2022年11月27日 VOA慢速英語：更多野牛重返美洲原住民土地

 

Native American tribes are leading efforts to bring back bison across North America where they were once hunted to near extinction in the late 19th century.
美洲原住民部落正在帶頭努力將北美野牛帶回北美，北美野牛曾在 19 世紀(jì)后期遭到獵殺，瀕臨滅絕。
 
Tens of millions of bison, also known as American buffalo, once lived on the Great Plains of the United States and Canada.
數(shù)以千萬計(jì)的野牛，也被稱為美洲水牛，曾經(jīng)生活在美國和加拿大的大平原上。
 
Many Native American tribes needed the animal to survive. They ate the bison's meat, used its bones for tools and weapons, and made clothing and housing, called teepees, from its hide.
許多美洲原住民部落需要這種動物才能生存。他們吃野牛的肉，用它的骨頭做工具和武器，用它的皮做衣服和住所，稱為圓錐形帳篷。
 
European settlers turned killing bison into an industry. They used animal parts in machinery, fertilizer and clothing. By 1889, few bison remained: about 800 animals in the wild and 250 in zoos and private ownership.
歐洲定居者將捕殺野牛變成了一項(xiàng)產(chǎn)業(yè)。他們在機(jī)械、肥料和衣服中使用動物器官。到 1889 年，只剩下很少的野牛：大約 800 頭在野外，250 頭在動物園和私人所有。
 
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is the first Native American to serve in the cabinet. She told the Associated Press, "We wanted to populate the western half of the United States because there were so many people in the East."
美國內(nèi)政部長德布哈蘭是第一位在內(nèi)閣任職的美洲原住民。她告訴美聯(lián)社，“我們想在美國西半部居住，因?yàn)闁|部有很多人。”
 
The thinking at the time, she added, was "if we kill off the buffalo, the Indians will die. They won't have anything to eat."
她補(bǔ)充說，當(dāng)時(shí)的想法是“如果我們殺死水牛，印第安人就會死去。他們將沒有任何東西可吃。”
 
Long-term dream for Native Americans
美洲原住民的長期夢想
 
Now 82 tribes across the U.S. have more than 20,000 bison in 65 herds. And that number has been growing along with the desire among Native Americans to look after the animal that their ancestors depended upon for thousands of years.
現(xiàn)在美國有 82 個(gè)部落在 65 個(gè)牛群中擁有超過 20,000 頭野牛。隨著美洲原住民希望照顧他們的祖先數(shù)千年來賴以生存的動物，這一數(shù)字一直在增長。
 
The long-term dream for some Native Americans is to return bison to the large numbers that once shaped the landscape itself.
一些美洲原住民的長期夢想是將野牛放歸原住民曾經(jīng)塑造景觀本身的大量數(shù)字。
 
Troy Heinert is a South Dakota state senator and director of the InterTribal Buffalo Council. His goal is to get bison to tribes that want them, whether two or 200. This autumn, Heinert's group has moved 2,041 bison to 22 tribes in 10 states.
特洛伊·海納特 (Troy Heinert) 是南達(dá)科他州參議員和部落間布法羅委員會主任。他的目標(biāo)是將野牛送到需要它們的部落，無論是兩頭還是 200 頭。今年秋天，海納特的團(tuán)隊(duì)已將 2,041 頭野牛轉(zhuǎn)移到 10 個(gè)州的 22 個(gè)部落。
 
He said, "All of these tribes relied on them at some point, whether that was for food or shelter or ceremonies."
他說，“所有這些部落在某些時(shí)候都依賴他們，無論是食物、住所還是儀式。”
 
Others have greater desires.
其他人有更大的愿望。
 
The Blackfeet in the American state of Montana and tribes in Alberta, Canada want to establish a herd that crosses the two nation's borders near Glacier National Park. Other tribes propose a "buffalo commons" on federal lands in central Montana where tribes in the area could harvest the animals.
美國蒙大拿州的黑腳族和加拿大阿爾伯塔省的部落希望在冰川國家公園附近建立一個(gè)跨越兩國邊界的牛群。其他部落提議在蒙大拿州中部的聯(lián)邦土地上建立“水牛公地”，該地區(qū)的部落可以在那里收獲動物。
 
"What would it look like to have 30 million buffalo in North America again?" said Cristina Mormorunni, a Métis Indian who has worked with the Blackfeet to bring back the bison.
“北美再次擁有 3000 萬頭水牛會是什么樣子？”克里斯蒂娜·莫莫魯尼 (Cristina Mormorunni) 說，她是一名梅蒂斯印第安人，曾與黑腳人合作將野牛帶回。
 
Haaland said there is no going back completely — too many fences and houses. But her agency has become a primary bison source, transferring more than 20,000 to tribes and tribal organizations over 20 years.
哈蘭德說，沒有完全回頭路了——太多的柵欄和房屋。但她的機(jī)構(gòu)已成為主要的野牛來源，20 多年來向部落和部落組織轉(zhuǎn)移了 20,000 多頭。
 
Some cattle farmers are against the plan to move bison. They worry the animals carry diseases and compete for grass. But bison demand from the tribes is growing, and Haaland said transfers will continue. About 1,000 bison were transferred this year from Badlands, Grand Canyon National Park and several national wildlife refuges.
一些養(yǎng)牛戶反對轉(zhuǎn)移野牛的計(jì)劃。他們擔(dān)心動物會攜帶疾病并爭奪草地。但部落對野牛的需求正在增長，哈蘭德表示，轉(zhuǎn)移將繼續(xù)進(jìn)行。今年從荒地、大峽谷國家公園和幾個(gè)國家野生動物保護(hù)區(qū)轉(zhuǎn)移了大約 1,000 頭野牛。
 
Some tribes are reintroducing traditional ways of harvesting bison. But today few people have the skills to harvest them.
一些部落正在重新采用傳統(tǒng)的野牛捕撈方式。但如今很少有人具備收獲野牛的技能。
 
In South Dakota, this October, Katrina Fuller helped guide a group to harvest bison by cutting one into smaller pieces. She dreams of teaching others so more communities can harvest the animals.
今年 10 月，在南達(dá)科他州，卡特里娜·富勒 (Katrina Fuller) 幫助指導(dǎo)了一群人將野牛切成小塊來收獲野牛。她夢想教導(dǎo)其他人，以便更多的社區(qū)可以收獲這些動物。
 
Tribal elder Duane Hollow Horn Bear is 73. He said the harvest brings back what was almost totally taken away — his people's culture, economy, and social connection.
部落長老杜安·空心角熊現(xiàn)年 73 歲。他說收獲帶回了幾乎完全被奪走的東西——他的人民的文化、經(jīng)濟(jì)和社會關(guān)系。
 
"It's like coming home to a way of life," he said.
“這就像回到一種生活方式的家，”他說。