Tatanka!

This is first of a series of 4 pictures I took last winter of a sculpture built into the side of a stone wall in a park here in Sioux Falls. It depicts a sacred buffalo hunt by the Sioux Indians before the white man came to settle in South Dakota. This first one represents a Sioux Warrior on the hunt chasing buffalo or as the Lakota Sioux called them "Tatanka", which means "bull buffalo". Buffalo were extremely important to the survival of the Sioux. They not only provided food, but also shelter,tools,weapons & spiritual inspiration!

This is one of the buffalo that appear on the wall of the Sacred Buffalo Hunt. At one time over 30 MILLION buffalo roamed the plains. Yet they were nearly extinct after being over hunted and killed by white men just for their hides and tongue. They numbered less than 1000 at one point before steps were finally taken to preserve them. There are now about 400,000 in North America.

This one represents a white buffalo calf on the same wall as the other buffalo and warrior. The white calf was considered VERY sacred to the Sioux Indian. They considered it a miracle to have one born. The Sioux said the white buffalo first appeared as a beautiful woman dressed in white buckskins. She brought "the pipe" (similar to a peace pipe) to them before turning into a white buffalo. If you'd like to see a pic. of the last white buffalo calf born, (named "Miracle"), go to www.homestead.com/WhiteBuffaloMiracle/  It was born in 1994..the first one born since 1933!

Well, this is the final picture of my Tatanka series. I thought I would finish with a picture of the entire wall/sculpture. It was difficult for me to get a real good shot of the entire thing not having a wide angle lens, but I think you will get the idea!  Buffalo are now raised on thousands of ranches around the country for their meat, as well as kept by current day Indian tribes to continue their tradition. Some of the largest herds are found in Yellowstone National Park and in Custer State Park right here in South Dakota. My dream someday is to participate in the annual round up of the herd in Custer on horseback. The herd is rounded up, any sick or feeble animals are taken from the herd. They are vaccinated against disease and the herd is thinned to a manageable size with some animals being auctioned off.

  Speaking from experience if you have never tried eating buffalo you are missing out. It is difficult to tell from beef, although it is a darker red & has less marbling. It is also healthy for you with less calories & fat than skinless chicken breast! Tatanka are an AMAZING animal, HUGE, and fun to watch! ( but very dangerous to approach!!) I hope you all will get a chance to experience them someday if you haven't already! Thanks for viewing this photo essay! I very much appreciate all your views, comments and compliments!! I hope you enjoyed it!  C):-)