This sculpture tells the story of the Plains Indian buffalo dance. When the scouts, who were sent out to search the prairie, located the giant buffalo herd they would come back to the tribe and inform everyone about the herd— its size, route and when it would be close. The tribe would then move to a site along the path they thought the buffalo would travel in the next few days. The night before they would encounter the enormous herd and go on the big hunt, they would choose a dozen esteemed men to dress in the traditional buffalo dance outfits, each with a buffalo headdress or a full buffalo head, buffalo tails tied to their legs, buffalo fur around their ankles, and one or two of various weapons used in the hunt; like a bow and arrow, a rattle, a club, a hatchet, or a lance. They would dance around each other and the fire and act out the impending hunt of the buffalo. Drums would be beating and shouts, cries and whoops would echo throughout the moonlit plains.
After everyone was worked into a hopeful and eager frenzy, they would follow the dance with a big feast to gain strength needed for the hunt. The tribe knew it could use the diminishing food supplies because they were about to get plenty of new food and skins. As the buffalo meant everything to them, this was the dance to celebrate the coming abundance.

This photo shows the sculpture from all sides to illustrate the flow of the shapes as he dances. 15″ tall on a rotating wooden base. A keepsake for sure!