DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 1997            TAG: 9711180263

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: MADISON                           LENGTH:   55 lines

MONACANS MAY CRAFT BISON HIDES AT MEAT PLANT

The manager of a bison farm and meat-processing plant opening soon in Madison County plans to enlist American Indians to make capes, rugs and other items from the hides of the animals.

Georgetown Farm manager Tom Albert said he has spoken with representatives of the Monacan tribe, as well as other tribes in the state.

``I'd like to have them making things like they used to,'' Albert said. ``I'd like to get to the point where they're tanning the hides. I think it will add some authenticity to it.''

Karenne Wood, a Monacan Indian who lives in Fredericksburg, said the tribe would welcome the chance for its craftspeople to work with bison hides and skulls.

The Monacan tribe has about 850 members, most of whom live in the Lynchburg area, Wood said.

``Our goal is to find types of commerce that are economically feasible as well as culturally appropriate,'' said Wood, the tribe's economic development director.

American Indians in Virginia used to hunt bison, which once roamed in the state's mountains.

In addition to rugs and capes, two popular bison-skin articles, the tribe could make boots, wallets and bedcovers. Members of the tribe also paint skins, Wood said.

Albert said the farm and processing plant near Virginia 230 and U.S. 29 is scheduled to open by Jan. 1. It will employ about 20 people, Albert said, and be able to process between 12 and 15 animals per day.

Inspectors still need to complete the safety check that goes along with meat processing, he said.

Bison and cattle are now raised on Georgetown Farm's current location in Free Union. Albert said the new plant is being built to accommodate increased demand for low-fat bison meat, as well as a need for a processing plant in the region.

Currently, area cattle farmers must truck their herds more than an hour to either Harrisonburg, Fredericksburg or Lynchburg for processing, Albert said.

Hunters cut the number of bison, at one time a staple of the American landscape, from as many as 40 million to near extinction in the 1800s. In 1893, one estimate put the total number of bison in the nation at only 300.

As a result of preservation efforts, there are now about 200,000 bison on public and private land across the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

Albert said his bison business has done well in recent years, as Americans have become more health-conscious and are looking for a meat lower in fat than beef.

Wood said she hopes the Monacan tribe and Georgetown Farm will work out a business agreement in the next few weeks. KEYWORDS: BUFFALO

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