Through the Creator, Buffalo gave themselves as a gift for the sustenance and survival of the Plains Cree people. This largest land animal in North America once thundered across the Great Plains in numbers of 30 to 50 million. They provided shelter, food, clothing, tools, hunting gear, ceremonial objects, and many other necessities for those who lived on the Plains.
But by 1889, just over a thousand buffalo remained, and the lives of the Plains Cree people changed. Buffalo is honoured to this day, a reminder of life in harmony that was once lived.
This is the story of how Buffalo came to share themselves so freely for the survival of the Plains Peoples.
Based on the Plains Cree legend as told by Elder Ray Lavallee; Written by Judith Silverthorne, illustrator Mike Keepness. English with Cree translation and educational resources.