Tatanka is a Lakota Native American Tribe word that literally
means “bull buffalo." Ceremonies and daily life revolved around
sacred reverence for Tatanka.
The American bison is not a true buffalo in the scientific sense
of the word, but most people use the word “buffalo” for this
animal. Popular usage perpetuates the term “buffalo” even though
“bison” is its scientific name. Bison and American buffalo are not
two separate species. The only true buffalo in the world are the
cape buffalo and the water buffalo.
30-60 million bison once roamed the great plains of North America.
By the close of the 19th century, it's estimated that less than
1,000 bison survived.
So how did Bison get the name Buffalo? French voyageurs referred to
them as les boefs, meaning oxen. It also could have come from their
term bufle or buffe which referred to good buffe, or
hide.