American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon
by Steven Rinella (Author)
American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon combines a demanding Alaskan buffalo hunt with an exploration of the animal that helped shape North American history, culture, and identity.
In 2005, Steven Rinella received a rare lottery permit to hunt wild American bison in the Alaskan wilderness. After successfully taking a buffalo on a snow-covered mountainside, he faced the difficult task of processing the animal and transporting the meat back toward civilization by raft.
The journey exposed him to brutal weather, grizzly bears, physical exhaustion, and hypothermia. More than an outdoor adventure, the experience prompted Rinella to consider his own place within a hunting tradition stretching back thousands of years.
A Buffalo Hunt Through History
Rinella uses his hunt as a starting point for examining the buffalo's complicated relationship with the people of North America. He explores how bison supported Indigenous cultures through food, clothing, tools, trade, and ceremony, and how the animal later became a commercial resource during westward expansion.
The book follows the buffalo from ancient hunting traditions to the era of industrial exploitation, when enormous herds were slaughtered for hides, meat, bones, and other products.
Rinella also examines archaeological evidence of early buffalo hunters, including sites connected to the Bering Land Bridge and traditional buffalo jumps where Indigenous hunters used detailed knowledge of animal behavior and terrain to harvest entire herds.
The Destruction of the Great Herds
During the nineteenth century, commercial demand and westward expansion contributed to the near destruction of the American buffalo. Rinella explores how buffalo were processed into commodities and how industrialization, settlement, government policy, and large-scale hunting transformed the American West.
He also tells the story of Black Diamond, the captive buffalo associated with the image used for the American buffalo nickel. His story reflects one of the book's central themes: the contrast between the buffalo as a powerful American symbol and the treatment of the living animal.
Hunting, Conservation, and Responsibility
American Buffalo examines the relationship between hunting and conservation, as well as the responsibility that comes with taking and using a wild animal.
Rinella considers ethical hunting, wildlife management, conservation, and the importance of understanding animals as more than abstract symbols. The buffalo's recovery from near extinction is one of North America's most significant conservation stories, but its future remains connected to human management and the changing American landscape.
What You'll Find Inside
-
A rare Alaskan buffalo hunt
-
Wilderness hunting and meat recovery
-
The history of American bison hunting
-
Indigenous relationships with buffalo
-
The commercial destruction of the great herds
-
Archaeological research into early hunters
-
The history and symbolism of the buffalo
-
Wildlife conservation and recovery
-
Hunting ethics and responsibility
-
The buffalo's place in America's past and future
Rinella combines personal adventure, natural history, historical research, and outdoor writing, making this an engaging choice for hunters, outdoorsmen, history enthusiasts, and readers interested in wildlife and conservation.
About the Author
Steven Rinella is an outdoorsman, hunter, wild-game cook, author, and television and podcast personality known for his work covering hunting, fishing, conservation, and wild-food traditions. He is the host of MeatEater and the author of several books, including Meat Eater: Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter and The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game.
American Buffalo received the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award and was recognized as a notable book by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Number of Pages: 304
Dimensions: 0.66 x 7.94 x 5.3 IN
Publication Date: September 15, 2009
