The approximately 900 pound bull buffalo was brought over to Missoula from the Harlow Ranch Bison Company in Thompson Falls on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Blackfeet Tribal elders burn tobacco for ceremony before a buffalo harvest hosted by the Native American Student Services Department at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Lillie Juneau, 13, receives her Blackfeet name, Medicine Wolf Woman, from Blackfeet cultural keepers Stephanie Little Mustache Ground, Dugan Coburn, and Larry Ground before the buffalo harvest at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Tobacco is offered to every attendee before the harvest in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Students hold tobacco in their hands during a ceremony before a buffalo harvest at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Blackfeet elder Larry Ground paints helpers and blesses firearms for ceremonial purposes before a buffalo harvest in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Blackfeet elder Larry Ground paints the wrist of a student helper for ceremonial purposes before a buffalo harvest on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Stephanie Little Mustache Ground's buffalo earrings at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Tools are blessed before they’re used to kill a buffalo for a cultural and experiential lesson for Indigenous students in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Aaron Rudolf shoots the five-year-old bull buffalo on private property nearby the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Christina Flammond, Charlie Flammond and agricultural center staff cut off the head of the buffalo using a Sawzall during an educational experience for Indigenous students in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
The headless 900 lb. bull buffalo is transported back onsite for harvest by students at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Indigenous students help remove the hide of the buffalo at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Willard High School student, Mirsayes Jim, 16, holds a buffalo heart after a five-year-old bull was harvested in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Christina Flammond, who runs C&C Meat Processing in Browning, explains why a piece of buffalo is called "Napi's Cap" during harvest at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
A student reaches down to touch the stomach as Christina Flammond separates the buffalo’s internal organs at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Ag-Center staff hang the 900 pound bull from a tractor at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Aaron Rudolf and Charlie Flammond breakdown the buffalo using a Sawzall at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Aaron Rudolf tries to carry the bulky ribs of a five-year-old bull buffalo into the meat processing facility at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Staff from the agricultural center haul the heavy pieces of buffalo meat into the processing facility at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
The final package of hide and hooves after a first of its kind buffalo harvest hosted by the Native American Student Services Department in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.