 Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |  Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |  Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |
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 Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |  Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |  Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |
 Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |  Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |  Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |
 Land of the Buffalo NationsFeel the beauty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and the immense splendor of Yellowstone. Savor the sights and sounds of the largest Powwow in Wyoming. |
Land of the Buffalo Nations
Land of the Buffalo Nations
TOUR OVERVIEW - Land of the Buffalo Nations
Join this special journey through some of the most beautiful and spiritually significant lands on the planet. Come explore the land of the Tsistsistas People, the wilderness of Yellowstone, the majesty of the Bighorn Mountains, the serenity of Wind River Canyon, and join the excitement at the Northern Cheyenne reservation where we savor the sights and sounds of Powwow at the 4th of July Celebration.
Tour Highlights
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
Yellowstone National Park (traditional homeland to 26 tribes)
Bighorn Mountains (Crazy Horse's favorite place)
Wind River Indian Reservation
Wild Mustangs (descendants of the original Indian pony herds)
4th July Powwow!
Enter the world of the Buffalo Nations on the High Plains - the Tsistsistas (the Northern Cheyenne), the Arapaho, and the Shoshone. You will begin to decipher human and ecological codes left through the ages in the communicative patterns of the Rock Art of the Old Ones, enjoy modern tribal art at cultural centers and trading posts, and make meaningful connections with tribal peoples as we traverse the plains, mountains, plains, desert and canyons.
Summer is an exciting time in Native America. As the summer ceremonials progress, so too does powwow season where you may thrill to the sound of the drum - the Heartbeat of the Nations while you watch the dancers swoop and swirl in traditional dances mimicking the two and four-leggeds, or telling stories as their feet brush and stomp the good earth.
Buffalo Nations of the High Plains is a trip steeped in the true stories of legendary tribal figures such as Two Moons, Dull Knife, Crazy Horse, and many others who led their Peoples through devastating tribulations toward survival - family stories handed generation to generation. Soak in the majesty and beauty of the Wind River Mountains, the Bighorn range, and the mighty rivers and emerald forests of Yellowstone; a land studded by more geothermal features than any other area on the planet.
For anyone interested in Indigenous cultures, this is a trip you will never forget.
Daily Ed-ventures
1 - After an orientation to Native America, visit the Northern Cheyenne rez and thrill to the sights and sounds of POWWOW!
2 - Explore the cultural and historic sites of the Tsistsistas People around the Cheyenne nation's capital, Lame Deer, MT.
3 - Medicine Mountain in the Bighorn Mountains is home to the 10,000 year old sacred Medicine Wheel. Learn the true story,
visit the Smithsonian of the West in Cody
4 - Yellowstone - before it was a National Park this place was a sacred homeland to 26 native first nations Yellowstone -
As you traverse this geothermal wonderland, seek out bears, wolves, elk; enjoy this land through Native eyes.
5 - Wyoming and the Wild Mustangs - descendants of the Indian Pony herds
6 - Legend Rock is petroglyph heaven, float down the Wind River Canyon, then after dark be immersed in tribal star knowledge
7 - Wind River Indian reservation is stunning country - explore the culture, history and spirit of the Arapaho & Shoshone peoples
Where: Montana, Wyoming
When: Dates to be announced for 2020
Tribes: Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shoshone, Inter-tribal
CAN I EXTEND THIS TOUR?
Some years we do offer an extension to this journey.
Please enquire
Tour Information
Flights
In and out of Billings, Montana (BIL) Dates to be announced! If you follow these dates you will be arriving the night previous to the start of the tour, with hotel accommodation INCLUDED in your price. This means you can book flights that suit you because whenever you arrive you will hop on the hotel shuttle from the airport. Same deal when you leave - you can chose your own departure time on the date noted above and will take the hotel shuttle to the airport.
NB. Some hotels will not allow you to book in until 4pm.
Most hotels will ask you to leave your room by 11 am, but may store bags for you if you have a late flight out of town.
Please do NOT book flights until your departure is confirmed.
Room-sharing?
This trip is based on single room accommodation with no single supplement. For sharing prices, please call +1. 307. 699. 6015
Is camping available?
No. This trip is well priced for the activities and accommodations that are included, but with so many hotel changes, camping is impractical
Activity Level?
This trip is not a high activity tour, but all participants must be of reasonable fitness and be able to walk uneven paths and to take short hikes. The hike to the Medicine Wheel is approx 2 miles. If you have special needs, please let us know - we will be able to arrange something that works for you and your needs
Packing List?
This will be sent to you upon payment of your balance. But thinking ahead, you will not need much 'stuff' to have a great time - we are informal - no dressing for dinner, nowhere 'posh' to go to - jeans, tees, a sweatshirt/sweater and a fleece work great. Just don't forget your passport, your credit card, sun specs and sunscreen, phone (for the camera!) and charger.
In short, please only bring what you can carry easily yourself :)
Reading List?
This can be sent to you on request once you have made your booking. You do not have to do 'homework' prior to your trip
...but some people like to.
Ecotravel
Go Native America is deeply conscious of our responsibility toward Mother Earth and wherever possible we keep miles to a minimum, energy savings to the max. But you also have to do your part. Please read our policy on sustainable tourism here.
This also covers our Fair Trade Tribal Tourism mandate.
MORE TOURS FOR 2020 / 2021
Gathering of Nations - April 18-26, 2020
Southwestern culture & powwow burst forth every spring in Albuquerque. Now transferred from The Pit to its new outdoor location, the Gathering of Nations is the perfect culmination of a seven day cultural odyssey through the Native Nations of New Mexico. Explore the ancient origins of the Pueblo, Hopi and Navajo cultures, with guides who live traditional lifeways that have been preserved over the millenia.
Native Yellowstone - May 23-29, 2020
The Cheyenne, Kiowa, Shoshone, Bannock, Blackfoot, Arapaho, Nez Perce, and the most recent arrivals, the Crow , are among the twenty-seven tribes with cultural ties to Yellowstone that each know a different story. Within these archives from ancestral memory is found a common theme – the sacred nature of the land named for the Yellow Rock Water and the connection to place, an ancient compact between the two-legged and four and the earth that sustains but is, as yet, still unmade.
I Am Lakota - May 30 - June 6, 2020
Traverse prairies to the sacred Black Hills, the barren beauty of Mako Sica, the Badlands and spend time on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, following the culture & history of the Lakota through great leaders such as Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse.
PLUS Visit the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
Lakota Storyteller - Oct 3-11, 2020
Visit the sacred lands of the Lakota Sioux in the crisp, sunny weather of the fall, starting at the Lakota place of genesis – Wind Cave. Visit Pine Ridge and Wounded Knee, Paha Sapa - the sacred Black Hills, Mako Sica – the Badlands, Bear Butte, and Mato Tipila. All are sacred sites of the Oceti Sakowin and your extraordinary week celebrating Native culture culminates at the biggest powwow of the season – Oglala Nation Powwow!
Walk In Beauty - Oct 17-24, 2020
Navajo philosophy is epitomized by the phrase ‘Walk In Beauty’, from the sacred prayer, the Blessing Way. Aspiring to that spirit, we enter deep into the cultures and landscapes of the South-western tribal nations; we meet the Navajo, explore the Pueblo cultures, and the ancient wisdom keepers – the Hopi.
Follow the trails of legendary Apache leaders like Geronimo, whose names and deeds reverberate through the canyons, mountains, and deserts of their homelands. Travel through history on a journey that weaves through traditional Chihuahua Apache heartland of the Dragoon and Chihuahua Mountains learning of the intricacies and diversity within Apache cultures.
