Tanka - The Buffalo Chief

Chief Tanka - The Buffalo Chief

Tanka was not a born leader. Company of others was long forgotten to him. He was young when he beheld his parent’s death. Eleven when his tribe was driven from their native lands by white force of arms. Amidst the chaos, he fled.

The buffalo herds that swept over the Great Plains offered a place of refuge from animal predators, human, and other. He sustained, learned to hunt and trap the small game along the migration paths.

Years passed, and strength found Tanka. He walked among the buffalo as one of their own. He became a protector, a keeper.

As the buffalo moved so too did men. Tribes driven west, promises broken as treaties crumbled under foot. Tanka thought little of this. The buffalo were his tribe.

Peace was shattered in the summer of 1872 by never ending volleys of rifles across the plains. This was the new tactic. Kill the source of life, kill the buffalo.

The plains, littered with thousands of his loved ones, Tanka charged a wagon train...Tanka charged with his tribe.

When the dust settled, Tanka stood amidst the carnage. He knew this was just the beginning. A new strength had risen in the plains that day. Other tribes now came....to join him.