40 Life-Size Buffalo Puppets March Through Manhattan

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On September 18, 2026, a herd of 40 life-size buffalo puppets marched through Lower Manhattan, leaving people shocked, confused, and delighted. But behind the unusual spectacle was a much deeper meaning. Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi was created in part to pay homage to the 38 Dakota men who were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota, in 1862, after President Abraham Lincoln approved their executions.

The procession moved through Bowling Green, Federal Hall, the World Trade Center, Chinatown, and other historic sites, leaving its mark on Lower Manhattan with a sight rarely, if ever, seen before. The following day, the buffalo continued their journey through Downtown Brooklyn, traveling from Abolitionist Place to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The work’s Lakota title, Tatanka Owe Akupi, roughly translates to “buffalo trail home.”

The public art performance was created by Palestinian theater writer and director Amir Nizar Zuabi, the artistic director of The Walk Productions. Zuabi is no stranger to using large-scale puppetry to tell stories about some of the world’s most pressing issues. He previously led Little Amal, centered on a 12-foot-tall puppet of a Syrian refugee girl, and The Herds, which sent life-size animal puppets on a 20,000-kilometer (12,427 miles) journey to draw attention to the climate crisis.

For Return of the Buffalo, Zuabi partnered with elders from Lenape and Lakota Tribes, allowing their perspectives to help shape the project. The collaboration was especially important given the deep relationship between Indigenous communities and the buffalo, and the history the procession was designed to bring back into public view. Buffalo and Indigenous peoples have been connected for thousands of years, tied not only to food and sustenance, but also to spiritual traditions and oral histories that have shaped communities.

During the 19th century, the pre-European bison population of around 30 to 60 million was systematically slaughtered, with only a few hundred individuals remaining by the end of the century. The destruction of the buffalo was tied not only to commercial hunting, but also to U.S. efforts to weaken Native Nations by taking away one of their most important sources of food, culture, and spirituality.

Today, people are working to bring the buffalo back. Organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the InterTribal Buffalo Council, and Tanka Fund have worked to return buffalo to Native Nations and communities, helping to restore both the animals themselves and the cultural relationships surrounding them. Tanka Fund alone has helped support the return of buffalo to Native lands while also providing resources to the people caring for them.

According to Zuabi, the return inspired the performance itself. Rather than focusing only on the buffalo’s near-extinction and the violence tied to that history, Return of the Buffalo also looks toward restoration and healing.