The American Buffalo and the Concept of Indigenous Peoplehood

The Buffalo roamed in the millions on most of the North American continent for thousands of years prior to European contact. Native Americans are spiritually connected to the Buffalo. The near-extinction of American buffalo populations during the 1800s was ultimately an act of genocide against Native American people by U.S. government. Native peoples endured and survived the attacks on their ceremony, sacred history, land, and language that took place via the hunting and mass killing of buffalo. Indigenous peoplehood has been so entwined with the buffalo that it is important to understand this relationship as a matrix.

This lesson uses clips from Ken Burns’ The American Buffalo as a blood memory that the Buffalo were, and still are, a sacred animal to Native American people. Students will familiarize themselves with Cherokee-Muskogee Creek writer Tom Holm’s Peoplehood Matrix and watch clips from the documentary on the topics of sacred history, land, and ceremony. Students will then create an infographic based on a major related event covered in the documentary and present it to the class.

About the Author

Nikki Menard is Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  She grew up on an acreage close to Bennet, Nebraska. Nikki taught in the Expelled Student Program for Lincoln Public Schools for six years and then took a leave of absence to pursue a PhD in Native Literature. She didn’t finish the degree, but Nikki taught in the Programs for Intensive English Language for six years. After leaving the program because of low student numbers, Nikki taught high school English language arts at Crete Public Schools for five years. Nikki loves to knit, cross stitch, garden, and read books.