The Bison: American Icon, Heart of Plains Indian Culture

Now Open!

turkey is the emblem of this day and it should be in the east but the west owes nothing to that bird but it owes much to the humped back beef the Rocky mountains would have been hard to reach with out him he fed the explorer the great fur trade wagon tranes felt safe when they reached his range he fed the men that layed the first ties across this great west Thair is no day set aside where he is an emblem the nickle weares his picture dam small money for so much meat he was one of natures biggest gift and this country owes him thanks.

C.M. Russell 1925

The Bison: American Icon, Heart of Plains Indian Culture is the C.M. Russell Museum's newest permanent exhibition.

"This exhibition examines the interplay between the bison and the Indians, as well as Charlie Russell's relationship with both," stated Anne Morand, chief curator.

The Bison features over a 1000 objects, including Northern Plains Indian artifacts such as clothing, regalia, tools, and weapons with a wide variety of objects crafted from bison and works of art can also be seen in the exhibition. This comprehensive exhibition addresses the crucial historical and cultural role of bison, for all people, in the Northern Plains between 1800 and 2008. It also examines the ways in which this impressive animal has emerged an an American icon.

The importance of The Bisonis a critical part of the rich shared cultural heritage in Montana and the region. This exhibition examines the bison's importance not only in the lives of Plains Indians, but to a growing 19th-century economy; addressing the animal's sudden decimation and eventual resurgence. With regard to the Northern Plains, the exhibition traces the bison's transformation from everyday resource to iconic symbol, a shift that began to gain strength during the early reservation period in the late 19th-century. The exhibition traces a period of intense "consumption" of bison as a natural resource by new and growing populations, as well as a conservation movement, and development of the bison as a symbol of North America.

View the full Bison Exhibit Gallery