Transcript Buffalo Facts

Buffalo Facts
• Not really “buffalo” - they are
actually “bison”
• Range:
– Canadian border to Gulf of
Mexico
– As far east as Ohio
• Sizes
– Bull (boy): 6 feet high, 10 feet
long, 2,000 pounds
– Cow (girl): usually smaller
– Calf (baby): 20-40 pounds,
yellow hair
Buffalo Facts
• A buffalo could live to the age
of 25 years
• Hunted almost year-round
– Summer: good for hides
– Late Fall: good for meat
– Winter: good for robes
• Uses of Buffalo
– Food
– Clothing
– Weapons
– Shelter
– Warmth
Hunting Buffalo
• “Buffalo Fall” (“Buffalo
Jump”)
– Hunter leads or drives herd
over cliff, onto rocks and
branches below
– Other hunters then kill
wounded buffalo
• Deep-blood Kettle (Piskin)
– Large corral of logs and rocks,
built against side of cliff
– Herd driven into corral, gate
closed
– Hunters kill buffalo with spears
and arrows from top of walls
Hunting Buffalo
• Buffalo Surround
– Hunters on horses form giant
circle around buffalo
• Men killed buffalo
• Women skinned and
“dressed” buffalo
• Women were “experts” on
working of buffalo hides
Uses of the Buffalo
• Hide (Skin and Hair)
– Robes
– Bedding
– Tipi and lodge coverings
– Swaddling for babies
– Shields
– Moccasin soles
– Drumheads
– Bags and pouches
• Hair
– Ropes
– Ornaments
Uses of the Buffalo
• Meat
– Cooked and eaten
– Cut into strips, dried and
saved
• Pemmican
– Dried meat, ground into
powder
– Mixed with melted fat
– Sometimes berries added
– Good for long trips
• Organs
– Eaten raw, usually at site of kill
– Liver, brain, kidneys
Uses of the Buffalo
• Stomach
– Cleaned and used as
container for cooking
• Intestines
– Cleaned, used for cooking
ground meats, stews
– Roasted until crisp, for a
“snack”
• Bones
– Roasted, cracked, marrow
(insides) eaten
– Tools
– Sleds
– Dice
Uses of the Buffalo
• Sinew
– Thread
– Bowstrings
• Head used in ceremonies
• Horns
– Ceremonies
– Made into spoons, ladles, cups
– Toys
• Hooves
– Rattles
– Glue
• Bladder used for medicine
bag
Uses of the Buffalo
• Tail
– Fly switch
– Duster
• Blood made into a pudding
• Dung
– Dried, ground into baby
powder
– Fuel for fires
– Ceremonies
Sources
• Ballantine, B. & Ballantine, I.
(Eds.). (1993). The Native
Americans: An illustrated history.
Atlanta: Turner Publishing.
• Grant, B. (1994). Concise
encyclopedia of the American
Indian. Avenel, NJ: Wings Books.
• Time-Life (Eds.). (1993). The
buffalo hunters. In H. Woodhead
(Series Ed.), The American
Indians. Alexandria, VA: TimeLife.