Best of 2009 ~ Bison

In the 19 century the Bison herds were hunted to near extinction. The American government wanted the bison herds removed from the great plains for many reasons.. One of which was to weaken the North American Indian population. Without the bison, native peoples would be forced to leave the land or starve to death. By removing their main food source our government thought to pressure the Native Americans onto reservations. So that they could continue with their plans for this great country.
The building of the railroad was a huge part in wanting the bison herds culled and even eliminated. From 1873 on there were any where from several hundred to over a thousand, commercial hide hunting outfits harvesting bison at any one time taking any where from 2,000 to 100,000 bison per day.

I found, doing my research for this post, that there is now a historian who claims that after generations of good game management on the Native Americans part, that they “played a key roll in nearly wiping out the great herds”..He claims that in 1830s the Comanche and their allies on the southern plains were killing about 280,000 bison a year. This is a significant number considering that the southern great plains where also hit by a sever drought that lasted from 1845 -1860′s. But lets focus on the facts, I don’t want my children and grandchildren learning a false history of our country.. The near demise of the Bison herds was not caused by the Native people hunting for survival..It had nothing to do with good ethical hunting practices, but by out right slaughter and at the time, hidden agenda’s.

I was at first shocked and offended that Wikipedia would even waste space for such a claim..after all the Native Americans who lived in that time, not only created (by selective use of fire) the large grasslands that provided the bison’s ideal habitat but also kept the bison population regulated through hunting.. The North American Bison were key part in the survival of these people.. they were hunters and stewards of the land, and now to have someone try to put the blame on them, because they were hunters, after all the white man did to the herds and tribes at that time is sickening…
But as I read on I noticed a connection between the hunters of long ago and the hunters of today, and I wonder once again what the “hidden agenda” is. In the last year I have found myself in MANY discussions with Animal Rights Abolitionist and Utopianist(yes there is a group of people out there who call themselves this) and as a modern day hunter, and steward of this great land we live on, I wonder what the future holds…
But for now, I will listen, and learn, and I will take my children into the outdoors. I will teach them to hunt, as well as when to put down their bows and lend a helping hand to the animals in need, as all good hunters do, and have for generations..