2 American History of the Buffalo

This is an educational resource, created by the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History about the American Indians of the northern Plains, which focuses around a painting on a Buffalo hide. As your mouse hovers over a section of the painting it lights up and you can link to information on it.

The theme of the website focuses on the many uses of the buffalo hide and how these people’s lives centered on it. There are many questions encouraging inquiry and emphasizing historical significance. The website uses pictures of original artifacts stored in the museum’s archives next to quotes, all primary source evidence adding to its legitimacy. There are also teachers’ guides with worksheets making it easy for a teacher to use. The only criticism that I would have is that it still uses the word “Indian” something that is politically incorrect in Canada, but might be an identifier for them.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/buffalo/

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