1. IMPORT YOUR STASH*

*If you have already imported your Polkadot stash to the Polkadot UI, skip to step 2.

The current version of the Polkadot.js extension requires you to first create an account before you can import your own stash account. You may delete this account after you have imported your stash.

1. Install the Polkadot.js extension
2. Click the extension icon in your browser
3. Click + to add an account
4. Copy the provided mnemonic seed
5. Enter a name for your account
6. Enter a password
7. Verify the password
8. Click Add the account with the generated seed
9. Click + in the top right corner
10. Click Import account from pre-existing seed
11. Enter the mnemonic seed for your stash account
12. Name the account
13. Create a password & verify
14. Click Add the account with the supplied seed

2. IMPORT OR CREATE YOUR CONTROLLER*

* You can use your stash as your controller, however, for security reasons, the Polkadot team recommends you create a separate controller address. If you are importing an existing controller account, repeat step 1 with your controller mnemonic.

1. Open the Polkadot.js extension
2. Click +
3. Click Create New Account
4. Enter the password for your stash account
5. Click Create derived account
6. Name the controller account
7. Create a password & verify
8. Click Create derived account
9. Save your seed in a safe place

3. TRANSFER DOT TO YOUR CONTROLLER TO PAY FOR TRANSACTION FEES*

*If your controller already at least 5-10 DOTs in it, skip to step 4.

1. Go to Polkadot UI
2. Click TRANSFER under ACCOUNTS in the top navigation
3. Select your stash as the send from account
4. Select your controller as the send to address
5. Enter the amount of DOTs you want to transfer to your controller. You will need 1 DOT for your “existential deposit” (the minimum balance the network requires to keep your account open) and 5-10 DOTs to cover transaction fees.
6. Click Make Transfer
7. Click Sign and Submit
8. Enter your stash password in the pop up
9. Click Sign the transaction

4. BOND YOUR DOT and NOMINATE BISON TRAILS’ VALIDATORS

1. Go to Polkadot UI
2. Click STAKING under NETWORK in the top navigation
3. Select the ACCOUNT ACTIONS in the Staking navigation at the top
4. Select + NOMINATOR at the top right of the screen
5. In the modal, select your stash account and, if applicable, controller account
6. Double check your controller has the nominal funds (6-11 DOTs) it needs for the “existential deposit” and to pay for transaction fees.
7. In the value bonded field, input the amount of DOTs you’d like to bond. If you’d like to bond all of your DOTs, leave 5-10 DOTs in your stash account for transaction fees.
8. Select your preferred payment destination:
   
   Select Stash account (increase the amount at stake) to compound your rewards on your Stash account (most common), or
   
   Select Stash account (do not increase the amount at stake) to leave your rewards un-bonded and spendable in your Stash account
9. Click NEXT
10. Disable autoselect to enable searching for nominators
11. Search for Bison Trails and select all validators labeled Bison Trails/Community #. Selecting all nodes will distribute stake among them evenly. Alternatively, you can also copy+paste the validator addresses above into the modal.
12. Click Bond & Nominate
13. Click Sign and Submit
14. Enter your stash password in the pop up
15. Click Sign the transaction
16. Wait for the Transaction Success banner to pop up. This process can take a while if the network is behind.

Congratulations! You are now nominating the Bison Trails validators.