VIP Marcom Program Overview

Long before fences marked borders or highways crossed the plains, the American bison roamed freely — from the forests of Canada to the deserts of northern Mexico. Once numbering in the tens of millions, the bison was nearly lost to history, hunted to the brink of extinction by the early 20th century. But its story didn’t end there.

Today, the Bison Club, the VIP division of the Indian Summer Rodeo, proudly pays tribute to this living symbol of resilience and renewal. We not only honor the bison’s sacred place in Indigenous and ranching heritage but also celebrate the cross-border efforts that have helped bring the species back from the edge.

Among these efforts stands El Uno Ranch, located in Mexico’s northern Janos desert, in the state of Chihuahua. There, in a vast 45,000-acre reserve near the U.S. border, nearly 200 genetically pure American bison live in semi-captivity. This herd was reintroduced more than a decade ago, not simply as a conservation project, but as a statement of ecological restoration — in harmony with Mexico’s role in the shared stewardship of the North American plains.

El Uno’s mission is remarkable: maintain a lineage of genetically pure bison while protecting their native habitat in cooperation with scientists, Indigenous communities, and environmentalists from both sides of the border. The bison, weighing up to a tonne and standing nearly 6 feet tall at the hump, once again walk the same lands they knew centuries ago.

At the Bison Club, we recognize that the bison’s story is not just American — it is North American. And within it lives a powerful example of Mexican leadership in conservation, deserving both recognition and gratitude.

This year, as we gather for the Indian Summer Rodeo, we raise our glasses not just to the majestic buffalo, but to the people on both sides of the Rio Grande who refused to let it vanish. 

Because to honor the bison is to honor our shared land, our shared responsibility, and our shared future, perfectly encapsulated within the unforgettable rodeo experience.