Albert Bierstadt’s The Last of the Buffalo sets the stage for an inquiry study that explores the need for wildlife conservation and the value of national parks.

Before launching an inquiry study it is important to have students experience a work of art on their own terms. Use this opportunity to build background knowledge, engage empathy, and spark wonderings. This link offers teaching moves and language for introducing students to Albert Bierstadt’s The Last of the Buffalo. Additional resources are provided below.

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The near extinction of the American buffalo, its preservation, and its eventual recognition as America’s first national mammal is a true American drama. This history is also an ideal platform for studying the implications of technology—especially the Shapes rifle, the train, and mass media—on massive species displacement, the destruction of indigenous cultures, and the transformation of the American West.

A Single Shared Text and Related Resources

If you prefer to use a single shared text for an inquiry study then consider William T. Hornaday’s The Extermination of the American Bison, with a sketch of its discovery and life history (United States National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1887). Available as a free ebook or a website, this is a comprehensive report by an influential leader in the effort to preserve the American bison. The chapter on conservation legislation is especially revealing. See excerpt below.

The first section of the bill provided that it shall be unlawful for any person, who is not an Indian, to kill, wound, or in any way destroy any female buffalo of any age, found at large within the boundaries of any of the Territories of the United States.…

• Mr. Eldridge thought there would be just as much propriety in killing the fish in our rivers as in destroying the buffalo in order to compel the Indians to become civilized.
• Mr. Conger said: “As a matter of fact, every man knows the range of the buffalo has grown more and more confined year after year; that they have been driven westward before advancing civilization.” But he opposed the bill!
• Mr. Lowe favored the bill, and thought that the buffalo ought to be protected for proper utility.
• Mr. Cobb thought they ought to be protected for the settlers, who depended partly on them for food.
• Mr. Parker, of Missouri, intimated that the policy of the Secretary of the Interior was a sound one, and that the buffaloes ought to be exterminated, to prevent difficulties in civilizing the Indians.
• Said Mr. Conger, “I do not think the measure will tend at all to protect the buffalo.”
• Mr. McCormick replied: “This bill will not prevent the killing of buffaloes for any useful purpose, but only their wanton destruction.”

— William T. Hornaday’s The Extermination of the American Bison, with a sketch of its discovery and life history, IV. Congressional Legislation for the Protection of the Bison

William T. Hornaday, Letter to Professor George Brown Goode, Director of the National Museum, expressing concerns about the conservation of bison (December 2, 1887). Here is a gallery of images related to his field trips to secure bison for the zoo and museum display. The Smithsonian Channel’s The Last Buffalo chronicles this near extinction and Hornaday’s story with their typical breathtaking video footage and compelling storytelling.

Multiple Firsthand Accounts

These firsthand accounts in popular periodicals and scientific reports explore these themes from multiple perspectives.

• John Mills’ “A Brush with a Bison,” Harper’s Weekly, July 1851 (pp. 218–222) is a vivid, action-packed account of a buffalo hunt from a sportsman’s perspective.
• George D. Brewerton’s “In the Buffalo Country,” Harper’s Weekly, September 1862, (pp. 447–466) chronicles a trip across the Great Plains describing the indigenous cultures as well as the diverse plants, animals, and hardships.
• Theodore R. Davis’ “The Buffalo Range” in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 224, 11, January 1869 (pages 147–163) is a comprehensive firsthand account that follows the buffalo from habitat and herd behavior to still hunting and market drivers.
• “Buffalo Hunting,” Harper’s Weekly, December 14, 1867, (pages 792 and 797) is a short news account of how buffalo are indiscriminately shot by passengers from a moving train.
• Buffalo land: an authentic account of the discoveries, adventures, and mishaps of a scientific and sporting party in the wild West; with graphic descriptions of the country; the red man, savage and civilized; hunting the buffalo, antelope … etc., etc., by William Edward Webb, drawings by Henry Worrall. Cincinnati: E. Hannaford, 1872 (504 pages).
• “Slaughtered for the Hide,” Harper’s Weekly, December 12, 1874 (p. 1022) is a brief news account on the wasteful practices of buffalo hunters.
• Franklin Satterthwaite’s “The Western Outlook for Sportsmen,” Harper’s Weekly, May 1889, pp. 873-880 explores big game sport hunting with a focus on the wasteful killing of buffalo.
• George Bird Grinnell’s “The Last of the Buffalo,” Scribner’s, September 1892, pp. 267–287 [illustrated] describes efforts to domesticate and breed bison, how Native cultures relied on them, and the technological advances that led to their near extermination.
• Hamlin Russell’s “The Story of the Buffalo,” Harper’s Weekly, April 1893, pp. 795–798 provides a concise overview of the buffalo in history up to its precarious existence.
• William T. Hornaday’s Wild life conservation in theory and practice: lectures delivered before the Forest School of Yale University, 1914, while sophisticated, offers a wealth of insight into turn-of-the-century wildlife conservation.
• Elahe Izadi’s “It’s official: America’s first national mammal is the bison.” The Washington Post, May 9, 2016 announces the new designation of the American buffalo as the national mammal.

Have small groups read different accounts and plot key events on a class timeline that maps this history. Use colored sticky notes to highlight common themes. As students share, capture their questions and points of interest. In addition to exposing varying, and deeply held, views of historic people and events, these documents provide insight into the use of argument writing, proxy arguments, and political maneuvering. If time and interest permits, have students research and respond to their questions.

The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) can help turn art observations and wonderings into inquiry-based research questions that build on student insights and interests. For ideas on how to structure inquiry circles see Stefanie Harvey and Smokey Daniels’ Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles for Curiosity, Engagement, and Understanding.

Related Resources

• Albert Bierstadt’s The Last of the Buffalo is in the National Gallery of Art’s collection. See their website for detailed information. Select the image to magnify.
• This interdisciplinary teacher’s resource offers a range of teaching moves and language for analyzing The Last of the Buffalo.
• This interactive puzzle explores Bierstadt’s life and the art and events that inspired him to paint The Last of the Buffalo. Special attention is given to the near extinction of the buffalo and its impact on Native American cultures.
• This team-building game reviews key learnings from “Puzzled by The Last of the Buffalo?”
• This sorting activity explores the distinct styles of art of four influential American artists from the mid 1800s — Albert Bierstadt, Eastman Johnson, Emanuel Leutze, and Worthington Whittredge.  
• This game-based art survey analyzes the art of Albert Bierstadt and eight other 19^th century landscape painters.