Fact Check: The Truth About Photo Allegedly Showing a Man Standing on Large Pile of Bison Skulls

Izz Scott LaMagdeleine
·2 min read
A person stands on top of a hill of bison skulls. Another person stands at the bottom of the image.
Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library

Claim:

A photograph shows a man standing on top of a towering pile of bison skulls.

Rating:

Rating: True
Rating: True

For years, a photograph showing a man standing on top of a large pile of bison skulls has spread across the internet. We've found social media posts on platforms like TikTok, X, Facebook and Reddit that contain the claim since at least 2016.

We fact-checked this claim in 2016 and found the photo is real. The image, which was archived in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library, was taken in 1892 in Rougeville, Michigan:

Man stands on top of enormous pile of buffalo skulls; another man stands in front of pile with his foot resting on a buffalo skull; rustic cage is at foot of pile. Handwritten on back: "C.D. 1892 Glueworks, office foot of 1st St., works at Rougeville, Mich."

Screenshot 2016-02-25 at 4.25.41 PM

National Geographic's page on the American Bison said nearly 50 million bisons were killed by settlers in the 19th century for a variety of reasons, including depriving Native Americans of an important natural asset:

Bison once covered the Great Plains and much of North America, and were critically important to Plains Indian societies. During the 19th century, settlers killed some 50 million bison for food, sport, and to deprive Native Americans of their most important natural asset. The once enormous herds were reduced to only a few hundred animals. Today, bison numbers have rebounded somewhat, and about 200,000 bison live on preserves and ranches where they are raised for their meat.

Sources:

"American Bison | National Geographic." Animals, 10 May 2011, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/american-bison.

Evon, Dan. "Is This a Real Photo of a Man Standing on a Large Pile of Bison Skulls?" Snopes, 25 Feb. 2016. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pile-bison-bones-photo/

Men Standing with Pile of Buffalo Skulls, Michigan Carbon Works | DPL DAMS. https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A151477. Accessed 8 May 2024.