A piece of performance art arriving in Brooklyn this fall explores the complex history and hopeful future of the U.S. through the story of its national mammal, the American buffalo.
On Sept. 19 and 20, a herd of 50 life-size buffalo puppets will roam the streets of Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan, running amongst New Yorkers and tourists as they visit historic sites and public parks and plazas.
Along the way, the herd — operated by a team of 150 volunteer puppeteers — will be joined by actors, civic leaders and marching bands for live music and dance performances and Native American tribal ceremonies.
“Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi,” created by artist Amir Nizar Zuabi and elders from the Lakota and Lenape tribes, was inspired by the “incredible return” of the massive animals.
“We are inviting New Yorkers to reflect and appreciate nature, our land, and our power to heal and renew,” said Susan Feldman, founder of St. Ann’s Warehouse. “The story of the American buffalo reminds us of the near extinction of a majestic creature, and it acknowledges a magnificent human effort to rewild them. It represents the worst of us and the best of us.”
Centuries ago, an estimated 100 million buffalo roamed the U.S. They shaped the landscape and the lives of Native American tribes, especially on the Great Plains. The animals were a source of food, their hides were turned into clothing and shelter, their fat into soap.
Settlers slaughtered tens of millions of the animals in the 19th century. After the Civil War, the new American government encouraged the mass killing of buffalo to deprive Native Americans of food and resources and force them to move onto reservations.
By the late 1800s, the population of buffalo in the U.S., which had once been as high as 100 million, had been cut down to less than 1,000.
Massive conservation efforts saved the species from the brink of extinction, and today, there are more than 500,000 buffalo in the U.S. Native American tribes are reclaiming stewardship of the animals, overseeing herds as they return to their native lands.
“The land that we call America today has been here for far more than 250 years, and this production memorializes that,” said Zuabi. “The United States presents great hope, promise, and potential, as well as a history of destruction and loss. In this moment, we have a civic duty to come together as a community of global citizens to usher in a new chapter in America’s history, one that learns from its past, with empathy and respect for the land and all humans living on it.”
The volunteer puppeteers, recruited from around New York City, will train together at St. Ann’s Warehouse in August. The puppets themselves, designed by Ukwanda Puppets, will be fabricated and assembled at St. Ann’s, too.
It’s the second time St. Ann’s has partnered with The Walk Productions for a large-scale, impactful piece of performance art. In 2022, the organizations joined forces to bring Little Amal — the 12-foot-tall puppet of a young refugee from Syria — to the five boroughs to raise awareness of the refugee crisis.
