Reflection #5 – “Education is the Buffalo”

The Elementary school my son attends has a buffalo painted on the wall that says “Education is
the Buffalo”. This visual reminds me of learning how the Indiginous people used every bit of
the Buffalo when they hunted one. The meat for food, the hide for clothing, the bones for
tools, the sinew for binding or cords. Nothing was wasted and appreciation was shown by using
all of the buffalo to help the people survive.

I would like to incorporate this idea into an activity showing that we can use every bit of the
history of the Indigineous people, listening to their personal experiences and developing and
showing more respect, so that nothing is wasted from their experiences. Getting students
involved and asking questions like “how can we become stronger and more united?” like the
First Nations people using the sinew for strong cords. Another example question could be
“what tools can we use to gain more understanding in our own classroom, school and
community?” The idea that the hunt was a major event for the whole community relates to the
fact that our efforts to apply Foundational knowledge of FNMI will also take a community and
the fact that it was a hunt refers to the effort and focus required by each of us.

To show this visually it would be great to have a stuffed buffalo with the various parts inside
that we could label and talk about. Perhaps students could make their own buffalo kit as part
of art. The discussion would be part of social studies and students writing about their thoughts
and feelings in a journal entry would be language arts.

The Alberta Program of Studies for Social Studies in grade 4 states that the learning
opportunities for students:

 Value the diversity, respect the dignity…of all human beings

 Demonstrate social compassion
 Appreciate and respect how multiple perspectives, including Aboriginal …
 Honour and value the traditions, concepts and symbols that are the expression of
Canadian identity.
 Understand their rights and responsibilities…
 Understand contemporary challenges and contributions of Aboriginal peoples…
 Engage in active inquiry and critical creative thinking
 Engage in problem solving and conflict resolution with an awareness of the ethical
consequences of decision making
 Recognize and responsibly address injustices as they occur in their schools,
communities, Canada and the world
 Respect the dignity and support the equality of all human beings
 Understanding of Aboriginal perspectives and experiences
 Promoting and encouraging a balanced and holistic individual and strengthening
individual capacity.
  Honouring and valuing the traditions, concepts and symbols that are the expression of
their identity
 Contributing to the development of active and responsible members of groups and
communities.

The above picture is on the wall at Dr. Probe Elementary School, Lethbridge, AB

Resource:
Canadahistoryproject.ca

“The buffalo was the main source of food and clothing for the Indigenous people of the plains.
The buffalo hunt was a major community effort and every part of the slaughtered animal was
used. The meat was cut in strips, smoked and dried into a hard food called jerky. When the
jerky was ground into a fine powder and mixed with berries and fat it became pemmican.

Buffalo bone was used for knives and ornaments, the hide made clothing and tipis, the sinew
provided thread and strings for their bows, the stomach and other internal organs were used
for containers, and the hooves were used for glue or made into rattles. “