The tongue and the calcium of bone marrow provided the nutrition necessary for the elders to maintain their strength. Liver was reserved for pregnant mothers. Sharpened bones served as knives and awls. Bladders were water containers. Even the dewclaws and hooves were used for for artistic decoration.
Art is all about honoring the beauty of the natural world, in spite of all the hardships.
The buffalo's greatest teaching was to show us how to live in balance with nature. Because we depended so much upon them for survival, we followed them in their migration path, never staying in one place long enough to destroy. I can only chuckle when a blizzard can bring us to our tender knees. The buffalo, through its instinctive wisdom, had a sophisticated social system that we adopted. Grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, mothers, second mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, all actively contributed to the well-being of the young.