In 2023, Rivian donated two R1T vehicles to INDIGENOUS LED in support of the Blackfeet tribe’s successful Buffalo Restoration Program. Two years on, these electric trucks still support their day-to-day operations, including herd management and other conservation efforts led by Blackfeet Fish & Wildlife.
INDIGENOUS LED is an organization dedicated to elevating Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being and Doing. Healing both land and people through their mutual connection to the buffalo is a key aspect of their work, and moving to zero-emission vehicles is in harmony with their mission of protecting and celebrating our relationship with the natural world.
The Blackfeet Nation and other Indigenous voices have been at the forefront of buffalo restoration efforts for decades. But their recent successes have been long in the making.
The last remnants of a wild Blackfeet herd were sold to the Canadian government in 1907. Following significant policy and community building efforts across the region, 87 direct descendants of that herd were returned to Blackfeet Nation in 2016.
In 2023, free-roaming buffalo were returned to the Blackfeet Territory for the first time in nearly 150 years. Since then, the wild Blackfeet herd continues to grow, and Rivian is honored to continue to play a role in this vital work of restoration and healing.
Join the movement and learn more about the work of INDIGENOUS LED at indigenousled.orgOpens in new tab
Read about how we first met Cristina and Ervin while filming on Blackfeet territory in northwestern Montana for Jane Goodall's film Reasons For Hope.
