Native Americans and the Buffalo

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Native Americans and the Buffalo
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The American buffalo was a huge part of Native
American life.  Hunting buffalo was very
difficult. Because it was so hard to hunt, Native
Americans used every part of the animal.  Nothing
was left to waste.
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How big are buffalo?

A buffalo can weigh up to 2000 pounds (or the
size of a truck!) They can be up to 6 feet tall
(the size of a tall man!)
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How did the Native Americans hunt buffalo?

• Before the Native Americans got horses, it was
  very difficult to hunt buffalo (imagine chasing a
  car could you keep up without help?) They used
  to hunt buffalo with a bow and arrow, but with
  the help of a horse hunting became a little bit
  easier.

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Hunting Buffalo

• The Native People had a lot of different ways of
  hunting the buffalo. One method  was for the dog
  soldiers - the name of those who fought for their
  tribe - to stampede some of a herd over a cliff
  so that the animals were killed by the fall.

Another method used in winter was to chase some
of the herd onto ice where a lake had frozen
over. The ice was too slippery for the buffalo to
run away. Sometimes in the winter, the Native
Americans would force the buffalo to run into
deep snow, where they would be trapped.
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How did the Native Americans use the buffalo?

• The Native Americans used every single part of
  the buffalo they did not let anything go to
  waste!

They used
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The skull for ceremonies like the sun dance. This
is when Native Americans would celebrate the sun
and the rain.
The horns were used to make bowls, cups, spoons,
toys, headresses, weapons and more.
The hooves were used for rattles and glue!
The hair was used for headresses, pillows, ropes,
and more.
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The hide (or the buffalo skin) was used for a lot
of things. Like
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The Native Americans ate the meat from the
buffalo.
They used the bones for paintbrushes, knives,
sleds, arrowheads, and much more.
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Think about it
Do you think the Native Americans were grateful
to the buffalo?