The American Buffalo with Ken Burns

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.3 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2023

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

'It's one of those threads you pull on and immediately you're connected to the whole fabric of American history.'

The American Buffalo, Bison Bison, is an icon of American identity. It is also the subject of a new two part documentary from legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and his team.

In this episode, Don and Ken explore the relationship between the United States and the buffalo, and how this relationship spills into 10,000 years of social, economic and ecological history.

Watch 'The American Buffalo', a two part series directed and executive produced by Ken Burns, written by Dayton Duncan, and produced by Julie Dunfey and Ken Burns, on PBS on October 16 and 17, 2023.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the majestic solidity of the animal, its density and massive muscular power that's immediately apparent even while it stands perfectly still.
0:15.5	The awesome dimensions too.
0:17.4	An adult male is taller than most humans.
0:20.3	Six feet withers to hoof.
0:22.3	Nearly double that from snout to tail, weighing upwards of a full ton.
0:27.0	In the wild, it is a sight to behold.
0:30.0	On a frigid morning in winter, steamy breaths emanate from its nostrils.
0:34.8	It shutters its brown double thick coat for warmth.
0:39.1	This is the American buffalo.
0:41.2	The bison.
0:42.2	Native to North America, this icon of a bygone era still survives,
0:47.0	but in miniscule numbers compared to the past.
0:50.0	Its horned profile once adorned nickels and postage stamps, but has endured as a proud beloved
0:56.4	symbol of the Wild West, even while this nation drove the species right to the edge of extinction. Greetings
1:23.0	listeners.
1:24.0	Thanks for clicking that button.
1:25.0	I'm Don Wildman and this is American History.
1:28.0	Welcome. We've got a great one today.
1:30.0	The numbers are simply staggering.
1:32.0	Prior to the 19th century, the American Biceson The
1:35.0	Bufe
1:32.0	Prior to the 19th century, the American bison, the buffalo,
	...

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