The American Buffalo | Blood Memory | Watch & Wonder Weekly Highlight

Thursday, January 11, 1 PM

For next week’s Watch & Wonder Highlight, we’re thrilled to feature this episode of The American Buffalo. After watching, dive deeper with resources about the sacred history and ecological impact of the buffalo in America on PBS LearningMedia.

The American Buffalo, a new two-part, four-hour series, takes viewers on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the animal’s evolution, significance to the Great Plains, near demise, and relationship to the Indigenous People of North America. For untold generations, America’s national mammal sustained the lives of Native people, whose cultures were intertwined with the animal. In Blood Memory, learn how newcomers to the continent bring a different view of the natural world, and the buffalo are driven to the brink of extinction.

PBS LearningMedia

Ken Burns in the Classroom | The American Buffalo collection

Grades 6-12
This collection of rich, multimedia resources explores The American Buffalo, a Ken Burns film, taking students on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the American buffalo’s evolution, its significance to the Indigenous people and landscape of the Great Plains, its near extinction, and the efforts to bring the magnificent mammals back from the brink.

In school or at home, take advantage of the Watch & Wonder broadcast schedule. Running each weekday from 1-3 PM, Watch & Wonder is great for classroom viewing, distance instruction, and families looking to spend some extra, quality time together. Featured programs are ideal for kids in grades 6-12, encouraging creativity with the arts, kick starting innovation through STEM, and expanding their horizons with stories from across the globe!

Each week, we’ll highlight a show from our Watch & Wonder block, and share a PBS LearningMedia resource — suitable for middle and high school students. Follow along on the Watch & Wonder Schedule page, or subscribe to our newsletter!