School For Students With Autism Worried About Future Of Bartlesville's 'Buffalo Stampede'

Storm damage to an Oklahoma artisans workshop has the future of Bartlesville's "Buffalo Stampede" up in the air.

Bartlesville is home to more than 30 buffalo statues and Paths to Independence, a local school for students with autism, has made exploring them a learning opportunity.

Paths to Independence takes its youngest students on a field trip every Friday to check another buffalo off their list. They learn the history behind that particular statue, take pictures with it, and then hang those photos on a wall at their school alongside a map they created of the buffalo's various locations.

Teacher, Donna Thompson, said it started as an interactive way for the students to study history while learning about community involvement. "It helps them with following directions when we are out, but also it is nice for them to be able to go out into the community and be seen in the community, that they can go out and do an activity and be just fine," she added.

The Buffalo Stampede dates back to 1998 when a Girl Scout troop asked businesses and organizations to purchase statues to raise money for Catholic Charities Mary Martha Outreach, a nonprofit that provides food and clothing to those in need.

Currently, expansion of the project is on hold as the nonprofit works to find a new fiberglass artisan to create more molds.

“I know when I go to other communities I look, my son lives in West Lafayette and they have frogs and Muskogee has something," Thompson continued saying, "It is just a good thing for a community to have something that is distinctly theirs, so we would like to see more."

The school hopes another artisan will take on the buffalo project, so it can continue into the future. Anyone that is interested can contact Mary Martha Outreach at (918) 337-3703.

You can learn more about the "Buffalo Stampede" and find their locations by Clicking Here.