Vore Buffalo Jump will hold an open house

The site is located on Old Hwy 14, just west of Beulah, Wyoming. Tours will be offered and no entry fee will be charged.

The Vore site was a buffalo trap used by Native American hunters from around 1550 until horses and guns made these foot hunts obsolete in the late 1700s. The bones and other artifacts preserved in the ground of the chasm provide insight into the processes of hunting and butchery. Archaeological excavations at the Vore site have revealed several layers of bones, each providing evidence of a single hunt at the site. On June 1, between approximately 10 a.m. and noon, archaeologists from the Black Hills region will perform maintenance on the bone bed.

The group is hosted by Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation advisory board member Jena Rizzi, and archaeologists will answer questions from visitors. One of the archaeologists will demonstrate knapping, a technique used to shape stones such as flint, quartzite or obsidian into tools or projectile points.

As part of the Foundation’s educational mission, the Vore site welcomes approximately 800 area students in the spring and fall for field trip programs. Those who attend the open house will be able to participate in some of the activities enjoyed by excursion participants. Young visitors can look for souvenir arrowheads, and visitors of all ages will have the opportunity to use an ancient hunting tool called an atlatl to throw darts at a stationary target.

Visitors can also see a newly renovated buffalo hide teepee, built in 2014 by students at Chief Dull Knife College, located on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The instructor leading this effort, Larry Belitz, “redesigned” the teepee this winter to ensure the skins remained in good condition. The teepee was made in a historically correct manner with brain-tanned hides sewn together with sinew.