The film “In the Spirit of ?Atati?c?e?: The Untold Story of the National Bison Range” shares the true story long told by Tribal elders but not widely shared until now. Audiences will learn how the unthinkable came to pass in the nineteenth century as buffalo, slaughtered to the edge of extinction, began to fade from the landscape until a Ql?ispé (Pend d ’Oreille) man named ?Atati?c?e? and his son helped the bison survive by bringing buffalo calves over the Continental Divide and starting a herd on the Flathead Indian Reservation. In the face of devastation, one man did what he could and made a world of difference for us all.

The film depicts the Salish, Ql?ispé and Kootenai peoples’ ongoing struggles, against the backdrop of seismic disruptions to their communities and cultures, to prevail in their efforts to care for the buffalo. Using a cross-section of Tribal members to relate their history, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and filmmaker Daniel Glick produced “In the Spirit of ?Atati?c?e?: The Untold Story of the National Bison Range” to unveil a narrative that continues to reverberate today. This event is supported by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, The Wilderness Society, and the National Wildlife Federation