"Bison"

To me, no greater icon represents the purity and innocence of nature on the Great Plains than the Bison. It is truly a powerful and majestic beast. It represents the natural freedom that once stretched from the snows of Canada to the sands of the American Southwest and Mexico. A freedom once unhindered by barbed-wire.

It provided nourishment through its flesh. It provided shelter and clothing from its hide. Its bones could become tools in the hands of artisans. Its hide was even made into the bullboats that allowed the natives to ford rivers and travel.

Its near demise in the latter half of the 19th Century was integral to the extermination of the vast majority of the native populations, who were dependent upon the buffalo for survival.

As Americans and European populations displaced the native ones, buffalo hunting became a new sport, where often herds would be slaughtered for just their tongues or just for the fun of it. The opening of the American West happened this way, and the conquest of native peoples occurred in conjunction with the decimation of their populations from combat with both soldiers and settlers, disease and starvation.

I am a son of the Great Plains and revere its beauty, its vast skies, its crisp and clean air, and its quiet. I miss it, but visit it and my family that still resides back home in Nebraskawhenever I can.

Bisonwerks.com?

What's up with the name?

"Bisonwerks"is named for two influences in my life.

 

"Werks"

To me, the term werks is basically German for Industry or Factory. It represents the spirit of German Industry. German engineering has been a standard for the world to emulate, and Prussian efficiency is perhaps what fueled the country's industrialization. These were the folks that brought you the Mercedes, the BMW and the Volkswagen (as well as those responsible for a couple of world wars.) Nevertheless, the industrial revolution brought mechanization to Western Europe, and German engineering has always been associated with quality.

Railroads brought my ancestors, as well as many other Northern Europeans to the land that was stolen from the Indians. Those that had been industrious in the fields and factories of Germany , influenced the legendary Midwestern work ethic, under which I was raised.

I am half German and half Irish and I consider myself to be very industrious. I learned to work under the guidance of my older brothers, carrying papers, shoveling snow and mowing yards, and this work ethic has allowed me to labor fairly consistently for the last three or four decades. The Midwestern work ethic was also present when in my young adulthood, I pounded spikes, lugged an 80 pound housejack and lining bar to raise and line railroad tracks, and blacksmithed on railroad cars. It served me when I worked in the factory, driving a forklift and later working as a mechanic. And it also helped me after the first couple of decades of work, to go to the universities where, through persistence and industry, I earned my bachelors and masters degrees. I was the one at home on Saturday night doing my homework…

I believe in lifelong learning and embracing new technologies to allow me to do even more work, and I also believe in the freedoms of expression with which I was raised.

I also believe in advancing the humanities of art, politics, language, drama, film and music. It is through Bisonwerks that I plan to continue this pursuit.

Gregory Paul Harm, M.A.

Curator, Historian, Writer, Photographer, Researcher,Webmaster

Austin, Texas January 14, 2006

The first is the image of the North American Bison. Once roaming North America in herds numbering into the millions by modern estimates, the bison or buffalo as it was commonly called provided sustenance for Native Americans for tens of thousands of years. The second is from the notion that effort, efficiency and industry can lead to a better life. To wit...