The buffalo were the mainstay of the Native people. With the coming of white settlers, the number of buffalo dwindled.
Uses of the Buffalo
Before the coming of the white man, huge herds of buffalo roamed the land. The buffalo was the main source of the Native economy. Every part of the animal was used. The hides were turned into clothing or used in the building of wigwams. Tanned hides also made warm robes for cold winter nights.
The hair could be used as tope and the horns as powder horns or spoons. Every part of the meat was eaten, either roasted over an open fire, turned into pemmican or made into dried beef or beef jerky. The sinew was used for bowstrings or sewing thread and the bones had many uses - shovels, sled runners, pipes and arrowheads.
The Coming of White Settlers
The Plains Indians killed hundreds of buffalo, but still the herds remained plentiful. It wasn't until the coming of the white man that numbers began to dwindle. The white settlers also used the animals for food, but many were slaughtered only for their hides, the meat left to rot in the sun. Other buffalo were hunted and killed just for sport. One rumor suggests that the settlers were urged to kill the animals as a means of controlling the Native population.
Hunting Methods
The Natives had several methods of hunting buffalo. Sometimes hunters would surround the herd and pick off animals with bow and arrow, or, if they had them, rifles. Another method was to drive the buffalo into a box canyon or a corral of some sort.
Yet another way was to urge the animals into a stampede, then head them toward a steep cliff. When the buffalo plunged over the drop-off, many were killed and hunters waited below to finish off any injured animals. The historical site of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is one example.
When horses became available, the chase became popular. Hunters would run the animals, shooting them with bows and arrows or rifles.
With the dwindling herds, the Native population was soon at risk of starvation. This made it easier to force them onto Reservations. The end of the buffalo meant the end of the Native way of life.
