Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation — Attraction in Wyoming

What a fantastic experience! We went with our son and initially thought it was just a sinkhole in the ground, but it was so much more. We had a personal tour from Ted Vore, whose family owned the land and who helped to set up the nonprofit foundation to preserve the buffalo jump. There is a tipi full of interpretive displays, including the tribal history of the region and samples of buffalo bones and hide and the history of the site. Then you go down into the sinkhole into the interpretive building and wow, it was really impressive! It showed the archaeological dig done in the 1970s, where you could see the layers of bone. Yes not only showed us the different types of bones but weapons and tools used by native Americans to process them. There were also examples of a Lakota tipi, various other animals skulls, and a fun matching game for the kids on how parts of the buffalo were used. When we went back up, he had a sand box full of arrow heads for the kids to search for and keep and let them throw atlatls at a wooden buffalo as the native Americans would have. Ted was super knowledgeable, passionate, and friendly. We are definitely glad we visited and would recommend...

Initially, Vore Buffalo Jump might not seem like much but I strongly recommend taking the time to stop and appreciate the culture and history that you will find here. This “Buffalo Jump” is one of the few archeologically-recognized sites that still exist but hundreds of years ago there would have been cliffs, depressions, etc. all over that the natives would make use of in their struggle to survive by making good use of every aspect of all bison that were killed. I am not sure how long the Vore site has been under development for tourism but it is a small site that appears to still need quite a bit of interpretive development in order to really attract a larger number of tourists. While no one was around when we visited, it appears that donations are accepted. If you are not familiar with this kind of historical and cultural site, there is also a much larger and impressive ‘Buffalo Jump’ in Alberta, Canada called ‘Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump’, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Let us hope that the Vore site gets more attention and perhaps one day will also be a UNESCO site. Overall, this is a really cool place and I strongly recommend taking the...

As a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe visiting with my Lakota relative, our visit to the Vore Buffalo Jump was heartbreaking. This land once held sacred significance to the Lakota and other Plains tribes. Today, it’s treated like a tourist attraction where our people are expected to pay to stand on ground soaked in the prayers and sacrifices of our ancestors.

We were initially allowed to walk through without paying after explaining our heritage—but as we began to walk down, a woman came out yelling at us aggressively. The experience felt hostile, discriminatory, and profoundly disrespectful.

This so-called nonprofit appears to profit off the legacy and suffering of Native people, while offering little in return to the communities whose history they claim to “preserve.” What could have been a powerful moment of connection to our ancestors was instead soured by a lack of understanding and basic respect.

This is a call for accountability. Sacred sites like Vore Buffalo Jump deserve caretakers who honor their true purpose—not ones who gatekeep them from the very people...