For two days in September 2026, a herd of 40 life-size bison walked through New York City. The animals were puppets, hand-built at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn using steel, plywood, burlap and paper, and they moved through Lower Manhattan on Sept. 18 and Downtown Brooklyn on Sept. 19. The free public event, Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi, was presented by St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Walk Productions and KBH Arts and created by Amir Nizar Zuabi in partnership with Elders from the Lenape and Lakota tribes. Each bison was operated by three puppeteers, while more than 100 volunteer puppeteers from around the world were trained to reproduce the animals’ movements. The event combined the giant puppets with music, poetry, ceremonies, dance and other performances at locations across the city. The performances transformed familiar city streets into a moving cultural spectacle, bringing Indigenous traditions and the symbolism of the bison into public spaces.
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