National symbols are points of pride for a people. Here in the United States, we have a magnificent one in the Bald Eagle, a big, powerful, charismatic bird, and an appropriate symbol for the USA. But it's not our only symbol. The United States also has an official mammal symbol, the American bison (Bison bison), and now our American bison is receiving some due recognition for America's 250th anniversary, in the form of three larger-than-life bronze statues placed on the grounds of the Smithsonian Institute.
Three bison statues cast in bronze have taken up a permanent display outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. The pieces — which are larger than real-life bison — made their public debut in the nation’s capital on Friday.
The bison earned its official status as the nation’s mammal under a law signed by former President Obama in 2016. Millions of bison once roamed the Great Plains but were nearly driven to extinction in the 1800s.
“It’s a wonderful story of conservation working, it’s a story of people seeing a need and getting behind that to conserve an animal that is specific to North America,” said Gary Staab, a paleoartist who made the statues.
This bison is specific to North America, although a lot of people don't know they have a Eurasian cousin, the European bison (Bison bonasus). Furthermore, here in North America, there are two subspecies: The plains bison (B. b. bison), which once roamed the American Great Plains in the millions, and the wood bison (B. b. athabascae), of the forested north, a herd of which we have right here in Alaska.
Mr. Staab, the creator of the statutes, has created a representation of a bison family:
Staab designed and sculpted the statues in Kearney, Missouri, where he works full-time to create sculptures of animals and historical artifacts for museums around the world. For the bison, Staab sculpted the full-size statues in foam and clay before they were cast in bronze and assembled at a foundry in Colorado. The three statues depict a bull, a cow and a calf.
An appropriate tribute, and an appropriate symbol for our nation.
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And I'm going to interject a personal peeve here: These animals are not buffalo. Yes, they are often called that. Yes, "buffalo" has become a vernacular usage. But these are bison, a different genus; they are ruminants, like buffalo, but these are bison. Not buffalo.
Cognomen notwithstanding, the bison is a fitting symbol for the United States of America. Along, they are formidable. Daunting, even. But in a herd, united, they are unstoppable. In a herd, united, they can drive all the other animals of the plains before them. In a herd, united, they protect each other, they protect their young, they protect the herd.
Bison are magnificent beasts. They are among the last of the Ice Age megafauna. They are survivors, and they are unstoppable. Kind of like the United States. It's great to see them recognized as part of our 250th anniversary celebrations.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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