Partnerships with Nez Perce, MHA Nation, Wind
River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, INDIGENOUS LED, among others
Colossal, the de-extinction company, announces the first
projects in partnership with its indigenous collaborators including
the Nez Perce Tribe, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (known as
the MHA Nation), INDIGENOUS LED, and the Wind River Tribal Buffalo
Initiative. The company unveils the formation of the Colossal
Indigenous Council, to ensure that indigenous-led conservation and
de-extinction priorities are embedded within the organization’s
plans, and driving in its North America conservation strategy.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240711551955/en/
Pictured L-R Eric Kash Kash (Director,
Wildlife Division of the Nez Perce Tribe), Leah Brickson (Senior
Computational Scientist) , Aaron Miles (Manager, Natural Resources
of the Nez Perce Tribe), Dr. Beth Shapiro (Chief Science Officer),
Absolem Yatzirah (Councilmember, Karankawa Kadla Five Rivers
Council), Cristina Mormorunni (Executive Director and Co-Founder,
INDIGENOUS LED), Irvin Carlson (President, InterTribal Buffalo
Council, Co-Founder, INDIGENOUS LED), Matt James (Chief Animal
Officer), Jason Baldes (Executive Director, Wind River Tribal
Buffalo Initiative, Vice President, InterTribal Buffalo Council)
(Photo: Business Wire)
“We value indigenous spiritual, ecological and cultural
knowledge. Working with indigenous partners to ensure their
conservation goals, priority species, and extinct species goals are
met is an important part of our conservation strategy, in America
and globally,” said co-founder and CEO of Colossal, Ben Lamm.
“Developing a Colossal Indigenous Council, as we look to address
North American conservation issues, was necessary, and we believe
fundamental to doing this work well and inclusively.”
According to research from NatureServe released in 2023, in
North America, 34% of plants and 40% of animals are at risk of
extinction, and 41% of ecosystems are at risk of range-wide
collapse. While this impacts all communities, indigenous
communities are disproportionately impacted by the degradation of
natural systems. Given this disproportionate impact on indigenous
communities, Colossal’s Indigenous Council, led by respected
indigenous conservation leader Jason Baldes, will advise and
support the organization's conservation projects to ensure that
indigenous-focused de-extinction, rewilding and rematriation
efforts in North America are a top priority. The advisory body
includes various leaders from Native American tribes and
organizations, including Director of Wildlife Division for the Nez
Perce Tribe Eric Kash Kash, President of the Inter-Tribal Buffalo
Council Ervin Carlson, and Chairman Fox of the MHA Nation, who each
bring a wealth of conservation experience, knowledge, and cultural
wisdom to Colossal’s work.
Announcing the Creation of the Colossal Indigenous
Council
“We appreciate the opportunity to partner and collaborate with
Colossal Biosciences, to represent Indigenous voices and empower
tribally led conservation efforts, while promoting objectives that
support sovereignty and self-determination to protect our natural
resources and ancestral lands,” said Council lead Jason Baldes and
founder of Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, a Native-led
nonprofit dedicated to rematriating buffalo to the Wind River
Reservation in Wyoming.
Jason Baldes, Executive Director of the Wind River Tribal
Buffalo Initiative, Vice-President on the board of directors for
the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council and Tribal Buffalo Program Senior
Manager for the National Wildlife Federation’s Tribal Partnerships
Program, will co-lead Colossal’s Indigenous Council in efforts to
merge the innovative potential of de-extinction technologies with
the traditional ecological knowledge, values, and priorities of
tribal partners to create a future where North American
biodiversity thrives. The Council has plans in place to amplify
Indigenous voices in conservation, harness de-extinction
technologies to revitalize North American species and ecosystems,
and build a network of partnerships with tribes, indigenous
conservation organizations, and artists to champion the
conservation, de-extinction, and rematriation of culturally and
ecologically significant species. This includes species like the
American buffalo, gray and red wolves, beavers, and salmon.
“We are living through a planetary crisis, which is at its root
a crisis of relationship. Renewing our connection to our
more-than-human relatives is the most important step we can all
take to turn things around, and it will take all of us. Our
collaboration with Colossal is vital to meeting this challenge, a
sacred partnership grounded in respect, reciprocity, and a shared
dedication to the power innovation, creativity, and fierce love
hold in meeting the challenges humanity and our home planet
collectively face,” stated INDIGENOUS LED, a nonprofit organization
co-founded by Director of the Blackfeet Buffalo Program Ervin
Carlson and Council Co-Lead Cristina Mormorunni, committed to
advancing Indigenous-led conservation efforts throughout North
America.
The group will meet quarterly to discuss current ecological,
culture, and spiritual impacts and pressures on existing North
American wildlife, and how to deepen awareness of the cultural
impacts of extinct ancestral species on the indigenous people's
past and future ways of life with broader audiences. In concert,
Colossal will provide tools, and support to Indigenous communities
identified by the Council on a partner by partner basis tailored to
the unique needs and priorities of the partners involved.
In addition to leading Colossal’s Indigenous Council, Baldes
joins Colossal’s Conservation Advisory Board with Mormorunni.
Concurrently, Chairman Mark N. Fox of the MHA Nations has been
added to Colossal’s Executive Advisory Board to guide the strategic
direction of the company while ensuring indigenous voices remain a
key stakeholder. Chairman Mark N. Fox is a veteran of the U.S.
Marine Corps, was first elected Chairman in 2014 and is now serving
his third term. He currently serves on three federal advisory
boards for the Department of Energy, the Department of Interior,
and the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Tribal cultures have always placed tremendous value on how the
past has shaped the present. The natural world, both plants and
animals have held cultural significance and heritage to tribes
across the globe since the beginning of time. Civilization views
conservation as something that occurs in the present. With
Colossal, we now have the opportunity to bring conservation to the
future by reaching into the past and marrying the worlds of
conservation and cultural significance together through the
de-extinction of species,” said Executive Advisory Board member
Chairman Fox. “Not only do we contribute to biodiversity and
conservation, we have the opportunity to reach back into the
heritage of our ancestors and bring animals of great cultural and
historical significance into our present lives. As great as the
scientific advancement of this technology may be to the world, the
cultural significance may dwarf the scientific achievement as our
future ancestors look back on this inflection point in
history."
Announcing 2024/2025 Colossal Supported Indigenous
Projects
Colossal is also pleased to announce the first cohort of planned
projects chosen by the Indigenous Council for the 2024/2025
calendar, which include:
- Supporting the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative for bison
rematriation on native lands.
- Supporting the revitalization of the Nez Perce Tribe’s Wolf
Conservation Program and enhancing wolf conservation and
coexistence throughout Nez Perce Indian Claims Commission
territory.
- Working with local and tribal partners to advance research into
the unique population of gulf coast canids on the coasts of Texas
and Louisiana. In conjunction with the Gulf Coast Canine Project,
Colossal will support the creation of an insurance population of
these "ghost" wolves, and in doing so provide insights on the
relationship between "ghost" wolves and red wolves in their native
range of the American Gulf Coast.
- Supporting of the efforts by the MHA nation to return and
rewild culturally significant species to native lands.
- Collaborating with INDIGENOUS LED to amplify native-led
storytelling and education, as well as the conservation and
rematriation efforts of indigenous communities.
More information on all of these programs will be forthcoming as
developments are made.
“The Nez Perce Tribe (Niimiipuu) values the mutual interest in
protecting our wolf (Himiin) relatives within their ancestral
homelands of North Central Idaho, Southeast Washington, and
Northeast Oregon. We are eager to collaborate with Colossal
Biosciences to develop a coordinated effort that ensures the
sustainability of a healthy wolf population,” said Eric Kash Kash,
Director of the Wildlife Division for the Nez Perce Tribe. “The Nez
Perce People have a deep cultural connection to wolves, which
reflects our social and family dynamics. We are proud to contribute
to the recovery and management of wolves and welcome Colossal to
our inner circle to help conserve healthy populations of our
esteemed relative, Himiin.”
Announcing Colossal’s BioTEK Agenda
Beyond partnering on species-specific projects, Colossal’s
vision includes aiding indigenous partners in the development of
disruptive “BioTEK.” This new approach fuses the interests and
practices of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) held by
Indigenous peoples with the scientific techniques and tools of
de-extinction. By elevating the concept and adopting it in joint
collaborations, the company and its Native partners are working to
normalize the role of indigenous partners as key stakeholders in
the decision-making processes in the rapidly evolving field of
de-extinction. This is especially important in efforts related to
species of interest and to ensure indigenous partners have access
to the conservation technologies generated through de-extinction
sciences. Doing so can advance conservation objectives while
supporting indigenous autonomy and sovereignty over natural
resources and ancestral lands.
"Colossal's commitment to building lasting relationships with
Indigenous partners marks a pivotal moment for our company, as we
stride towards the restoration of our shared natural heritage,"
says Stefano Daza Arango, Manager of Conservation Partnerships at
Colossal. "By braiding the wisdom and stewardship of Indigenous
peoples with innovative de-extinction technologies, we are working
together to heal our native landscapes and restore the great
bestiary that not long ago thrived on this beautiful
continent."
For more information on Colossal’s indigenous efforts, please
refer to https://colossal.com/advisors/.
ABOUT COLOSSAL
Colossal was founded by emerging technology and software
entrepreneur Ben Lamm and world-renowned geneticist and serial
biotech entrepreneur George Church, Ph.D., and is the first to
apply CRISPR technology for the purposes of species de-extinction.
Colossal creates innovative technologies for species restoration,
critically endangered species protection and the repopulation of
critical ecosystems that support the continuation of life on Earth.
Colossal is accepting humanity's duty to restore Earth to a
healthier state, while also solving for the future economies and
biological necessities of the human condition through cutting-edge
science and technologies. To follow along, please visit:
www.colossal.com
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