Grasslands occupy 40% of Earth’s terrestrial surface and have declined in area by 62%, despite their criticality. In the Northern Great Plains ecoregion (NGP), 80% of Tribally-managed lands are intact grasslands, highlighting Native Nations’ leadership in grasslands stewardship. This research supports the Buffalo Nations Grasslands Alliance’s (BNGA) initiatives to strengthen Tribal conservation and restoration strategies in the NGP by integrating ecology, remote sensing, and policy analysis. BNGA, a Native-led 501(c)(3), works to support conservation and sustainable livelihoods across 16 Native Nations in the NGP. Collaborating with BNGA, we piloted two conservation tools at Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana. We developed a spatial-ecological connectivity tool for pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), combining field data with landscape metrics to identify priority habitat areas. Results of the tool indicate the Reservation’s large, contiguous grassland patches exceed pronghorn habitat requirements. Second, we assessed the detectability of American bison (Bison bison) wallows using deep learning and Random Forest remote sensing models, which represent an initial attempt to quantify wallowing. These cost-effective, reliable methods identify areas of connectivity and disturbance, and should be expanded in future studies to include additional areas and priority species. Finally, we evaluated the North American Grasslands Conservation Act (NAGCA), a bill which would appropriate ~$9,200,000 annually to Native Nations and Tribal organizations. Our analysis identifies grasslands’ economic contributions and analyzes existing legislation, recommending strategies to enhance NAGCA’s effectiveness. Our research indicates that federal investment and Indigenous-led stewardship offer opportunities to strengthen grasslands conservation and restoration across the NGP ecoregion. Read more about our process and findings here.