A team of Kalispell Middle School students went face to face with buffalo in a recent effort to learn more about their importance to many American Indian tribes.

About 120 seventh-graders observed bison at Spring Brook Ranch on Foy's Canyon Road last week.

"They got to get pretty close to some buffalo. It scared the kids - in a good way," said Tyson Warner, a seventh-grade language arts teacher at Kalispell Middle School. "For a lot of kids, it was their first time being that close to [buffalo]. For most of them, it was a new experience."

The students were there as part of Native American Heritage Day on Sept. 25. The state Office of Public Instruction created the day as a way for schools to teach its students about American Indian tribes, which is a requirement of Indian Education for All.

Kalispell Middle School students who didn't go on the field trip participated in other events to celebrate Native American Heritage Day. They made traditional toys and played traditional games, researched the economic situations of all seven reservations in Montana and created a podcast about American Indian legends.

They also saw presentations from Jack Gladstone, Browning's Little Yellow Pigeon Singers and Browning Elementary Culture Club dance group, and the Nkwusm School drummers from Arlee.

One group of seventh-graders got to visit the ranch because Warner happened to meet Jim Watson and Carol Bibler, the owners of Spring Brook Ranch, during a summer float trip on the North Fork.

"They were really passionate about what they did, and they knew a lot about buffalo," Warner said.

Sam Bibler, Carol's father, started buying bison in about 1999, and his daughter and son-in-law inherited the herd and the ranch in 2002. Today, about 70 head of buffalo live on Spring Brook Ranch.

At the ranch, the students learned about how different Indian tribes used buffalo, and the Flathead Valley's role in preserving bison.

Charles Conrad, of Kalispell's Conrad Mansion, was concerned about the bison's dwindling numbers across the country. He started a buffalo herd toward the end of the 19th century.

What is today called Buffalo Hill was named for that herd, Bibler said. Conrad had 46 buffalo when he died in 1902.

In addition to the history lesson, students learned scientific facts about buffalo and played traditional games that tribes used to play to create better hunters.

Even teachers learned something new. Before the field trip, Warner hadn't known that a buffalo can jump over a pickup truck.

The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, Warner said.

"They thought it was a pretty good little trip, to be next to that large of an animal," he said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com