Buffalo coat

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1880 Commercially-made bison coat NEPE Coat--Buffalo.jpg
1880 Commercially-made bison coat

A buffalo coat is a heavy winter garment made from the bison, which also commonly known as the "buffalo" (though not closely related to African or Asian buffaloes). In North America they descended from the simpler, sleeveless buffalo robes worn by the Indigenous peoples of North America prior to their partial replacement by capotes made of point blankets during the North American fur trade. Similar garments were also used across Eurasia prior to the gradual displacement and near-extinction of the European bison or wisent. Commercially produced coats with sleeves and buttons became popular with non-indigenous people during the early settlement period of the American West and the Canadian prairies. Their use mostly ended because of a rising conservationist movement intended to preserve the bison, which had been hunted to near-extinction in North America as well.

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Buffalo coats were issued to police and military officers, particularly the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the United States Army, prior to their replacement by parkas. The coats were intended for use in extreme cold or arctic conditions. [1] The RCMP (and other Canadian police services) briefly revived them in the 1930s when 700 hides were donated by the Canadian parks service. Guards on Parliament Hill continued to wear them until 1961. With the growing numbers of farmed bison being raised since the 1990s, buffalo coats are once again available, though they are much more expensive and many times heavier than modern winter wear made of manmade fabrics.

Canadian political commentator Tom Flanagan wears one daily during the winter at the University of Calgary where he teaches, and in 2013 wore it during a panel discussion on the CBC, which drew media attention. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bison</span> Genus of mammals

A bison is a large bovine in the genus Bison within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.

Buffalo most commonly refers to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American bison</span> Species of bovid artiodactyl mammal

The American bison, also called the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is a species of bison native to North America. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the European bison. Its historical range, by 9000 BCE, is described as the great bison belt, a tract of rich grassland that ran from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, east to the Atlantic Seaboard, as far north as New York, south to Georgia, and according to some sources, further south to Florida, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackfoot Confederacy</span> A name used for a group of Native Americans

The Blackfoot Confederacy, Niitsitapi, or Siksikaitsitapi, is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Blackfeet people: the Siksika ("Blackfoot"), the Kainai or Blood, and two sections of the Peigan or Piikani – the Northern Piikani (Aapátohsipikáni) and the Southern Piikani. Broader definitions include groups such as the Tsúùtínà (Sarcee) and A'aninin who spoke quite different languages but allied with or joined the Blackfoot Confederacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raincoat</span> Waterproof coat

A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined with a pair of rain pants to make a rainsuit. Rain clothing may also be in one piece, like a boilersuit. Raincoats, like rain ponchos, offer the wearer hands-free protection from the rain and elements; unlike the umbrella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ushanka</span> Russian fur cap with ear flaps

An ushanka, also called an ushanka-hat, is a Russian fur hat with ear-covering flaps that can be tied up to the crown of the cap, or fastened at the chin to protect the ears, jaw, and lower chin from the cold. An alternative way to wear is to bend the flaps back and tie them behind the head, which is called "ski-style" — this offers less protection from the elements, but much better visibility, essential for high-speed skiing. The dense fur also offers some protection against blunt impacts to the head. They are also traditionally worn in the Baltic region including Sweden and Finland and the whole eastern European region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plains Indians</span> Native Americans/First Nations peoples of the Great Plains of North America.

Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains of North America. While hunting-farming cultures have lived on the Great Plains for centuries prior to European contact, the region is known for the horse cultures that flourished from the 17th century through the late 19th century. Their historic nomadism and armed resistance to domination by the government and military forces of Canada and the United States have made the Plains Indian culture groups an archetype in literature and art for Native Americans everywhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assiniboine</span> First Nations people native to the northern Great Plains of North America

The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people, also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota, are a First Nations/Native American people originally from the Northern Great Plains of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western wear</span> American clothing style associated with the Old West and cowboy culture

Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garments popularized by Western film and television or singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s. It continues to be a fashion choice in the West and Southwestern United States, as well as people associated with country music or Western lifestyles, for example the various Western or Regional Mexican music styles. Western wear typically incorporates one or more of the following, Western shirts with pearl snap fasteners and vaquero design accents, blue jeans, cowboy hat, a leather belt, and cowboy boots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fur clothing</span> Clothing made of furry animal hides

Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item of clothing such as a coat, wrap, or shawl made from the fur of animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Pitt Provincial Park</span> Historic trading outpost and provincial park in Saskatchewan, Canada

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leather jacket</span> Jacket made of leather

A leather jacket is a jacket-length coat that is usually worn on top of other apparel or item of clothing, and made from the tanned hide of various animal skins. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shades of brown, but a wide range of colors is possible. Leather jackets can be designed for many purposes, and specific styles have been associated with subcultures such as greasers, motorcyclists, and bikers, mobsters, military aviators and music subcultures, who have worn the garment for protective or fashionable reasons, and occasionally to create a potentially intimidating appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bison hunting</span> History of hunting of the American bison

Bison hunting was an activity fundamental to the economy and society of the Plains Indians peoples who inhabited the vast grasslands on the Interior Plains of North America, prior to the animal's near-extinction in the late 19th century following US expansion into the West. Bison hunting was an important spiritual practice and source of material for these groups, especially after the European introduction of the horse in the 16th through 19th centuries enabled new hunting techniques. The species' dramatic decline was the result of habitat loss due to the expansion of ranching and farming in western North America, industrial-scale hunting practiced by non-Indigenous hunters, increased Indigenous hunting pressure due to non-Indigenous demand for bison hides and meat, and cases of deliberate policy by settler governments to destroy the food source of the Indigenous peoples during times of conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo robe</span>

A buffalo robe is a cured buffalo hide, with the hair left on. They were used as blankets, saddles or as trade items by the Native Americans who inhabited the vast grasslands of the Interior Plains. Some were painted with pictographs or Winter counts that depict important events such as epidemics, famines and battles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capote (garment)</span> Traditional North American garment

A capote or capot is a long wrap-style wool coat with a hood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape</span> Sleeveless outer garment of varying lengths, sometimes attached to a coat

A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackinaw jacket</span> Hip-length coat of blanket-weight wool often in a plaid pattern

The contemporary mackinaw jacket, also known as a mackinaw coat, is a short double-breasted coat made of a thick heavy wool material, generally with a red-and-black plaid pattern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inuit clothing</span> Traditional clothing of the indigenous peoples of Arctic North America

Traditional Inuit clothing is a complex system of cold-weather garments historically made from animal hide and fur, worn by Inuit, a group of culturally related indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. The basic outfit consisted of a parka, pants, mittens, inner footwear, and outer boots. The most common sources of hide were caribou, seals, and seabirds, although other animals were used when available. The production of warm, durable clothing was an essential survival skill which was passed down from women to girls, and which could take years to master. Preparation of clothing was an intensive, weeks-long process that occurred on a yearly cycle following established hunting seasons. The creation and use of skin clothing was strongly intertwined with Inuit religious beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles "Buffalo" Jones</span> American frontiersman

Charles Jesse Jones, known as "Buffalo Jones", was an American frontiersman, farmer, rancher, hunter, and conservationist. He cofounded Garden City, Kansas. He has been cited by the National Archives as one of the "preservers of the American bison".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Inuit clothing</span> History of Inuit clothing

Archaeological evidence indicates that the use of Inuit clothing extends far back into prehistory, with significant evidence to indicate that its basic structure has changed little since. The clothing systems of all Arctic peoples are similar, and evidence in the form of tools and carved figurines indicates that these systems may have originated in Siberia as early as 22,000 BCE, and in northern Canada and Greenland as early as 2500 BCE. Pieces of garments found at archaeological sites, dated to approximately 1000 to 1600 CE, are very similar to garments from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, which confirms consistency in the construction of Inuit clothing over centuries.

References

  1. "Buffalo Coat and Gloves". Western Illinois Museum. January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  2. "'It makes me an icon of Canadian history': Tom Flanagan's enormous, fuzzy bison-hide coat causes Twitter furor".

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