Overview
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet ?
Whose stern impassioned stress?
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, ?
Thy liberty in law!
It is estimated that at the time white settlers began to colonize North America, bison (buffalo) numbered between 30-200 million. By 1889, the entire population was reduced to approximately 1091. Herds that once blackened the prairies were brought to near extinction. They were over hunted, first for food and later to supply the growing needs of industry. This was followed by systematic slaughtering to make way for the railroads and to starve the Native Americans.
Thanks to the efforts of a few independent ranchers and institutions in the late 1890s, the remaining animals were saved. They were put on ranches and reserves throughout the US and Canada. Today they number more than 200,000, living mostly on ranches where they are raised for meat while free-range populations are expanding in National and State parks.
The bison has become a nuanced cultural icon. Synonymous with the American West, it represents ideals of freedom and independence. Its size suggests might. Simultaneously, the buffalo signifies human shortsightedness in regards to nature. It is symbolic of the abundance the land once provided. The bison reminds us of the Native Americans whose way of life we destroyed in the name of Manifest Destiny.
Freedom Beat Across the Wilderness is a sculptural consideration of this history and these conflicting values.
