The Buffalo was central to the way of life for almost all Native American peoples. The kachina doll to the right depicts a Native American dressed in a buffalo costume, which was common during celebrations and formal gatherings. From the tribes that lived and hunted in the mid North American continent, to the tribes on the coasts that used buffalo hide traded from others, Buffalo were critical to the chain of life. Native Americans migrated with the Buffalo and depended on their meat as a food source. However, Native Americans also regarded the Buffalo as highly important animals to their cultural and spiritual lives.
Next time, I’ll bridge the gap from the buffalo as an animal to the buffalo as a symbolic representation of importance to Native Americans; and more specifically, to the Zuni fetish artists who choose to carve the buffalo out of raw stone.