The Buffalo and Its Relationship to the People with Dennis Fox Jr.

Well let me start off with the Buffalo and I coordinated a program for the Smithsonian way back and we brought in some notables there they’re all gone now except one and we had William Bell Carl Whitman Dean P Fox and one that’s still around Marty good bear come in and talk about the gifts of the Buffalo and how we use the resources to maintain our ways and our tribe and our essentially our life ways and well how we use them as utensils and plus the spirituality gifted from the Buffalo and we have ceremonies that include Buffalo and you Buffalo dances and such and essentially there was a time and we didn’t have Buffalo and they were being wiped out and there was great concern about where the Buffalo were going and we believed that the Buffalo went to safety they went north and we couldn’t find him and we didn’t know where they were at but when we needed them we could call them so there were ceremonies they’ll keep a ceremony and look Begay all those invoked the Buffalo and they would call the Buffalo and that’s how the Buffalo would come around they go on these hunts and get what they needed the meat they would dry the meat they would get the buffalo hides for clothing they would do get everything they needed from the Buffalo and that’s how they maintained the tribe essentially even though we were dwindling and I don’t know I was before but there was great prosperity in the Buffalo that what they had and there were ceremonies that I heard way before that there were nine but white buffalo hides in one ceremony meaning that there was a lot of Buffalo to have nine white buffalo hides and that’s that one ceremony so at one time there must have been a great amount of Buffalo but we didn’t see it for a long time and now we’re starting to see it that each reservation kind of has their own buffalo herd which is good we can go pray to them we can go talk to them we can talk about how it was and how we appreciate them being around and how good things come from the Buffalo and that spiritual relationship that we have and we call them our brother you know we provide for us we asked him before we go out on the Hunts and such to provide for us and they do and they take care of us I myself personally am connected to the to the Eagles I have Eagle medicine and I there are certain things that I do to take care of that medicine and how I pray to them they’re my brother and I protect them and they protect me and even into this grasp that society that you take care of them tell feathers of the Eagles that make sure that grass dance happens properly and there’s all connected he comes around and that medicine that I had to purchase from Malcolm wolf who’s deceased today to and hidden and he purchased from Louie Brown and that just patted down that purchasing just handed down to what I have is the right to work with eagle feathers and so people will bring feathers to me you know um could you make me this can you make me that and I’ll do that for them so it’s sort of been doing a lot ladies is trying to help people out and get their wares they need them for wake services and such and so I help prepare them and get them taken care of and so there’s a great respect for the where the two legged four-legged or are we want to say it [Music]