Facing the Storm: Story of the American Bison

The bison is an enduring symbol of America, and yet it stands on the brink of collapse. Cattle ranching, urban sprawl, and sport hunting has squeezed the beast from the Great Plains it once dominated. Is there room for the American bison in America anymore?

By the early 1880s, buffalo were on the verge of extinction. Ironically, one man, William T. Hornaday, decided that hunting down and stuffing them was the best way to preserve these majestic animals. During one hunting expedition, Native Americans decorated the body of one of fallen buffalo, revealing their reverence for the buffalo.

In 1933, a white buffalo was born on the National Bison Range in Montana. He was named "Big Medicine" by the Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Valley. White buffalo are sacred to many Native American tribes. In the companion video to the documentary "Facing the Storm," we see a special ceremony held in 2006 commemorating this earlier appearance.