It seems to be a commonplace, taught everywhere from elementary schools to colleges, that modern Western culture (in particular, America) sucks. We are told that our society is self-indulgent, uninformed, out of touch with nature, and not given to sustainable practices. In this, we are contrasted both with "developing countries" and with primitive societies, whose practices we are supposed to imitate. With this in mind, it might be worthwhile to take a closer look at one of oft-cited examples -- the Plains Indians in the United States, and their relationship to the Buffalo. Indians were (before being cruelly starved, harrassed,...