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Buffalo Bill and His Wild West Show

Season 1 Episode 2 | 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.

Buffalo Bill and His Wild West Show
Corporate funding for The American Buffalo was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by The Better Angels Society and its following members: The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation fund at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation; Diane and Hal Brierley; The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment; John and Catherine Debs; Kissick Family Foundation; Fred and Donna Seigel; Jacqueline Mars; John and Leslie McQuown; and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Tudor Jones. Funding was also provided by The Volgenau Foundation.
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Extras
The 1913 Buffalo Nickel raises important questions how we think of the American West.
Grinnell fought the destruction of birds and other wildlife, including the buffalo.
More than 250 Lakotas – mostly women and children – were killed by U.S. soldiers.
The scale of wild animal loss during the 1800s is the largest in known human history.
The U.S. government made treaties with Indigenous people when it was convenient.
After the Civil War, Americans set out with renewed energy to unite the East and West.
Did you know a buffalo can clear a six-foot fence?
An intimate look at the only indigenous tribal-led buffalo drive in North America.
Iniskim follows a young woman’s journey to recovery by reconnecting with the buffalo.
The Rosebud Indian Reservations Wolakota Project aims to bring the buffalo home.