where does the name buffalo soldiers come from
Buffalo Soldier Sources disagree on how the nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" began. According to the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, the name originated with the Cheyenne warriors in the winter of 1877, the actual Cheyenne translation being "Wild Buffalo." However, writer Walter Hill documented the account of Colonel Benjamin Grierson, who founded the 10th Cavalry regiment, recalling an 1871 campaign against Comanches. Hill attributed the origin of the name to the Comanche due to Grierson's assertions. The Apache used the same term ("We called them 'buffalo soldiers,' because they had curly, kinky hair ... like bisons") a claim supported by other sources.[3][4] Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect for the fierce fighting ability of the 10th Cavalry.[5] Still other sources point to a combination of both legends.[6] The term Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all black soldiers. It is now used for U.S. Army units that trace their direct lineage back to the 9th and 10th Cavalry units, whose service earned them an honored place in U.S. history. According to activist Russell Means, they were called Buffalo Soldiers because the U.S. military created special regiments specifically used to exterminate herds of buffalo. The U.S. military, as part of their campaign in enacting genocidal strategies against American Indians throughout the plains of the continent, removed buffalo in order to cut off American Indian food supply and force them into reservations.[7]