The American Buffalo

Spirit of a people. A story of resilience.

2023 7.4

The dramatic story of America's national mammal, which sustained the lives of Native people for untold generations, being driven to the brink of extinction, before an unlikely collection of people rescues it from disappearing forever. Ken Burns recounts the tragic collision of two opposing views of the natural world—and the unforgettable characters who pointed the nation in a different direction.

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Play The American Buffalo: A Story of Resilience

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The American Buffalo: A Story of Resilience
2023-08-14
Judy Woodruff moderates a one-hour conversation with filmmaker Ken Burns and three experts: Jason Baldes, Rosalyn LaPier, and Dan Flores. The discussion explores lessons from the film - the early history and special relationship between native American people and the buffalo; its relation to the larger grassland and prairie ecosystems; and Tribal contributions to restoration of the buffalo today.
Play Homecoming

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Homecoming
2023-08-14
Homecoming chronicles the efforts of those working to rebuild Native American communities’ enduring relationship to the buffalo. At the turn of the last century, Yellowstone National Park helped to save the nation’s buffalo population from extinction. Now, in the 21st century, their Bison Conservation and Transfer Program is supporting buffalo restoration to the Plains and to the Indigenous people whose lives, spiritually and physically, were inextricably linked to the bison for thousands of years.