Historian and author Ken Zontek comes on the show to discuss the ways in which American Indian communities started to recover the buffalo population. We chat with him about some of the reasons the buffalo numbers were nearly down to zero, but more importantly, how certain herds were established. Specifically, the herd started by Fred Dupree and his wife Mary Good Elk Woman in the late 1880s now has descendants in tribal, state, federal and private herds. While the Bronx Zoo and Yellowstone National Park started and maintain herds, the herds that have since thrived the best were the Dupree's, where the buffalo's very purpose fit within, and furthered Dakota and Lakota culture.
Season 5, Ep 16: Buffalo Nation
