BuffaloGrande.com Website bursts with Buffalo info
Buffalo Grande Foundation welcomes visitors to their website, sharing a vast array of information for free to buffalo enthusiasts, ranchers, Native people, young and old.
Buffalo Grande Foundation, Hettinger, ND announced their grand opening recently with a ribbon cutting of the website www.BuffaloGrande.com. The buffalo website is FREE to all and now the Foundation is giving the public an overview of the full narrative. This includes the last great traditional hunts, a known buffalo jump and stories of the five families known to have successfully rescued buffalo—three of them with Native roots.
Buffalo.Grande.com opens with a Welcome and introductory video to enlighten visitors about their vision and mission. There are Bison Bellows—National Park Service offerings—plus 10 historic sites on tour with Buffalo Trails in the Dakota Buttes and blogs from BuffaloTalesandTrails.com.
Native Voices starts off with a Featured Tribe section explaining their history, what’s happening on Reservations, tourist opportunities for visitors, buffalo herds if they have one and future expectations. Here you’ll also find Native storytelling in their own voices, as well as a listing of Native American colleges and interpretive centers. It's what tourists throughout the world want to hear.
On the Learn & Explore segment you’ll find Regional History, Buffalo Ranching, Educator information for history teachers and students and Fun for Kids.
Regional history delves into the Foundation’s Legacy and scholarly articles including early history reaching back over 10,00O years. “It’s been said that local researchers are the best kind,” points out Val Braun, president of the Buffalo Foundation. “They know what happened here—both tragedies and good times.”
Buffalo Ranching is a vital part of the website’s content with about half of today’s 400,000 buffalo living on commercial ranches. Buffalo Ranching extends from “How to get Started Buffalo Ranching” to “How to cook Delicious Bison.” South Dakota hosts about 10 percent of the Nation’s buffalo in commercial, park and tribal settings. Buffalo may be viewed, in many places, from the roadside but visitors need to remember they can be dangerous. Avoid entering pastures without permission!
There’s solid curriculum for History teachers and Students in the Educator Resources section. These include cultural issues such as “How to Teach Thanksgiving” so it has a positive and truthful meaning for Native Americans, as well as others with varied backgrounds.
Fun for Kids pages contain coloring pages, cut-outs of fur-trading forts and links for activities for young people.
To help you Plan Your Visit, the Foundation lists links to local accommodations, events and the summary of 10 sites involved in the full buffalo narrative. Photo Gallery, Gift Shop and Art pages help to complete a visitor’s experience on Buffalo Grande Foundation’s website.
Information is ever-changing with new content appearing almost every week. And each time there’s a change, those who subscribe will be notified so you won’t miss a thing. To learn more, click on www.BuffaloGrande.com, and explore the expanse of categories. All available free to you!
Going to water the buffalo trail single file led by the grandmother. Photo credit: Chris Hull, SD Game, Fish & Parks