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Hunting Before Horses, Part2: The Surround

by Francie M. Berg | Jul 13, 2021 | Blog | 0 Comments

The first successful method of group hunting from the days before horses was likely the surround, in which a line of people on foot gradually approached a herd of about as many buffalo as they felt they could handle, moving into the wind, according to David A. Dary, in The Buffalo Book: Full Saga of the American Animal. This may have required less preparation than later drives, but considerable good luck and certainly an understanding of buffalo behavior. In the surround, a band of prehistoric people, both men and women, cautiously encircled a band of buffalo of manageable size. “Then running in circles around the terrified animals, yelling loudly, they would slowly close the circle, making it smaller and smaller. . . At the appropriate time they would let go with their lances and arrows,” writes Dary. If all went according to plan, the confused buffalo began to mill in a defensive circle, instead of running away. Typically, the bulls would tend to circle protectively around the...

Secrets of the Buffalo Jump

by Francie M. Berg | Jun 29, 2021 | Blog | 0 Comments

This is our Hettinger ND/Lemmon SD community’s own Shadehill Buffalo Jump—on the cliff opposite. This buffalo jump is best viewed from the Shadehill Recreation Area, here on the north side of Shadehill Lake. You can also drive around to the other side and hike above Shadehill Cliff. As Native tribes grew larger, they discovered a spectacular way to obtain the large quantities of meat they needed—in the communal Buffalo Jump. Buffalo provided many gifts to the Native people. Everything they needed to live—food, shelter, clothing, medicine, tools, religious icons and much, much more. Every part was honored, right down to the dried manure, used for fuel to warm the tepee in treeless areas.At the same time, buffalo hunting was a spiritual experience for Plains hunters. They sought divine intervention before, during and after hunts. Ancient people thanked buffalo daily for their generosity and prayed for them to continue protecting and helping them survive. The close cultural relationship...

Buffalo Trucking for 24 Years

by Francie M. Berg | Jun 15, 2021 | Blog | 0 Comments

Tim Omilusik is a 42-year-old Canadian trucker from Coronation, Alberta, who runs a short- and long-haul livestock business from one end of Canada to the other, with 2,000-mile trips across the border down into Texas in between—or maybe a leg to Missouri or Wyoming.

White Buffalo Calf Woman Brings Gifts, as told by Lame Deer

by Francie M. Berg | Jun 1, 2021 | Blog | 0 Comments

Storytelling was an important way Native traditions and history were passed down through the generations. John Fire Lame Deer told of the White Buffalo Calf Woman tradition at a gathering in Winner in 1967.

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NEWS ARTICLE

Heavy snow in Interior Alaska has Bison hanging out on plowed roads

Kurt Schmidt heard the bison hooves smack on the car before he saw what happened. He’d been driving home from work on a small road near his Delta Junction home on a dark January night when he saw a herd of bison ahead. On the other side of the herd, a small car was also waiting to pass the animals. Schmidt said he stopped his pickup truck and waited. Suddenly, the herd turned around and ran. Several of the huge animals stumbled over the car. “I don’t think they intended to run over it,” he...

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feb 11, 2023. Dakota Dynamite Buffalo Sale Simulcast Auction. South Dakota.

Feb 24, 2023. Beltway Bison Consignment Auction. Pennsylvania.

Feb 25, 2023. Manitoba Bison Assocation Great Spirit Sale. Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.

Mar 9, 2023. Eastern Bison Association Winter Conference. Check for conference updates at the following link: https://www.ebabison.org/

Mar 10, 2023. Alberta Bison Assoication Wildrose Auction. Camrose, Alberta, Canada.

Mar 11, 2023. Missouri Bison Association & Oklahoma Bison Association Show & Sale. Missouri.

Mar 11, 2023. Irish Creek Bull Sale. Camrose, Alberta, Canada.

Mar 25, 2023. Saskatchewan Bison Association Cream of the Crop Sale. Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Mar 30, 2023. Jack Auction Group Video Auction. Online.

Apr 27, 2023. Jack Auction Group Video Auction. Online.