Buffalo Stick, Plains or Pueblo, Late 19th Century

Pueblo or Plains Indian

Late 19th century | Wood, Shell, buffalo hair, Hide | Item 2173

This is an intriguing buffalo stick. Measuring 17″ long and made of wood, it’s a staff with a buffalo head at the top. The head end, as well as the hump, appear to be a small burl due to how the wood grain is wavy and circular. The head has ears and horns made of hide, eyes made of shell (or mica?) and a beard likely made with buffalo hair. The mouth is an indent into the wood. The entire stick is painted a rust red. Where the head meets the vertical stick is a hump as found on the buffalo. Adze marks are seen all around the head and the upper stick, with some also on the lower end

The attribution is Pueblo, but may also be Plains Indian. No specific quality makes it one or the other. The area of Taos was a meeting place where the Plains Indians would come in to sell, trade and such. The buffalo is represented by both cultures, and this could have been made in one, then traded to or given to the other.