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SWEETGRASS BISON
Sweetgrass Bison is a company dedicated to bringing customers the highest quality and most sustainable red meat available, while promoting the conservation of the Plains Bison and the land they come from. We strive to bring awareness to the history, present status and future of the majestic dominance the Bison has brought to the Great Plains of North America. These animals have evolved over tens of thousands of years, and have adapted to the often harsh climate and landscape of the Northern Plains. They are a naturally resilient creature that are well suited for hands-off relationships with ranchers. In the time leading up to the 1880’s, over hunting had nearly exterminated the entire species. Through early conservation efforts of private ranchers and government agencies, Bison have slowly grown in number to a total North American herd size of about 500,000. Most of these animals are located in private ranches, with only about 20,000 living in public conservation herds. With a growing market and an awareness of conservation, Bison are here to stay.

SAMUEL WALKING COYOTE
By 1873, the population of the North American Plains Bison herd had been whittled down to a mere few hundred animals. Over-hunting had brought on an extermination that had nearly wiped out a species which had numbered between 40 and 60 million Bison before European contact.  Around this time, a native man from the Idaho panhandle named Samuel Walking Coyote had left his tribe on the Flathead Reservation in Montana to live with a Blackfoot Woman near the Sweetgrass Hills on the Alberta- Montana border. Upon his return back to the Flathead, Walking Coyote gathered four Bison calves from the Sweetgrass Hills and trailed them back across the Continental Divide to his ranch south of Flathead Lake. These four calves, through proper management, have created a foundation for the revival of the Plains Bison species.

Bison meat is a nutrient dense food because of the proportion of protein, fat, mineral, and fatty acids to its caloric value. Comparisons to other meat sources have shown that bison meat has a greater concentration of iron, zinc and essential fatty acids.

Bison meat is a rich source of complete protein containing all the essential amino acids in appropriate amounts. Each serving contains about 22 grams of protein which is then used in the body to build and repair tissues, produce enzymes and some hormones, and maintain cell membranes and components of the immune system.

Bison meat contains the “essential fatty acids”, linoleic (omega – 3) and linoleic (omega – 6) fatty acids. Their function is to assist the formation of cell membranes, aiding in the production of hormone-like compounds, and participating in immune and visual processes. Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to help fend off Alzheimer’s disease and reduce the likelihood of heart attacks.