Vore Buffalo Jump to host blessing ceremony

In conjunction with the annual meeting of the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation, Northern Cheyenne medicine woman Alaina Buffalo Spirit will bless the bonebed at the Site. The event will be held September 14, 2019. The annual meeting will be held in the excavation building at the Vore Site; the blessing ceremony will follow at 10:30 am. From 11 am to 2 pm, the SkyWindWorld kites will fly over the sinkhole and tours of the site will be offered. No admission will be charged. The Vore Buffalo Jump Archaeological Site is located 3 miles west of Beulah on Old Hwy 14.

At the annual meeting of the VBJF, the educational efforts of the Board and the financial status of the non-profit Foundation will be reviewed and officers will be elected. All foundation members are welcome to attend. The blessing ceremony is open to the public. Ms. Buffalo Spirit is a member of the So’taa’ee band of the Northern Cheyenne Nation. She is a member of the Northern Plains Resource Council board and is a well-known ledger artist. Some of her work will be on display. This will be the eighth year that the “Flying Buffalo Project” kite collection will be flow at the Vore Site. The hand-painted kites showcase original art created by fourteen well-known Native American artists. 

The VBJF fall field trip season began September 4 with fourth graders from Sunflower Elementary in Gillette. Field trip coordinator Jacqueline Wyatt says that students from Rozet, Gillette, Sheridan, Casper, and Spearfish schools plan to visit the site this fall. The field trip program depends on volunteers and help is needed. During a field trip students rotate through six stations to learn about how the Native American hunters jumped the bison into the sinkhole and processed the meat and hides. They also throw darts at a target with a primitive throwing stick and find a souvenir arrow point. Volunteers help at each station. Those interested in helping can contact Wyatt at 307-281-0011.