Nikki Beinstein and Tara Sheahan believe in the power of bison restoration. The two are a powerhouse going after the same cause: bringing back the bison and educating others on why their restoration is crucial. A recent study in Romania showed that a herd of 170 bison can offset the annual carbon dioxide emissions from 43,000 gasoline-burning cars. The natural method of countering climate change through bringing back bison is a mission that Beinstein and Sheahan have taken to heart.

“It seems like now is the time [to bring back] the bison,” Beinstein said. “[Their presence] naturally helps restore the soil which allows the grasslands to grow … which creates a rainforest effect and sequesters the carbon. This can potentially reverse climate change or at least be one of the key components of it,” Beinstein said.

Beinstein launched her nonprofit, The Serious Type, back in 2020 to uplift local youth. She currently works as a middle school teacher and has previously taught at Marble Charter School and Colorado Mountain College as a sustainable business professor. She is also the author of multiple published books. After connecting with Sheahan through collaborators in her work with The Serious Type, she felt inspired to take action.

“Breathe, Bison,” her new children’s book, is a platform to tell the world about the bison and Sheahan’s Oniya Bison Rewilding Project.

Since their introduction, Beinstein and Sheahan have joined forces to raise awareness about the eradication of bison back in the 1800s as a way of controlling populations of Indigenous people. The bison’s existence was crucial to the survival of many tribes and the removal of this species was a strategic maneuver perpetrated by foreign colonists.

“We didn’t know what we did because we were never given the original instructions. We did not grow up Indigenous,” Sheahan said of the action.

“Breathe, Bison” tells the story of a young bison named Oniya who gets separated from its herd and is forced to find its way through the harsh wilderness to survive alone. Without going into detail as to how and why the bison were wiped out, the story gives age-appropriate context and teaches various breathwork exercises.

“Each page is referring to the themes of breathwork and meditation,” Beinstein said. “There are parts about mental health, the soil, sustainability, spirituality… and then the history of the bison.” She continued, “What we want to do is write a curriculum with all this information and travel with this curriculum and the book to different schools, around the state and beyond, to share this wisdom with the youth.”

Located in La Jara, Colorado, Sheahan is constructing the building that will one day be a tangible homebase for the Oniya Bison Rewilding Project. She hopes to host different groups there and provide healing through breathwork and meditation.

One of the organizations Sheahan has teamed up with is Agape Rescues Children, a nonprofit founded by Staci Maione that provides refuge and recovery plans to survivors of child sex trafficking. Beinstein added that the eventual goal for Oniya is to partner with more organizations that function as advocates for young people.

“We’re not ready to bring these healing groups to the land just yet, but everything is in preparation for that,” Beinstein said. “However long it takes to prepare the land, the center, to bring these different groups, that’s what we’re focused on.”

If you’d like to learn more about Oniya’s mission and support the bison cause, Beinstein’s picture book is available for purchase locally at The Marble Hub, Redstone
General Store and White River Books. The book is also listed for sale online at
Bookshop.org, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Sheahan said that while money is being raised to help create an outreach center for youth from the ground up, the true drive behind gathering funds is to tap into the power behind the bison to help restore the earth.

“More money brings more bison to the land and more healing centers for these kids,” she explained. “Money is love, and it’s an incredible tool from a beautiful state of consciousness … The fact of the matter is, I can feel amazing without all the millions of dollars. But do we want the millions of dollars? Absolutely, we’ve got a lot of work to get done.” 

To learn more, visit: www.oniya.us