The Lakota people lived as nomads, following herds of bison and hunting them when necessary. Scientists and historians estimate that there were at least 30 million bison roaming the country before Euro-American settlement of the West.īefore Euro-American expansion into the West, these millions of bison were a major part of life in Lakota culture. Their natural range extended from Canada to Mexico and from New York to Oregon. Another word for bison in Lakota is “pte.” The Lakota are sometimes known as pte oyate, meaning “buffalo nation.” How many bison have lived in the US?īison were once abundant in the American landscape. Bison are incredibly important in Lakota culture the Lakota are traditionally nomadic and would have spent their lives following bison before Euro-Americans settled the West. Although this name was a mix-up of two different animals, many people still know bison as buffalo today.Īnother name for these animals is “tatanka.” Tatanka is the Lakota word for bison. The word bœuf came from what the French knew as true buffalo, animals living in Africa and Asia. The word buffalo is derived from the French “bœuf,” a name given to bison when French fur trappers working in the US in the early 1600s saw the animals. ![]() If you ask a wildlife biologist, these animals are called Bison bison bison!Īlthough these animals have “bison” three times in their scientific name, they are often called buffalo. Scientifically, the plains bison subspecies found in Badlands National Park are of the genus Bison, of the species bison, and the subspecies bison. ![]() ![]() There are many names for the American Bison. NPS Photo / Larry McAfee Names and lifeways What’s in a name? Bison frequently make use of park infrastructure as scratching posts
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