Buffalo vs. Cattle: Native Land Drama Hits PBS Prime Time

KEY POINTS

•Lily Gladstone, the Indigenous Golden Globe winner, narrates and executive produced the new documentary debuting Monday on PBS.
•The film follows the Blackfeet Nation's decades-long campaign to bring wild buffalo back to their ancestral lands amid rancher opposition.
•Directed by Blackfeet siblings Ivan and Ivy MacDonald with Daniel Glick, the documentary explores land conflicts and tribal cultural survival.
•The work underscores the deep historical ties between buffalo and Blackfeet identity, illuminated through Gladstone's personal family heritage.

Lily Gladstone, fresh off a history-making Golden Globe win in 2023, co-exec produced and narrated 'Bring Them Home/Aiskótáhkapiyaaya,' an eye-opening PBS doc hitting most stations Monday. The film dives into the Blackfeet Nation's epic, generations-long showdown with white ranchers and internal tribal politics over who controls the once-exterminated, now rebel buffalo roaming ancestral lands seized decades ago. Directed by Blackfeet siblings Ivan and Ivy MacDonald plus Daniel Glick, the doc reminds us that buffalo aren't just big furry cows — they're identity, spirituality, and sovereignty incarnate. Gladstone, with Piegan Blackfeet and Nez Perce roots, channels her ancestor Red Crow, who famously lamented the painful cattle takeover in the 19th century. Amid tribal youth buffalo-awareness efforts and the tedious cycle of selling and repurchasing herds whenever opinions shift, the film mashes conservation full-on with cultural survival — making clear that this ain't your average National Geographic special. It's family history, land conflict, and buffalos with an attitude, all narrated by Oscar-nominee Lily showing even buffalo drama is award-worthy.