Prairie Buffalo (Plains Bison) Teaching Resource

Animal Kinship Project

Recommended Grades: 4-12

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Dr. Craig Ginn is working with Dr. Adela Kincaid along with a team of students at the University of Calgary to develop curriculum for the Animal Kinship Project. Each lesson will be based on a song from the album Spirit to Be and braid Indigenous knowledges and western science.  The first teaching resource features the Buffalo.

 

This teaching resource explores the Buffalo's role as a keystone species, its deep connection to Indigenous cultures, and how its significance can be understood through braided knowledge. By integrating Indigenous wisdom with ecological concepts, this lesson invites students to engage with both historical and contemporary issues related to Indigenous culture and ecological restoration. 

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Overview

 

Students learn from Indigenous ways of knowing that include stories and traditional knowledge as well as about the buffalo's role in sustaining prairie ecosystems by supporting plant life, maintaining soil health, and balancing wildlife populations. This fosters an understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things – an essential concept in both science and Indigenous teachings.

 

Braided knowledge, which blends Indigenous ways of knowing with Western science provides a holistic view of the buffalo’s cultural and ecological importance. This interdisciplinary approach encourages students to value diverse ways of understanding and relating to the natural world.

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Content

 

The lessons in this resource feature Let the Mountains Hide You; a song with an accompanying music video, that reflects on the few hundred buffalo remaining from over 30 million that survived near-extermination. It introduces the impacts of colonialism and highlights the importance of buffalo restoration and rematriation; returning buffalo to Indigenous lands and care.

 

In the spirit of reconciliation and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this teaching resource invites students to reflect on the buffalo’s legacy and its role in fostering ecological balance, cultural renewal, and respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.