Plains Indian 4 State Trip 2016: “Every Buffalo Dead is an Indian Gone”

Bison (American Buffalo), an estimated 30 million in the early 19^th century, were central to Plains Indians lives, who used virtually every part of the bison to provide food, clothing, shelter, tools, ceremonial objects, household items, fuel, even toys. At the Vore Buffalo Jump in northeastern Wyoming we learned the fascinating story of how even before the horse, Indians had created ways of trapping the bison. Vore is an archeological site that has produced much information about how in the centuries before 1800, Indian Nations working collectively developed techniques for essentially driving hordes of bison over cliffs and into a natural sink hole where they died or were killed, butchered and then “processed” leaving only the bones. Huge volumes of perfectly preserved bones are at the site.

Beginning in the 17^th century when horses became available bison hunting opportunities expanded dramatically. The Indians developed elaborate and skilled bison hunting techniques, creating one of the most renowned hunting cultures in history. The economic-cultural changes brought on by the horse have been called as significant for the Indian as changes wrought by the introduction of the automobile in early 20^th century America. The importance of the buffalo for the Indians in historical, material and cultural senses has come up repeatedly during our trip so far.

The decimation of the bison coincided with the Plains Indian Wars which sought to subjugate the Indian Nations. It became a political-military strategy as articulated by U.S. Colonel Richard Dodge in 1867: “Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone.” But it was also economic, fed by the settler immigrants’ and eastern capitalists’ thirst for the resources that they could take from the Plains. So huge numbers of bison were killed by soldiers, farmers and ranchers (who needed space for their own animals), hunters feeding rich Americans and Europeans desire for bison hides, leather and coats or just killing the animals for sport. In 1870 alone it is estimated that 2 million bison were killed on the southern plains with similar numbers in the following years. By 1883 nearly all the bison in the U.S. were gone.

Today, the bison is returning to the plains and we were always excited to see evidence of herds in many places, including public and reservation lands. Bison meat is frequently available in restaurants.