In May 2016, President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act which made the bison the national mammal of the United States. Before the invasion of Europeans into North America, there were up to 60 million bison roaming across most of the continent. Enormous herds, driven by the seasons, migrated from north to south in 400-mile circles, foraging for leafy plants and grasses. The Native American Plains Indians migrated with them, relying on the herds for survival. This fact did not go unnoticed by the U.S. Army. The Army actively promoted the slaughter of bison in an effort to control and exterminate Native Americans. By 1889, the Army’s efforts, along with massive over-hunting and bovine diseases, left only 1,091 bison alive. It is estimated that 6 million bison were killed from 1871 to 1873 alone.

A skull of a Bison antiquus, adorned with a painted red zigzag, was found in Harper County, Oklahoma in the 1990s. The Cooper Bison Skull, as it is known, was dated 10,900–10,200 BCE, and is the oldest painted object discovered in North America.