Buffalo Nation: History and Legend of the North American Bison

Patrick Colgan is the executive director of the Canadian Museum of
Nature in Ottawa.

Buffalo once dominated North America’s Great Plains, supporting rich
Native societies. After suffering enormous slaughter and
near-extinction, they persist as a charismatic icon for both Plains
Natives and conservationists. In this lucidly written book, Valerius
Geist, one of Canada’s best-known wildlife and conservation
biologists, presents a broad “history and legend of the North American
bison.” The natural history includes the animal’s roots in the Ice
Age fauna, adaptive development of behavioral and ecological morphs
(especially against predation, and particularly by wolves), and diet and
reproduction.

Buffalo were central to Native life, from the 22 uses of “Uncle”
Buffalo to inclusion in folklore. The expansion of Europeans in the last
century produced a tangled social history featuring widespread killing
and disease across the Plains. Extermination of buffalo, pursued by the
U.S. government in order to undercut Natives, was narrowly averted by a
belated concern for conservation. Subsequent re-growth of several herds,
whose status Geist reviews, has been plagued by inbreeding, disease, and
political controversy.

Powerfully reflecting the author’s passion for wildlife conservation,
Buffalo Nation is an effective and challenging blend of natural and
human history, personal observations and opinions, sidebars, and
colorful photographs and drawings.