Buffalo Song

Joseph Bruchac, always one of my favorite children's book authors, here turns his attention to the story of the buffalo, and how one Salish family began the struggle to save them from extinction. Witness to a time when the buffalo roamed the western plains in massive herds, Sam Walking Coyote and his family began rescuing and raising orphaned buffalo calves in the 1870s, after white hunters had all but wiped them out. Determined to ensure the safety of these few survivors, Walking Coyote decided to lead their small band over the mountains, to safety on the Flathead Reservation. Here they eventually formed the nucleus of the Pablo-Allard herd, which was to prove so instrumental in reestablishing the species...

Of Abenaki heritage, Bruchac show more is a prolific author who has explored issues relevant to Native North America through many different genres. Buffalo Song, a lovely picture book illustrated by Bill Farnsworth, is a welcome addition to his body of work. Based upon the oral tradition of the Salish-Pend d’Oreille nation, Bruchac's narrative is both engaging and thoughtful, with enough excitement to involve young readers, and enough substance that they will learn something. Highly recommended. show less

A great book about a Native American who takes care and adopts orphaned buffalo calves. He raises them and takes care of them because many Buffalo herds were becoming extinct because white men often killed them for fun and not because they needed them for food. The westward expansion times were very hard on the Native Americans and also very unkind to the Buffalo populations. This book is great for studying how westward expansion almost wiped out the population of Buffalo, and how the Native Americans like this particular one had to try and protect them.

Content Summary: American history, Buffalo, Native Americans, colorful, westward expansion, orphaned buffalo calves.
Website: http://www.josephbruchac.com/

Your personal response to the book: This was an excellent picture book infused with Montana's history. I would like to have a copy for our school's collection.
Curricular connections: The curricular connections include Native Americans, history and geography. A TL could have this book available for a Native American unit in Montana.

Great story about how even a young person can change the world with determination.

CC: Montana History lesson for 4th graders

A family help raise a buffalo calf with the hopes that others will not hurt for sport any longer. Starts out with an interesting legend of how buffalo came to be.

This book cary on a timeless message. This book has beautiful pictures in it. I think this is a great book to teach students about Indians. I would defiantly recomend this book to any one that is interested in learning about Indian storires. I would defiantly read this book to my students because i feel it is important to teach studnets about diifferent stories from different cultures.

This is the story of the first efforts, by Samuel Walking Coyote, to save the vanishing bison (buffalo) herds from extinction.