Hide

• The buffalo's hide kept the Indians warm throughout the cold winter months. The buffalo's skin was used for winter robes and bedding. Indians also made shirts, leggings, and baby cradles. The buffalo hide was used to make pouches and gun bags. Buffalo skins were tanned, a process to make leather and to soften the skin. Native Americans used the outer coat of hair as part of the Indian headdress. The buffalo's coat could be used to fill pillows or entwined as rope.
  
  

Horns

• Indians carved buffalo horns to use as utensils such as spoons and ladles. The horns would also adorn to Indian headdresses for decoration. The horn also served as a drinking cup.
  
  

Meat

• Following a hunt, Native Americans would process the buffalo meat.The women dried the meat into a thin dried jerky-type food, called pemmican.The dried meat allowed the Indians to store it for long stages. Pemmican was made by cutting the meat into thin slices and drying it in the sun or over a fire. The meat were stored with berries or buffalo fat to keep it fresh.
  
  

Tail

• The tail can be cut and used for a fly swatter. The end of the tail has wiry buffalo hair that's thick enough to be used to swat at insects. The tail could serve as a whip when attached to a rope. The buffalo tail was also affixed to Indian's hair for decoration.
  
  

Bones

• Buffalo bones are durable and were used for a variety of Indian tools and equipment. The bones were carved into knives and war clubs. The ribs were used for everything from arrowheads to scraping tools to runners on winter sleds. Indians also produced bone black, a bone charcoal substance used in fertilizer during planting season. The bone black had high phosphorus levels, a key nutrient for plants and vegetables.