Essay on A Buffalo Common Metaphor

The millions of American Bison thriving in the Great Plains were exterminated in under two decades. Five main factors contributed to this massive eradication. These factors are: technology, economics, demographics, changing boundaries and the role of government. Each of these led to the slaughter of the bison in the Great Plains and each work together in a very simple order. The most important factor that led to the extermination of the bison on the Great Plains was the role of government. It was the factor that preceded all of the other factors. If the government had not gotten the territory or enforced laws in the land to combat the killing of the bison, there would not have been such a depopulation of the bison. Each of the factors led directly and indirectly to the extermination of the American Bison which all started with the government’s role - both having land for the citizens to settle and kill bison and the government’s indifference to the killing of the

3.5 million miles of water run throughout the United States; and since the country’s conception, over 80,000 dams have impounded 600,000 miles of these waters [1]. Dams were originally constructed to provide water to towns and establishes energy sources for mills and later hydroelectric plants. Because these dams were constructed decades ago, they’re reaching a critical point of obsoleteness where they cause more harm than good. Dam removal is increasingly popular across the country to address the ecological problems including habitat loss and sedimentation, despite potential for downstream harm, removing dams is more environmentally and economically cost effective than upgrading them. The Marmot, Glines Canyon, and Elwha river dam removal projects each highlight different challenges of dam removal, but overall

The State of Colorado has suffered from a water shortage in recent years; a difficult situation which is easily visible when viewing the quickly shortening length of the Colorado River. Lake Mead, for example, is roughly 130 feet lower than it once was, marked by the stained rock which towers above the current water level. “The river has become a perfect symbol of what happens when we ask too much of a limited resource: it disappears. In fact, the Colorado no longer regularly reaches the sea” (Zielinski, 2010). Legislation was implemented early on to address this issue, though the results were (perhaps not surprisingly) rather unanticipated, regarding

The American Bison, more commonly known as the Buffalo is a humpbacked wild ox. Historically, the American bison played an important role in the Great Plains. They graze on native grasses and actually disturb the soil with their hooves which allows plant and animal species to flourish. Prairie dogs prefer areas grazed by bison where the grass is short so they can keep a lookout for hungry predators, and wolves once relied on bison herds as a major food source. Today, wild bison are beginning to return, mainly in national parks but they still need to more room to roam as they are still being hunted outside the park’s safe borders.

In At Last I kill A Buffalo explains one of many daily activities that Natives participated in their natural state of survival. The Lakota, and many other tribes relied heavily on the buffalo for their everyday needs. Not only was the buffalo prepared for food, tools, and clothing, hunting them served as significant turning point, in Standing Bears case of a trial of “the strength of my manhood and honesty.” In their culture the order of nature, was vastly respected and was understood that there was an order that nature followed, and in this they are one with the land and creatures walking on it. “Ever since I could remember my father had been teaching me the things that I should know and

The buffalo were evidently everything to the Native Americans, hereby causing the defeat of buffalo to fall hand in hand with theirs. The plains Indians used bison as not only food, but in religious rituals, for clothing, for hunting, for shelter, and more. The buffalo were an integral part of the native’s lives. In the aftermath of the increasing killings of bison, the lives of countless Native Americans were destroyed. The said 30-60 million buffalo which had roamed freely upon the Great

In the ¨River Restoration Project Offers a Sprinkling of Hope¨, Ron Jacobsma, general manager of the Friant Water Authority, said “We hope to get double duty out of that water by taking it the long way around.¨ As Jacobsma is a general manager of the Friant water Authority, this offers us his experience, his ideas and his thoughts of how we can have hope for the project. President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Bill in March, the agreement turned into federal law when he signed it. The parties had been working on the restoration plan for more than two years laying the groundwork for the physical changes to come. When the president signed it, it made them get the approval which he supported for them to continue the process. The credibility of the author right has now been believable because he provided us with the ethics of President Obama and Jacobsma. The river will not necessarily end up to its full, natural path along its entire length. Too much has changed in the decades since the dams construction. They would use canals along some stretches to carry the water short distances and to ferry the salmon upstream. This is showing us logos with facts and information it offers an explanation on how to solve one of the problems with the plan. A professor named Peter Moyole, from UC Davis also had his opinion on the project. He said “We have never done anything on this scale”, but we were willing to try it and approve of the

Restoration of the Bison is something that has been going on for the past two decades. As a matter of fact, several Native American tribes have come together to form the Inter Tribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) which has been set out to bring bison back onto the American plains in the midwest. Bison have an intimate relationship in the traditions and rituals of Native Americans. The importance of bison within the culture has made bringing back the bison an important issue in the preservation of wildlife. However, some of the arguments made by the ITBC show that the bison's economic value should be the main factor why they should be brought back. Yet others involved in this cause suggest that buffalo restoration

The Grand Coulee Dam, located in Eastern Washington, was one of controversy, risk, and a point of no return. While the water captured made the desert area blossom in agriculture and it powered some large cities, it created a sense of accomplishment, that humans can control Mother Nature. While many people were very excited for this new construction – which gives power and resources - at the time, some thought it should not be allowed, they are not proud of containing the Columbia River. In this analysis, I am going to focus on the economic and social effects that the Grand Coulee Dam created in its build.

Despite their efforts, they continued to be marginalized. In frustration, the Plains Cree chiefs had said, “the buffalo were our only dependence before the transfer of the country, and this and other wild animals are disappearing, and we must farm to enable us to live” (Carter 68). It was clear that the Plains Cree tried desperately to make an agricultural economy work. It was essential to their survival and well-being. Unfortunately, government intervention implemented restrictive policies, which created misconceptions of First Nations people being unmotivated to do well.

The Native Americans developed their cultures, communities and way of life around the buffalo. About 24 to 28 Native American tribes had figured out how to use the buffalo in 52 different ways for food, supplies, and war. The hooves, for example, are boiled to use as glue. The humpback is, that part of the buffalo is really kind of sturdy, and so it's used for making shields, the hides for making a teepee.( The buffalo was indeed the most important resource for them. In Document 5 it show how much the Native American relied on the buffalo for for everything for example they used the buffalo’s tongue for hair brushes and their bones, for silverware, dice and brushes. After the Americans killed most of them they had to move to reservations or they wouldn’t be able to survive. In 1870 the American hunters killed at least 100 million buffalo a year. By the 1880s, the buffalo were dying out and most plains peoples were being forced onto reservations. The Native American people were not happy going to reservations but that's the only way they could survive do to their number one food supply dying out. The Natives lost a lot of the land from the

The controversy over water rights has been a long battle that the Navajo Nation has endured for decades. This controversy which is complicated by numerous issues has only been increasing in recent years. For example the Navajo Hopi Little Colorado Water Settlement that has been in litigation for 33 years. Of particular note Navajo people and their elected officials are struggling to balance expectations with reality including legally mandated coordination with state and federal governments. As a result there has been notable conflict in resources associated with water management. These fundamental issues have been exasperated by a host of concerns: (1) deceased water availability due to drought or water development; (2) long

It seemed that most of the controversy in the water crisis was either about water rights issues or about the current water levels compared to the fish population, which in turn had effects on the endangered species of this area. Very rarely did anyone speak about the Native American’s wants or needs concerning the Klamath River water crisis. The Natives feel that they should have some say about what decisions are going to be made concerning the area since they have been in the Klamath are longer than any other group.

Blue Gold Water Wars, is an award-winning film directed by Sam Bozzo. The documentary sends some very important messages; water is a necessary component of all human beings, and its supply is running out faster than we are able to replenish the source. We are mining almost 15 times more groundwater than the amount is being replenished. We are polluting our natural source, destroying habitats (e.g. wetlands), and obstructing rivers that fertile lands.

As the twentieth century approached, America was experiencing a time of considerable expansion. All eyes were looking for ways to make the United States a larger, more powerful, and more efficient country. Because of this wave in American society, there was no movement given more devotion than the settling of the West. The range-cattle industry in its various aspects, and in its importance to the United States and particularly to the Great Plains, has been a subject of focus to Americans since its origin in the mid 1800's. This industry was rendered possible by such factors as vast sections of fertile land, the rise of heavy industry involving the great demand for beef, and