Where the Buffalo Roam

Lesson Introduction

Early settlers to Illinois found a wide expanse of grasslands. Herds of bison (buffalo), elk and antelope roamed its ranges. Prairie chickens, meadow larks, dickcissels, and bobolinks abounded. Fires regularly swept through the prairie which promoted regeneration and returned nutrients to the soil. When settlers eliminated fire, oak and other trees invaded and took over the grasslands.

The steel plow was a sturdy means to plow the firmly rooted prairie plants into fertile farmland. Railroads were cut through the prairies as well. The buffalo were losing habitat to the new settlers, and the Native Americans dependent on the buffalo for survival were suffering as well. The original bison population of 50 to 60 million, which may have been the largest population of any great mammal since the earth was first formed, was close to extinction by 1900. They are now confined to captive herds in Canada and the United States and no longer can roam freely across the prairie.

Illinois State Goal	Standard	Learning Benchmarks
11	B	1b. Formulate appropriate questions to acquire information about objects, organisms and events in the environment.
16	E	1 (US) Describe how the local environment has changed over time.
16	E	1 (W) Compare depictions of the natural environment that are found in myths, legends, folklore and traditions.

Lesson Objectives

• identify large mammals that once lived in Illinois.
• identify reasons for bison extirpation.
• identify human impact in relation to animal species.
• use critical thinking skills to decipher story clues to answer questions.

Time Allotment

45 minute class period

Materials

• "The Passing of the Buffalo"
• journals

PROCEDURE

Tap Prior Knowledge

Ask students to picture Chicago as it may have looked in the past. What did the area look like? Were there lots of paved streets? Large buildings? What plants and animals might they have seen.

Share with Neighbor

Show them the Illinois Department of Natural Resources poster of Chicago past and present. What are some of the changes they see? Were they the same as mentioned above. Have students work in pairs to come up with one theory of what may have caused the Illinois ecosystem to change (i.e. settlers building farms, railroads being built) accept all answers.

Hands-on Activity

Read "The Passing of the Buffalo", adapted from Keepers of the Animals by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac.

Have the students write answers to the following questions in their journals:

• What did the Kiowa people use the buffalo for?
• Who were the New People?
• Why do you think the New People wanted to remove the buffalo?
• What do you think really happened to the buffalo?

Introduce Scientific Principle/Environmental Issue

After the students work on their entries, discuss their answers. Plains peoples depended on the bison for their survival. When Europeans began to settle in the area they brought diseases which many of the native peoples were unprepared to survive. With building, farming and the repression of prairie soil enriching fires, the roaming patterns of the buffalo were disrupted and food and habitat were lost. They were seen by European settlers as nuisances and were killed for sport on a regular basis. Train travelers would even shoot buffalo from the moving cars. Although the settlers kept the skins (to sell in European markets) of the bison, the rest of the animal often went to waste. Shooting the buffalo without using it for survival was a sign of disrespect the native people could not understand.

By 1900 the original population of 50 to 60 million buffalo was down to almost zero. Now they can only be seen in captive herds in Canada and the United States.

Relate Activity and Concept