Buffalo
The Source of Life
While the Plains Indians hunted many kinds of animals, their very existence depended on the buffalo. The massive creatures supplied most of the meat for their diet. Every part of the great animal was used. Nothing was wasted. From the buffalo they fashioned their equipment. Built homes and furnishings. Made storage containers. In combination with wood, the buffalo was used to construct weapons and riding gear.
More than 60 million buffalo once roamed the Plains. Herds were moving at all times throughout the Plains, either in a north-south direction or in a circular migration. No one knows what made the herds move around as they did. The Indians believed that God sent the buffalo in response to their ceremonial buffalo calls.
Courtesy hmdb.org
