my namis ervinarlson, and i'm member o e blackft nation anpresidenof the tertribabuffo counci i'm here today to respectfully urge passage of h.r. 5153, the indian buffalo managementct, to cate a peanent tribaluffalo storatioand manament proam with the deptment of thenterior. buffalo e sacred tomerican dians. hiorical rords indate thatmerican dians lied heavi on buffalo r survival. buffalo provided us food, shelter, clothing and essential tools. in the early 1800s, the buffalo population in north america exceeded 30 million, and the american indian population was near seven million. the military systematically eliminated buffalo to eliminate the indians. in addition, westward expansion and the greed of non-indian buffalo hunters reduced the buffalo population to 500 and the indian population to 250,000 by the turn of the century. with confinement of indians to reservation lands, indians had lost their primary food source, lifestyle and independence. in 1991, a handful of indian tribes organized the intertribal bison cooperative to begin restoration of buffalo to indian tribes. today, t