Move Over Bald Eagle…Here Comes the Bison

Dear Reader:

Even though this particular minted nickel stopped distribution in the late 1930’s I remember using it as a child growing up in the fifties and sixties.. It was my favorite coin with the Indian “head” and the buffalo “tail.”

My favorite black and white television shows were all cowboy shows like: Sheriff Cochise, The Tall Man and Overland Trails with that cute actor Doug McClure….later came The Lone Ranger and Roy Rogers. I was definitely a “Happy Trails” television fan.

So when I saw on the news that legislation was pending to add the American Bison to the Bald Eagle as the symbol of America my heart swelled with pride and nostalgia.

Here is a quick synopsis of the history behind this historic political decision.

The bald eagle may appeal to America’s sense of self – soaring, majestic, hard to tame – but as a national symbol, the more humble bison paints a truer picture of the strife and redemption that has marked US history.

The bison is to become the first national mammal of the U.S. elevating it to the giddy heights of symbolism currently occupied by the bald eagle. Little more than 100 years since it was virtually exterminated in America in a manic bid to demolish Native American resistance, the bison now has establishment status.

Around 30 million bison, possibly many more, once roamed across what was to become the US. George Washington once shot a bison, also known as a buffalo, in present-day West Virginia. Within a century, numbers had plummeted as bison were slaughtered by hunters and ravaged by disease as settlers moved west. By 1889, it was estimated that just over 1,000 bison remained.

No one felt this loss quite as Native-Americans. The US army had an official policy of wiping out bison in order to buckle the will of the tribes, who relied upon the animals for food, clothing, tools and spiritual sustenance.

“Our relationship with buffalo has been there since time immemorial, our creation stories involve us living underground with them and coming to the surface of Earth with them,” said Jim Stone, executive director of the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council.

“There was no way for us to sustain ourselves when the buffalo were exterminated so we handed over vast tracts of land. The buffalo and the tribal Native-Americans were put on the same path by the government. It was a tough time for tribes.”

*An interesting tidbit that I didn’t know what that the buffalo provided the Plains tribes with family order and societal customs. The article concludes:

Many tribes modeled their family structures upon the bison, viewing the animal as a family-orientated, healthy creature that was to be carefully managed. That link was severed by the arrival of European settlers. Stone’s tribe, the Yankton-Sioux, was unable to husband a single bison for more than a century, until the 1990s.

“People talk about the Great Depression in the 1930s but at least people then weren’t trying to go around and kill you,” Stone said. “It’s not a good story. Our social structure was destroyed. When we bring the buffalo back, we’ll bring the people back because we’ll re-learn how to structure our lives.”

So, personally, I will have a big smile on my face when this piece of legislation passes…..a story of redemption for the wasteful slaughter of this magnificent animal and the role it played in our country’s history.

So until tomorrow….It is stories like this that just reaffirm my conviction that we are all connected under the sun….whatever we do to one living creature will come full circle….either positively or negatively depending on our actions. There are consequences for our choices here on earth.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Anne reminded me of this sign we saw throughout our stay in Dingle, Ireland with its rocky cliffs…If you get too close to the edge you will probably fall. Since there are no words even Dick, Sally or Spot could figure it out without reading!

May 1 did brings wonderful showers and even though I didn’t do a Maypole dance….I did eat well. Anne is back from Paris….after four days of “bad bugs” upon arrival.

She emailed and said since we could both “sit up and take nourishment” now hamburgers and fries were in order…along with some French (well California actually) wine. It was a banquet!