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Why did bison become an important prey animal for horse-using Great Basin groups?

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Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin Kaylei Weed (left) of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe with her two sons and mother, Elaine Ethel Weed, at the Wind River Indian Reservation in 2015.

For Indigenous groups in the Great Basin, the adoption of the horse fundamentally transformed their traditional way of life, allowing them to shift toward the cultural practices of the Great Plains.12

Bison became a primary prey animal for these equestrian groups because the horse provided the mobility necessary to range over much larger areas than was possible for pedestrian hunters. This increased range enabled these groups to travel to the northern Plains to participate in seasonal bison hunts.1

By adopting this equestrian lifestyle, these Great Basin peoples—such as the Shoshone, Shoshone-Bannock, and Ute—increasingly oriented their economies toward the practices of Plains tribes. This transition included the use of tepees and engagement in the intertribal trade and warfare characteristic of the Plains, as they integrated bison hunting into their annual rounds alongside the gathering of traditional plant foods.132