Interviewer/Host (15:59)
The bison, so the wolves brought him to the buffalo. But you know what? Before we go much further, let's clear this up. Buffalo or bison so buffalo etymologically comes from the word for an African antelope and then expanded to mean a wild European ox. And then French fur trappers saw bison and called them Booth, meaning oxen or beefs. So they were like buffalo. But currently, is there a difference? When referring to the woolly hook horned beautiful beast of the North American plains, I called my cousin Boyd and his longtime love and wife Lila up in Browning, Montana, which is a small town of just a few thousand people. And with the Blackfeet reservation, over 90% of the town are indigenous folks. Lila is a member of the Blackfeet tribe, and I've been lucky to learn about her heritage and their family's tribal involvement over the years. And about buffalo, bison. You. You don't mind if I have buffalo questions? No, we absolutely do not. I'm so excited to talk to you about this, because it's like, oh, I know people who actually get to see buffalo and bison every day. This is so exciting. Okay, my first question is the difference between a buffalo and a bison. Stupid question. There is none. No such thing as the difference. No difference. Yeah. I mean, it's. No. Just whatever. Okay, so it's either or. Yeah, yeah. Potato, potah, tomato, tomato. Yeah, that's kind of what it is. And then how long have you had buffalo? 20 years. 20 years? Yeah. Boyd and Lila started with just six a few decades ago. What made you go get the buffalo? Just thought we'd try that. Just give it a shot. Yeah. You know, you have to take those chances. Once again, the life lesson is get a buffalo. Or six. Cut bangs, text your crush, because we're all gonna die. So they took a chance. They now have 52 bison. Also, I felt very stupid because I've read and heard both Blackfeet or Blackfoot, and the name comes from the dark souls of these bison hunters. Moccasins. And I didn't want to say it wrong, so I asked a very smart person a stupid question, and correct me. Is it. Is it Blackfoot? Indian. Blackfoot confederacy, Blackfeet nation. I want to make sure I say that. Okay. All right. There is a Blackfoot Confederacy, which is our Blackfeet tribe, the Blood tribe in Canada, and the Blackfoot tribe in Canada and the Sarci tribe in one other tribe, but I don't remember what it is. They're all connected. That's the Blackfoot Confederacy. Okay. But we are actually the Blackfeet tribe in Montana, and we're the only ones on this side of the line. And traditionally and historically, what has The Blackfeet relation to bison and buffalo been like historically, that's what they lived on. They followed the buffalo. And then when, and then when they became big things back east, like when their hides became really valuable back east for hats and overseas, then everybody went to killing buffalo. And that's basically how the buffalo almost died completely out. Before we talk about the brutal decline, the lumbering comeback and their hopeful future, let's get some history down with archaeologist Ken. And going backwards a little bit. What is a buffalo? What is a bison? What is the difference? What is this animal? What is a bison?
