Homecoming
Homecoming follows Jason Baldes, an Eastern Shoshone and a member of the InterTribal Buffalo Council, as he leads historic transfers of bison to Indigenous communities which will maintain their herds to supply a healthy food source and cultural touchstone for their tribal citizens. The film explores what living among the bison once again means for Native people—today and for future generations.
Episodes
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Into the Storm
S1 E2 - 1h 59m
By the late 1880s, the buffalo that once numbered in the tens of millions is teetering on the brink of extinction. But a diverse and unlikely collection of Americans start a movement that rescues the national mammal from disappearing forever. In English audio with captions, Spanish audio with captions, and Descriptive Audio.
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Blood Memory
S1 E1 - 1h 56m
For untold generations, America’s national mammal sustained the lives of Native people, whose cultures were intertwined with the animal. Newcomers to the continent bring a different view of the natural world, and the buffalo are driven to the brink of extinction. In English audio with captions, Spanish audio with captions, and Descriptive Audio.
Extras + Features
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George Bird Grinnell and Early Conservation Efforts
S1 E2 - 6m 25s
George Bird Grinnell was a student of Lucy Audubon, the widow of the famous ornithologist and painter. She taught him how to observe and appreciate the natural world. More importantly, Lucy taught him to think about future generations and how they might live one day. Grinnell put Lucy’s lessons to work, fighting against the destruction of birds and other wildlife, including the buffalo.
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Buffalo Bill and His Wild West Show
S1 E2 - 5m 23s
By 1889, Buffalo Bill Cody was the most famous American in the world. “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” show promised “a year’s visit West in three hours,” complete with a stampede of buffalo – and the urban crowds couldn’t get enough of it. The show played an instrumental role in building a following in the country to save the buffalo from extinction.
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The Buffalo Nickel and Bison Facts Today
S1 E2 - 9m 15s
The 1913 Buffalo Nickel raises important questions about the romanticization of the American West. Bison were brought back from the brink of extinction. Today conservation work continues in concert with the people whose lives have been intertwined with the buffalo for over 10,000 years. At least 80 tribes in 20 states control their own herds on nearly a million acres of tribal land.
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Sitting Bull and the Wounded Knee Massacre
S1 E2 - 6m 21s
U.S. concern over a new Ghost Dance ceremony prompted the arrest of the Lakota Chief Sitting Bull. Dozens ended up dead, including Sitting Bull. Several hundred Lakotas headed toward the Black Hills to end things peaceably with the U.S. Army. En route, they camped at a creek called Wounded Knee. The next morning, more than 250 Lakotas – mostly women and children – were killed by U.S. soldiers.
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Industrial Expansion West and Its Impact
S1 E1 - 8m 52s
After the Civil War, Americans set out with renewed energy to unite the East and West. They built railroads to span the continent, opening up vast areas for homesteaders and connecting distant metropolitan markets to domestic crops and cattle. The effect on the environment, the bison, and the Plains Indians was catastrophic.
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A Legacy of Broken Promises
S1 E1 - 10m 24s
The U.S. government made treaties with Indigenous people when it was convenient, and broke these treaties when it was inconvenient. This recurring pattern made it increasingly difficult for Native people to live – and survive – as they once had.
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Surprising Facts About the Buffalo
S1 E1 - 9m 40s
Did you know a buffalo can clear a six-foot fence? Or hit running speeds of 35 miles per hour? These animals may look strange and slow, but they’re "a souped-up hotrod of an animal hiding in a minivan shell." They were also driven nearly to extinction – but that’s only the beginning.
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Why Is Destruction Part of Our Story?
S1 E1 - 9m 59s
The scale of destruction of wild animals in the American West during the 19th century is the largest in known human history. When hide hunters ran out of buffalo, they turned to other animals to feed the market economy, from antelopes and elk to wolves and grizzly bears. Even scavenging animals could not escape the destruction.
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Official Trailer
S1 - 30s
The American Buffalo, a new two-part, four-hour series, takes viewers on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the animal’s evolution, significance to the Great Plains, near demise, and relationship to the Indigenous People of North America.
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Behind the Scenes | Making The American Buffalo
S1 - 6m 31s
Ken Burns, Julie Dunfey and Dayton Duncan give us a behind-the-scenes look at the production of The American Buffalo. The film is biography of an animal, but also a window into a broader American history.
Schedule
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Image
The American Buffalo
Blood Memory
Thursday
Nov 21
2 Hours
A look at how America's national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions, was driven to the brink of extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Blood Memory
Friday
Nov 22
2 Hours
A look at how America's national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions, was driven to the brink of extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Blood Memory
Friday
Nov 22
2 Hours
A look at how America's national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions, was driven to the brink of extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Blood Memory
Saturday
Nov 23
2 Hours
A look at how America's national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions, was driven to the brink of extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Blood Memory
Sunday
Nov 24
2 Hours
A look at how America's national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions, was driven to the brink of extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Into the Storm
Thursday
Nov 28
2 Hours
By the late 1880s, the buffalo teeters on extinction; a diverse and unlikely collection of Americans start a movement that rescues the mammal from extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Into the Storm
Friday
Nov 29
2 Hours
By the late 1880s, the buffalo teeters on extinction; a diverse and unlikely collection of Americans start a movement that rescues the mammal from extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Into the Storm
Friday
Nov 29
2 Hours
By the late 1880s, the buffalo teeters on extinction; a diverse and unlikely collection of Americans start a movement that rescues the mammal from extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Blood Memory
Saturday
Nov 30
2 Hours
A look at how America's national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions, was driven to the brink of extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Blood Memory
Sunday
Dec 1
2 Hours
A look at how America's national mammal, once numbering in the tens of millions, was driven to the brink of extinction. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Sunday
Dec 1
2 Hours
Tracing the near demise and ultimate return of the American buffalo. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Thursday
Dec 5
2 Hours
Tracing the near demise and ultimate return of the American buffalo. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Friday
Dec 6
2 Hours
Tracing the near demise and ultimate return of the American buffalo. -
Image
The American Buffalo
Friday
Dec 6
2 Hours
Tracing the near demise and ultimate return of the American buffalo.
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