How Much Does a Buffalo Weigh?

2019

Lightjet prints mounted on dibond

Dimensions: 48 x 60 inches

The North American bison/buffalo/ is an emblematic iconic figure that represents for some spirituality, trade, cultural production, fear and awe. Ranging in weight up to a tonne and standing six feet tall. The buffalo is synonymous with North America on an international platform and part of the frontier imaginary with images of the Wild West and cowboys and Indians. For Indigenous communities the buffalo provided complete sustenance utilizing the hide for housing, the meat for food, the skull for ceremony, the horns for utensils, the inner organs for containers and more. The buffalo for many indigenous Plains culture is considered, sacred, a relative and highly revered.

During the official extermination period in Canada and the United States the buffalo become an international trade commodity with buffalo robes, soap and fine bone china made by the bones. Once near extinction as a result of this grave policy, the buffalo are now protected with re-population programs and even farming buffalo are forms of industry and cultural renewal.