Screenwriter visits Fort Benton to share "The American Buffalo"

Dayton Duncan visited Fort Benton Saturday, June 10 to showcase six clips from “The American Buffalo,” a four-hour, two episode documentary by Ken Burns that is scheduled to premiere on PBS Oct. 16 and 17.

Duncan is an award-winning writer and producer and has been good friends and work partners with Burns for more than 30 years, working as screenwriter for many Burns documentaries.

“I didn’t want to be a filmmaker, but Ken wanted me to write for him.” Duncan said. 

Burns and Duncan spent almost 20 years planning “The American Buffalo” documentary. 

“Delaying the project made the final product better and more satisfying,” Duncan said. “We’ve gained more film experience and were able to grow and improve to make this documentary perfect.” 

“The American Buffalo” tells the history of the national mammal in two parts: “Blood Memory” and “Into the Storm.”

The first episode focuses on the spiritual relationships, traditions, and practices Native Americans had with buffalo and the trauma that fell upon the native tribes as settlers traveled further West and fur trading swept through the nation, leading to the near extinction of the buffalo. 

“There were once millions of buffalos. There’s evidence that buffalo roamed in Florida, the Great Lakes regions, New Mexico, and D.C.,” Duncan said. “But the fur trade led to the greatest slaughter of animals in the history of the world. It was the greatest mistake and failure of mankind.”   

The second episode features the “motley crew” – as Duncan put it – who all had a part in saving the buffalo from extinction. One important figure in this effort was William T. Hornaday, a famous taxidermist for the Smithsonian who eventually became a pioneer in the early wildlife conservation movement.

The Montana Agricultural Museum in Fort Benton displays the buffalo specimens Hornaday preserved – the same world-famous buffalo put on display in the Smithsonian Institution in 1887. 

The display features six buffalo, including buffalo calf “Little Sandy” and a large bull that had four bullets in its hide before Hornaday took it down, as mentioned in the documentary. 

Part of the documentary was filmed in the Ag Museum’s Strand Gallery of Western Art where the Hornaday buffalo now reside. Duncan noticed the buffalo had dust collected on their glass eyes.  

“I became very emotional as I cleaned them and looked into their eyes, because I know their stories,” he said, choking up at the memory. 

The Hornaday buffalo are one of the many personal connections Duncan has to Fort Benton. 

He has been visiting the river town since 1983 when he was following the Lewis and Clark expedition to write “Out West: A Journey through Lewis and Clark's America.”

He recalls going on a river tour with Bob Singer. Due to financial constraints, he swapped labor in exchange for the trip, helping out by pitching tents, paddling boats and carrying supplies.

Duncan returned to Fort Benton in 1997 with Burns when they filmed “Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery.”

Since his first river trip, Duncan has made 12 excursions with local outfitters, first with Singer, then with Larry and Bonnie Cook. 

“I have Lewis and Clark-itis,” Duncan joked. “It's infectious and hard to cure! I became obsessed with the expedition.” 

The Cooks gifted Duncan an authentic 1800s necklace with glass beads and a charm with a buffalo on one side and the Old Fort block house on the other side at the documentary premiere. 

Duncan was eager to return to Fort Benton and showcase “The American Buffalo,” sharing his gratitude to the River and Plains Society for allowing the production crew to film at the Old Fort and Ag Museum in 2021 and for hosting last Saturday’s screening. 

The documentary has an unofficial Act III, which poses the question of how the relationship between buffalo and Native Americans can be restored. 

“Before the traders came, the buffalo had been with Native Americans for 10,000 years – 600 generations. Can that ever be restored and how can we make that relationship better than ever?” Duncan said. 

Three large TV screens were placed around the Ag Center’s Lippard Auditorium to showcase clips from the film to an audience of more than 100. 

Duncan called the documentary a biography for the buffalo.

“We’re telling a truthful recounting of the story of these great animals,” he said. 

“The American Buffalo” is his swan song - “a buffalo song,” he joked - as this will be Duncan’s last film production as he prepares to focus on his writing. 

He is already an author of 14 books, many of which are companion books to Burns’ documentaries, packed with more information, research, and background information that may have been cut on the video editing floor. 

“Blood Memory: The Tragic Decline and Improbable Resurrection of the American Buffalo” is the companion book of “The American Buffalo” and is set to be released around the same time in October.    

“Watch the film, read the book! That’s what I always say,” Duncan said.