Roshan Patel, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Nóouhàh-Toka’na, known as swift fox in English, once roamed the North American Great Plains from Canada to Texas. Like bison, pronghorn and other plains animals, Nóouhàh-Toka’na held cultural significance for the Native Americans who lived alongside them. But predator control programs in the mid-1900s reduced the foxes to just 10 percent of their native range.

At the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana, members of the Aaniiih and Nakoda tribes are working with the conservation partners to restore biodiversity and return Nóouhàh-Toka’na to the land.