Curated OER
Exploration and Settlement of the American Southwest
Students scrutinize the Zuni Pueblo Revolt in this seven lessons unit on early Spanish explorers in the American southwest. The discovery of the Spanish missions, the search for the seven cities of gold, and particular geological...
Curated OER
The Role of the Bison
Students explore the role of the bison in the lives of the Plains Indians during the past two centuries and the hunting techniques of the Plains Indians.
PBS
Pbs: The Buffalo War
The Buffalo War is an excellent example of the ways in which society impacts nature. Here are three groups of people who have different ideas about conservation, in this example, the killing of buffalo. Walk in their shoes as the story...
Gabriel Dumont Institute
Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture: Bison
Article describes the importance of bison to the Metis, bison hunting culture, foods made from bison, and what the loss of the herds meant to the Metis way of life.
Other
National Museum of Wildlife Art
From the home page, click on the elk icon to enter, then go to "collections". The National Museum of Wildlife Art holds works of the American West from 1819 to the present, with themes of explorer art, sporting art, Romanticism,...
San Diego Zoo Global
San Diego Zoo: Wild Cattle
This excellent resource from the San Diego Zoo presents extensive information on wild cattle including details about their habitat, physical characteristics, size, diet, family life, conservation status, and fun facts.
Oakland Zoo
Oakland Zoo: American Bison
Content of this resource about the American bison focuses on scientific information, physical characteristics, habitat, diet, behavior, breeding habits, conservation, and more.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Buffalo Tales: The Near Extermination of the American Bison
This National Humanities Center site offers an article which examines the main techniques on how the Plains Indian tribes hunted the buffalo.
Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Canadian Geographic: Animal Facts: Bison (Buffalo)
Learn fast facts, the physiology, habitats, behaviors and range of the bison.
Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri Botanical Garden: Grassland Animals
This site from the Evergreen Project of the Missouri Botanical Garden provides great information. Click on the animal link on the left. There is an introduction to animals in the grasslands, and then you can read more about each...
Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri Botanical Garden: Grassland Animals
This site from the Missouri Botanical Garden provides animal descriptions of several grassland animals. Content includes pictures, fact sheets, and more.
Canadian Wildlife Federation
Hinterland Who's Who: Bison
Canadian Wildlife site features the North American Bison. Highlights its habitats and habits, feeding and breeding characteristics.
Other
The Weekly South Dakotan: Buffalo of South Dakota
A brief overview look at the bison. The short text makes this web site suitable foryounger students.
Other
Weekly South Dakotan: Buffalo of South Dakota: American Indians and the Buffalo
The bison played a very important role in the lives of Native American tribes. This brief, fact based article is easy to read and most appropriate for the younger student. A timeline shows the main events which affected the bison...
Other
The Weekly South Dakotan: Buffalo of South Dakota: Preservation of the Buffalo
There was a marked decline in the number of bison that roamed the open plains. Brief, to the point text addresses the reasons for this, and how the number of bison are making a comback. Aimed at younger students.
Other
Weekly South Dakotan: Buffalo of South Dakota: The Buffalo Today
Bison have been removed from the endangered list, and are thriving due to conservation movements. Brief, to the point notes make this site most appropriate for younger researchers.
University of Calgary
Native Civilizations
Blackfoot, Cree and Sioux cultures inhabited the plains. They were nomadic people who followed the roaming buffalo herds, hunting as needed to supply the essentials of life.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Wild Places: Growing Prairie
Explore efforts to return parts of the American prairie using controlled cultivation and grazing. Compare and contrast the effects of various levels of ground shade on new seedlings.
Defenders of Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife: Bison
Comprehensive wildlife site provides extensive data on the bison. Discover more about its' diet, population, range, behavior and more. Be sure to click on the video icon for some rare footage.
Regents of the University of Michigan
Animal Diversity Web: American Bison
Comprehensive reference material on the American bison: its habitat, physical features, eating habits, reproduction, behavior, communication, roles in a prairie ecosystem, and interactions with humans.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian National Zoo: Zoogoer Magazine: Grasslands on a Grand Scale
Jeffrey P. Cohn's article in Zoogoer Magazine, "Grasslands on a Grand Scale," examines a variety of animals and topics associated with the grasslands. Among the animals discussed are the bison, the great horned owls, the cattle, and more.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian National Zoo: Zoogoer Magazine: Rediscovering a Fragile Frontier
This article deals with a variety of topics related to the Prairie biome. Topics covered include More than Just Waving Grass, Birds of a Feather, Bison: From Abundance to Absence, and more.
Animal Fact Guide
Animal Fact Guide: American Bison
A reference source on the bison that features information on its physical characteristics, habitat (with a distribution map), diet, breeding patterns, unique traits and behavior, conservation status, and tips on what you can do to help.
Other
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Mammals
This interactive animal guide from the Columbus Zoo highlights general information and fun facts about mammals; this information can be sorted by diet or region where they live. Select an animal from the extensive list to begin exploring.