if you look closely, 1456 01:08:53,930 --> 01:08:56,765 wolf behavior is all around us, 1457 01:08:56,766 --> 01:08:58,301 carrying within them 1458 01:08:58,302 --> 01:09:02,571 the echoes of their wild ancestors. 1459 01:09:02,572 --> 01:09:05,241 I've worked with wolves for three years, 1460 01:09:05,242 --> 01:09:07,710 and then have spent over 15 years studying, 1461 01:09:07,711 --> 01:09:10,413 observing wolves in the wild, wolves in captivity, 1462 01:09:10,414 --> 01:09:12,315 and also our canine friends, 1463 01:09:12,316 --> 01:09:15,784 and I see so many similarities in their behavior, 1464 01:09:15,785 --> 01:09:18,153 in their communication. 1465 01:09:18,154 --> 01:09:19,154 [sheep bleating] 1466 01:09:19,155 --> 01:09:21,490 Here in England, 1467 01:09:21,491 --> 01:09:24,493 the last wolf was shot in the 1700s. 1468 01:09:24,494 --> 01:09:27,896 The landscape, as a result, has suffered, 1469 01:09:27,897 --> 01:09:30,833 because wolves were only seen as a predator, 1470 01:09:30,834 --> 01:09:32,635 but they are intelligent, social animals, 1471 01:09:32,636 --> 01:09:34,603 just like our dogs. 1472 01:09:34,604 --> 01:09:37,440 Everything from our canine friends 1473 01:09:37,441 --> 01:09:41,176 wanting to lick us when they meet us, 1474 01:09:41,177 --> 01:09:43,312 when they greet us, 1475 01:09:43,313 --> 01:09:45,080 their beautiful wagging tails, 1476 01:09:45,081 --> 01:09:48,116 and so much in their behavior and communication 1477 01:09:48,117 --> 01:09:49,919 that goes unnoticed... 1478 01:09:50,787 --> 01:09:53,088 things that we may not enjoy 1479 01:09:53,089 --> 01:09:53,856 or may not understand, 1480 01:09:53,857 --> 01:09:56,660 like our dogs scent rolling. 1481 01:09:57,761 --> 01:10:00,864 Information like communicating trust. 1482 01:10:02,699 --> 01:10:05,634 By going into this position, 1483 01:10:05,635 --> 01:10:08,671 a lot of people would say our dog is submitting, 1484 01:10:08,672 --> 01:10:09,972 and it's a little bit like that, 1485 01:10:09,973 --> 01:10:11,440 but there's more information 1486 01:10:11,441 --> 01:10:13,376 than just surrendering and submitting. 1487 01:10:13,377 --> 01:10:14,710 They're actually saying, 1488 01:10:14,711 --> 01:10:17,145 "Hey, you could take my life here. 1489 01:10:17,146 --> 01:10:20,148 You could place your muzzle around my throat, 1490 01:10:20,149 --> 01:10:23,452 or bite me all around these vulnerable areas, 1491 01:10:23,453 --> 01:10:25,788 but I have so much trust and faith in you, 1492 01:10:25,789 --> 01:10:29,057 I know that that's not what's going to happen..." 1493 01:10:29,058 --> 01:10:31,226 and we may see one of our canine friends 1494 01:10:31,227 --> 01:10:34,196 display this behavior towards ourselves... 1495 01:10:34,197 --> 01:10:36,231 [***] 1496 01:10:36,232 --> 01:10:39,736 ...just like wolves would do to each other... 1497 01:10:40,904 --> 01:10:44,673 and in particular, one absolute similarity 1498 01:10:44,674 --> 01:10:48,811 I see between wolves and our canine friends 1499 01:10:48,812 --> 01:10:51,180 is something that's called functional character. 1500 01:10:52,916 --> 01:10:56,585 Our dogs do have functional characters, 1501 01:10:56,586 --> 01:10:58,587 and functional character is really amazing, 1502 01:10:58,588 --> 01:11:01,256 because it takes us away from, again, this story, 1503 01:11:01,257 --> 01:11:02,891 this myth, this tale 1504 01:11:02,892 --> 01:11:05,093 that wolves have a hierarchy. 1505 01:11:05,094 --> 01:11:07,664 Wolves don't exist in this linear system. 1506 01:11:08,998 --> 01:11:13,436 Every individual that is in a particular group 1507 01:11:13,437 --> 01:11:16,605 does so because of the functional purpose it holds 1508 01:11:16,606 --> 01:11:19,508 to support and harmonize the safety 1509 01:11:19,509 --> 01:11:24,079 and functioning of that wolf group. 1510 01:11:24,080 --> 01:11:26,582 For example, your breeding pairs, 1511 01:11:26,583 --> 01:11:28,517 where they're seen as the guides, 1512 01:11:28,518 --> 01:11:31,019 they anchor the group together, 1513 01:11:31,020 --> 01:11:33,856 and they are absolutely the go-to individual 1514 01:11:33,857 --> 01:11:36,359 that the rest of the wolf family are gonna go to. 1515 01:11:36,360 --> 01:11:37,960 [howling] 1516 01:11:37,961 --> 01:11:40,263 They would traditionally be known as the alpha. 1517 01:11:41,197 --> 01:11:44,132 They have the knowledge and the wisdom 1518 01:11:44,133 --> 01:11:46,569 that anchor the rest of that group together 1519 01:11:46,570 --> 01:11:48,737 so that group can survive. 1520 01:11:48,738 --> 01:11:50,806 [***] 1521 01:11:50,807 --> 01:11:52,908 We have other functional characters 1522 01:11:52,909 --> 01:11:54,977 that then support the group. 1523 01:11:54,978 --> 01:11:57,780 For example, defenders or enforcers. 1524 01:11:57,781 --> 01:11:59,147 They defend the group 1525 01:11:59,148 --> 01:12:00,816 from other individuals and intruders 1526 01:12:00,817 --> 01:12:03,318 that might be coming in. 1527 01:12:03,319 --> 01:12:06,121 [***] 1528 01:12:06,122 --> 01:12:08,991 Now, this might be a rival wolf group. 1529 01:12:08,992 --> 01:12:11,795 It could be a bear coming in to forage. 1530 01:12:14,764 --> 01:12:16,999 They're also the enforcers within the group. 1531 01:12:17,000 --> 01:12:18,767 They can teach the younger ones. 1532 01:12:18,768 --> 01:12:22,004 They can teach the adolescents and the juveniles 1533 01:12:22,005 --> 01:12:24,139 what is the correct way of being 1534 01:12:24,140 --> 01:12:27,310 and communicating within their wolf family. 1535 01:12:28,344 --> 01:12:30,913 We then have followers. 1536 01:12:30,914 --> 01:12:32,247 They're there to make up the size 1537 01:12:32,248 --> 01:12:33,816 and number of the group, 1538 01:12:33,817 --> 01:12:36,485 so that if there's a rival wolf group nearby, 1539 01:12:36,486 --> 01:12:38,754 then because maybe that neighboring wolf group 1540 01:12:38,755 --> 01:12:41,156 has many more followers, 1541 01:12:41,157 --> 01:12:46,595 then it means that they're at less risk of rivalry. 1542 01:12:46,596 --> 01:12:48,464 [***] 1543 01:12:48,465 --> 01:12:49,832 Remembering that just like dogs, 1544 01:12:49,833 --> 01:12:53,836 wolves are individuals, 1545 01:12:53,837 --> 01:12:55,103 and that can also really help us to understand 1546 01:12:55,104 --> 01:12:57,005 how we can coexist with wolves 1547 01:12:57,006 --> 01:12:59,442 by not just seeing them as a predator, 1548 01:12:59,443 --> 01:13:03,111 but the functional character that they are, 1549 01:13:03,112 --> 01:13:05,113 and just like dogs need guidance 1550 01:13:05,114 --> 01:13:07,215 so they don't get into trouble, 1551 01:13:07,216 --> 01:13:08,717 it's a fact 1552 01:13:08,718 --> 01:13:10,218 that many more dogs kill livestock 1553 01:13:10,219 --> 01:13:11,987 than wolves. 1554 01:13:11,988 --> 01:13:14,557 Wolves need guidance too, 1555 01:13:14,558 --> 01:13:16,058 and sadly, there are occasions 1556 01:13:16,059 --> 01:13:19,394 when some wolves do kill livestock, 1557 01:13:19,395 --> 01:13:22,030 and one of the reasons can be where a guide, 1558 01:13:22,031 --> 01:13:23,499 or what is known as the alpha, 1559 01:13:23,500 --> 01:13:26,301 that individual that can really lead the hunt 1560 01:13:26,302 --> 01:13:29,705 and pass on information to the rest of her family 1561 01:13:29,706 --> 01:13:31,206 of what to hunt, 1562 01:13:31,207 --> 01:13:32,708 are eradicated. 1563 01:13:32,709 --> 01:13:34,409 They're shot, killed, 1564 01:13:34,410 --> 01:13:37,180 removed by us humans. 1565 01:13:38,882 --> 01:13:39,982 [Eisenberg] Managers, 1566 01:13:39,983 --> 01:13:42,918 in keeping with wolf-management plans 1567 01:13:42,919 --> 01:13:45,253 that were part of the Wolf Recovery program 1568 01:13:45,254 --> 01:13:47,656 and the Endangered Species Act, 1569 01:13:47,657 --> 01:13:49,224 said, "Well, now they've recovered. 1570 01:13:49,225 --> 01:13:51,326 They've met all the criteria. 1571 01:13:51,327 --> 01:13:53,161 Let's hunt them." 1572 01:13:53,162 --> 01:13:55,531 You open up a hunting season on wolves, 1573 01:13:55,532 --> 01:13:56,732 what gets taken 1574 01:13:56,733 --> 01:13:59,101 is wolves are not being hunted for meat, 1575 01:13:59,102 --> 01:14:02,104 they're being hunted as trophies. 1576 01:14:02,105 --> 01:14:06,274 You kill these wise, mature wolves 1577 01:14:06,275 --> 01:14:09,878 that teach the younger wolves, their young, 1578 01:14:09,879 --> 01:14:11,847 and various generations of wolves 1579 01:14:11,848 --> 01:14:13,749 how to be good wolves, 1580 01:14:13,750 --> 01:14:16,619 and you remove them from the population. 1581 01:14:16,620 --> 01:14:18,420 [wolves crying] 1582 01:14:18,421 --> 01:14:19,722 It takes about four years 1583 01:14:19,723 --> 01:14:21,891 for wolves to learn to hunt really well. 1584 01:14:23,126 --> 01:14:24,693 So then what's happened 1585 01:14:24,694 --> 01:14:26,562 since these wolf hunts have started, 1586 01:14:26,563 --> 01:14:28,063 and this has been widely observed, 1587 01:14:28,064 --> 01:14:29,297 is that the conflicts, 1588 01:14:29,298 --> 01:14:30,699 these young wolves 1589 01:14:30,700 --> 01:14:32,868 don't know what the heck they're doing. 1590 01:14:32,869 --> 01:14:35,270 They have, just like a human 13-year-old, 1591 01:14:35,271 --> 01:14:37,205 raging hormones. 1592 01:14:37,206 --> 01:14:38,406 They don't know what to do, 1593 01:14:38,407 --> 01:14:40,643 and so they'll go and start eating chickens 1594 01:14:40,644 --> 01:14:42,911 in somebody's chicken coop, 1595 01:14:42,912 --> 01:14:44,747 and then they'll go and kill somebody's dog, 1596 01:14:44,748 --> 01:14:46,281 and before you know it, 1597 01:14:46,282 --> 01:14:48,083 they start doing all sorts of bad things, 1598 01:14:48,084 --> 01:14:50,253 'cause they don't know which way is up. 1599 01:14:51,621 --> 01:14:53,455 You're disrupting the pack life 1600 01:14:53,456 --> 01:14:56,792 when you allow for an indiscriminate hunt, 1601 01:14:56,793 --> 01:14:59,227 and as you increase the amount of hunting, 1602 01:14:59,228 --> 01:15:02,599 these situations just get worse and worse. 1603 01:15:04,467 --> 01:15:06,835 [Bridges] So, here we are, 1604 01:15:06,836 --> 01:15:09,071 where we started. 1605 01:15:09,072 --> 01:15:11,406 As America continues its tug of war 1606 01:15:11,407 --> 01:15:14,509 between conservation and control, 1607 01:15:14,510 --> 01:15:16,144 in some areas of the West, 1608 01:15:16,145 --> 01:15:19,782 the bounties on wolves are back. 1609 01:15:19,783 --> 01:15:21,917 They feed an old fear 1610 01:15:21,918 --> 01:15:23,451 that something wild, 1611 01:15:23,452 --> 01:15:25,020 something untamed, 1612 01:15:25,021 --> 01:15:28,124 might take what belongs to us. 1613 01:15:30,459 --> 01:15:32,861 And there are some contemporary examples 1614 01:15:32,862 --> 01:15:34,863 of people torturing wolves 1615 01:15:34,864 --> 01:15:38,934 in the last few years, 1616 01:15:38,935 --> 01:15:41,136 and if you really engage with this history, 1617 01:15:41,137 --> 01:15:43,038 I think that, uh, first of all, 1618 01:15:43,039 --> 01:15:44,039 you can understand 1619 01:15:44,040 --> 01:15:45,541 where this stuff is coming from... 1620 01:15:53,382 --> 01:15:55,017 and I think it would be a testament 1621 01:15:55,018 --> 01:15:57,886 to our ability as human beings 1622 01:15:57,887 --> 01:16:00,856 to change the way that we think and behave 1623 01:16:00,857 --> 01:16:03,692 to make space for these creatures 1624 01:16:03,693 --> 01:16:06,394 that have been with us throughout our history. 1625 01:16:06,395 --> 01:16:08,063 [howling] 1626 01:16:08,064 --> 01:16:10,198 [Baldes] It's very important for our young people 1627 01:16:10,199 --> 01:16:12,000 to know our history 1628 01:16:12,001 --> 01:16:14,737 as well as our contemporary place 1629 01:16:14,738 --> 01:16:16,238 on our landscape, 1630 01:16:16,239 --> 01:16:20,242 and so we are no longer able to access 1631 01:16:20,243 --> 01:16:22,410 much of our traditional territory, 1632 01:16:22,411 --> 01:16:24,713 but we as caretakers 1633 01:16:24,714 --> 01:16:27,916 are just part of the system. 1634 01:16:27,917 --> 01:16:30,518 Recognizing the importance of buffalo 1635 01:16:30,519 --> 01:16:32,320 as a keystone species, 1636 01:16:32,321 --> 01:16:35,157 managed as wildlife, as we describe them today. 1637 01:16:35,158 --> 01:16:41,029 The importance of wolves and bears to the ecosystem. 1638 01:16:41,030 --> 01:16:43,098 Being balanced mentally, spiritually, 1639 01:16:43,099 --> 01:16:44,432 emotionally, physically. 1640 01:16:44,433 --> 01:16:47,936 This holistic understanding of how we see the world 1641 01:16:47,937 --> 01:16:50,005 teaches us that... 1642 01:16:50,006 --> 01:16:53,008 that all of the components of our natural world, 1643 01:16:53,009 --> 01:16:55,077 all are very important. 1644 01:16:55,078 --> 01:16:58,613 [***] 1645 01:16:58,614 --> 01:16:59,948 [Giessler] And those wolves, 1646 01:16:59,949 --> 01:17:01,917 I've ridden right alongside of 'em, 1647 01:17:01,918 --> 01:17:05,954 within them being 30 yards off to the side, 1648 01:17:05,955 --> 01:17:09,391 right going parallel with me, 1649 01:17:09,392 --> 01:17:11,193 and they just looked at me, 1650 01:17:11,194 --> 01:17:12,961 and my horse and me are trotting along, 1651 01:17:12,962 --> 01:17:14,362 and I look at them. 1652 01:17:14,363 --> 01:17:16,598 I'm not worried about them trying to take me. 1653 01:17:16,599 --> 01:17:17,733 They aren't gonna do that. 1654 01:17:17,734 --> 01:17:20,302 You check fences, you check salt, you check water, 1655 01:17:20,303 --> 01:17:23,706 you check where the cows are, 1656 01:17:23,707 --> 01:17:26,041 and in that presence, 1657 01:17:26,042 --> 01:17:27,876 I think it helps with all predators, 1658 01:17:27,877 --> 01:17:29,978 be it grizzly bears, wolves, 1659 01:17:29,979 --> 01:17:33,049 mountain lions, whatever... 1660 01:17:34,250 --> 01:17:36,785 and it's what I did. 1661 01:17:36,786 --> 01:17:40,989 As far as being a range rider and a... wolf spotter, 1662 01:17:40,990 --> 01:17:42,157 it don't take much. 1663 01:17:42,158 --> 01:17:44,493 [***] 1664 01:17:48,331 --> 01:17:50,598 Yeah, it's all a living system, 1665 01:17:50,599 --> 01:17:52,467 not just a home for cows. 1666 01:17:52,468 --> 01:17:53,836 It's a... 1667 01:17:53,837 --> 01:17:56,439 it's a place for life. 1668 01:18:00,076 --> 01:18:01,309 [Bridges] Much of our country 1669 01:18:01,310 --> 01:18:03,678 is now covered with shopping malls, 1670 01:18:03,679 --> 01:18:05,680 cornfields, 1671 01:18:05,681 --> 01:18:06,949 and highways 1672 01:18:06,950 --> 01:18:09,584 that stretch across landscapes 1673 01:18:09,585 --> 01:18:12,687 once shaped by hoofbeats 1674 01:18:12,688 --> 01:18:15,324 and open skies... 1675 01:18:17,360 --> 01:18:21,463 but the land remembers. 1676 01:18:21,464 --> 01:18:25,100 [***] 1677 01:18:25,101 --> 01:18:29,504 There are roughly 385 million unenclosed acres 1678 01:18:29,505 --> 01:18:31,874 in the western United States, 1679 01:18:31,875 --> 01:18:34,777 and that belongs to the people, 1680 01:18:34,778 --> 01:18:36,979 not some monarch. 1681 01:18:36,980 --> 01:18:38,446 That's a privilege, 1682 01:18:38,447 --> 01:18:40,983 and it's worth standing up for. 1683 01:18:40,984 --> 01:18:44,019 In the commons and beyond, 1684 01:18:44,020 --> 01:18:45,353 can we, the people, 1685 01:18:45,354 --> 01:18:49,792 work with rather than against the wild? 1686 01:18:49,793 --> 01:18:51,326 [***] 1687 01:18:51,327 --> 01:18:56,832 Entanglement, history, myth, 1688 01:18:56,833 --> 01:18:59,501 and mutual dependence. 1689 01:18:59,502 --> 01:19:02,170 Wolves and people remain co-travelers 1690 01:19:02,171 --> 01:19:04,039 in American history, 1691 01:19:04,040 --> 01:19:05,473 and this lingering partnership 1692 01:19:05,474 --> 01:19:08,911 reminds us that our concerns and aspirations 1693 01:19:08,912 --> 01:19:11,546 exist alongside the others. 1694 01:19:11,547 --> 01:19:12,547 [bear roaring] 1695 01:19:12,548 --> 01:19:14,249 Where wildness and domestication 1696 01:19:14,250 --> 01:19:16,751 endlessly collide... 1697 01:19:16,752 --> 01:19:18,220 [bear cub squawking] 1698 01:19:18,221 --> 01:19:20,889 ...a chance remains to restore, 1699 01:19:20,890 --> 01:19:23,491 to coexist, 1700 01:19:23,492 --> 01:19:28,163 to reimagine what it means to share this world. 1701 01:19:28,164 --> 01:19:30,398 The story of the wolves 1702 01:19:30,399 --> 01:19:34,202 is ultimately the story of us, 1703 01:19:34,203 --> 01:19:36,004 a reflection of how we choose to live 1704 01:19:36,005 --> 01:19:39,875 alongside the untamed, 1705 01:19:39,876 --> 01:19:42,277 and how we decide 1706 01:19:42,278 --> 01:19:46,515 what future we leave behind. 1707 01:19:56,960 --> 01:19:59,695 [river running] 1708 01:20:02,231 --> 01:20:04,233 [birds chirping] 1709 01:21:14,837 --> 01:21:19,308 [distant howling] 1710 01:21:33,122 --> 01:21:35,658 [howls fading]