Amelia Schafer
ICT + Rapid City Journal
ALLEN, S.D. – The thundering echo of hooves rang through the Oglala Sioux Tribes’ northern pasture near Allen, South Dakota. From inside a caravan of pickup trucks, hunters watched over the pasture looking for the right buffalo. It needed to be a bull, not too old and not too young. This was part of the traditional Pte Oyate Wanasa Pi (Buffalo Hunt).
Traditionally, the entire camp would be prepared for a buffalo hunt through rigorous training methods. Young boys would be prepared for their first kill. Now, these traditions carry on with modern elements.
Instead of chasing buffalo on horses, hunters follow the herds in trucks. Instead of hunting enough buffalo to feed the camp all winter long, only one is killed.
“This was and is a ceremony to teach young men and women about honoring and respecting the spirit of the buffalo,” said Warren Yellow Hair, Oglala Lakota and the Thunder Valley CDC Men’s Lifeways Coordinator. “Since the beginning of time, we’ve had a very close relationship with the buffalo nation, the Pte Oyate. We don’t just kill them, we honor the spirit and utilize every part of the buffalo.”
Starting Jan. 11, a sweat lodge ceremony was held to prepare hunters for the coming day. Early Jan. 12, hunters and community members set out on the Pte Oyate Wanasa Pi. For six hours, community members roamed the pasture searching for the right buffalo.
“This is about going out and providing for the people,” said Marlon Kelly, Oglala Lakota/Diné and the Thunder Valley Lifeways and Wellness Equity Director. “This is to show and teach the youth.”
This hunt was an initiative by Thunder Valley CDC’s Lifeways and Wellness Equity Department. The department seeks to recreate and re-identify traditional Lakota methods of spirituality and healing.
This was Thunder Valley’s third buffalo hunt.
“It’s not exactly how it would have been done back then, but we try to keep it as close as possible,” Kelly said. “We make sure that we incorporate a lot of the culture and history within our work here at Thunder Valley. We want to be able to keep a connection with our people and our teachings through our work.”
After six hours, the right buffalo was found — a decent-sized bull about three- to four years old. Hunters spent this time chasing different groups of buffalo throughout the northern and southern pastures outside Allen. Laughter echoed through the valleys as community members shared memories of different hunts they’d been on and reminisced.
“These things can take hours and hours, sometimes all day or into the next day,” Kelly said. “It just happened that we were in the right place at the right time and got the right one.”
Traditionally, the Oceti Sakowi Oyate (People of the Seven Council Fires) would host their Pte Oyate Wanasa Pi (Buffalo hunt) in the fall in accordance with the Lakota Spiritual Calendar. The communal hunt was done by the various bands to prepare buffalo meat and hides for the upcoming winter season.
Now, in the spirit of tradition, the meat will be distributed around the community. After the week-long processing period, the meat will be given to elders and community members who helped with the process.
“Back in the day this was a community event,” Yellow Hair said. “The whole band or a number of families would get together and do the Wanasa Pi. The communal hunt was very strict back in the day, they’d call upon the warrior societies to keep the hunters in check. No one dashed off by themselves. The women would make the decision of how many buffalo would be taken, if they said get 20 buffalo then they’d bring back 20 buffalo.”
Now, the group has to pay to hunt. A tag is needed from the Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Department to identify what type of buffalo is to be harvested and must be attached to the buffalo after the kill. Rather than spending the season harvesting 20 buffalo, a week is dedicated to one.
Back at Thunder Valley headquarters near Sharps Corner, South Dakota, different stations were set up for the harvesting process. Inside of the community center, aprons, gloves and knives were available for volunteers. The floors were lined with tarps and the tables were covered with processing equipment.
Outside, Yellow Hair worked to process the hide for a buffalo robe. Harvesting in the wintertime is an important component; this is when the hide is the thickest and best to make a robe with. However, anytime a kill was done — no matter the season — the buffalo would still be skinned and cleaned accordingly. Thinner summer hides were used for tipi coverings, clothing or moccasins.
In the winter time, the buffalo’s bones would even be used as sleds for children, Yellow Hair said.
“There’s a lot of different parts of the buffalo that we want to use to show and teach our youth,” Kelly said. “Having these week-long events is something that I think more schools and communities should do. It’s good food.”
Thunder Valley is planning on hosting another buffalo hunt this summer; all community members are welcome to come along and participate.
This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.
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