The Buffalo Learning Objectives To understand the way in which the Native Americans and the white settlers used the buffalo. To write a speech which shows your understanding of different views of the buffalo.

Why were the buffalo destroyed? In 1887 New York’s Museum of natural History sent a hunting party to get buffalo skin for its collection. After three months hunting they gave up. They could not find a single buffalo.

Why were the buffalo destroyed? In 1800 there had been 60 million buffalo. In 1889 there were only 835 left alive in the USA. How was this possible?

How were the buffalo destroyed? Many hunters began hunting the buffalo for their hides. New railways were built- this disrupted the herds and made them difficult to hunt. During the American civil war- hunters were paid to kill buffalo to feed the soldiers. How were the buffalo destroyed? The US army and government encouraged the slaughter of the buffalo. They knew it would destroy the lives of the Plains Indians

The effect of buffalo hunting…

William ‘Buffalo’ Bill William Frederick ("Buffalo Bill") Cody got his nickname after he undertook a contract to supply railroad workers with buffalo meat. Cody earned the nickname by killing 4,280 buffalo in eighteen months (1867-68).

Your task Imagine that the Buffalo hunting by the white man is at its height on the Plains. In an attempt to bring the Native Americans and the white man together a town debate has been organised to put forward the views of both sides. Your challenge is to write two speeches which reflect the views of each of these two different people about the buffalo and why their way of hunting is important to them and their way of life. Each speech must reflect the person’s view on buffalo hunting, why it is so important to them and why the hunting of the buffalo by the white man should/should not continue