In the early 1800’s buffalo (also called bison) roamed the American and Canadian West in the tens of millions, and the lives of the Plains Indians centered around the massive beasts. The buffalo provided food as well as skins for clothing, blankets, tents, and other leather items. Their dried manure was used for fuel. Indians followed the herds, taking what they needed and teaching the next generation to hunt. Theirs was a buffalo-based culture.