Buffalo Song

By Joseph Bruchac

Book Overview

The story of Salish Indian Walking Coyote and his efforts to save the vanishing buffalo herds from extinction in the United States during the 1870s and 1880s.

Hetcha hey Hetcha ho Hetcha hey yeh ho Walking Coyote gently lifted the frightened buffalo calf and sang softly. Lone survivor of a herd slaughtered by white hunters, the calf was one of several buffalo orphans Walking Coyote adopted and later raised on the Flathead Indian Reservaton in Montana.

For thousands of years massive herds of buffalo roamed across much of North America, but by the 1870s fewer than fifteen hundred animals remained. Hunted to the brink of extinction, the buffalo were in danger of vanishing. With reverent care, Walking Coyote and his family endeavored to bring back the buffalo herds, one magnificent creature at a time.

Here is the inspiring story of the first efforts to save the buffalo, an animal sacred to Native Americans and a powerful symbol of the American West. From the foresight and dedication of a few individuals such as Walking Coyote came the eventual survival of these majestic animals, one of the great success stories of endangered species rescue in United States history.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1584302801
• ISBN13: 9781584302803
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.4" x 11.0"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children

A confused, hungry, and frightened buffalo calf has lost her mother and the rest of her herd to white hunters. Rescued by two members of the Nez Perce tribe who happened to pass by and find her, she is taken to a small refuge for buffalo orphans started and run by Walking Cayote and his wife Mary. They nurse the calf back to health, and along with several other buffalo orphans, make the dangerous journey across a large mountain pass in order to deliver the buffalo to a larger sanctuary and pasture for grazing. The orphans ultimately wind up at the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana where, together with other buffalo that Walking Cayote and other like-minded individuals rescued, they prosper and grow into a herd of about seven hundred. Based on actual events, this powerful story describes the successful efforts of Walking Cayote and Mary to help stop the endangerment of the buffalo. Walking Cayote and Mary share an undeniable bond with the buffalo they adopt, and they transform this compassion and respect for the animals into a courageous and long-term agenda to rescue them from extinction. Teachers and parents can use the book to teach valuable lessons in economics related to scarcity and natural resources. With stunning illustrations and text that draws on meticulous research, this book is a treasure.

Based on the wondrous true story of the first efforts made to save the buffalo

Buffalo Song is a children's picturebook based on the wondrous true story of the first efforts made to save the buffalo, an animal sacred to Native Americans that was almost hunted to extinction - by the 1870s less than fifteen hundred remained. Individuals such as Walking Coyote stepped forward to rescue buffalo orphans, and bring back the buffalo herds one animal at a time. Superbly brought to life with soft full-color illustrations, Buffalo Song carries a timeless message of conservation and respect, and is highly recommended for public library children's picturebook collections.