Amarillo Public Library and Panhandle PBS are hosting a free preview screening of excerpts from the new Ken Burns film, “The American Buffalo.” The event will take place Thursday, October 12, at the Southwest Branch Library, 6801 SW 45th Ave. in Amarillo. Doors will open at 5:30 pm with the film preview starting at 6 pm. Refreshments will be provided.

“The American Buffalo,” a new two-part, four-hour film directed by Ken Burns tells the history of an improbable, shaggy beast that is at the center of many of the country’s most mythic and heartbreaking tales. The series, which was four years in the making, takes viewers on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the national mammal’s evolution, its significance to the Great Plains, and, most importantly, its relationship to the Indigenous People of North America. “The American Buffalo” will air from 7–9 pm on October 16 and 17 on Panhandle PBS.

Immediately following “The American Buffalo” is the premiere of “Strong Spirit,” a two-part series from Panhandle PBS that explores bison and Native Americans in the Texas Panhandle. Episode one, which will premiere at 9 pm on October 16, will feature the Goodnight Herd at Caprock Canyon and how bison impact the ecosystem. Episode two, which will premiere at 9 pm on October 17, will explore the way Native Americans use stories to pass down tribal knowledge and traditions. 

Support for “The American Buffalo” and related local content on Panhandle PBS is provided by the Carol K. Engler Foundation, West Texas A&M University and the Jason Roselius Memorial Foundation. Corporate funding for “The American Buffalo” was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by The Better Angels Society and its following members: The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation fund at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation; Diane and Hal Brierly; The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment; John and Catherine Debs; Kissick Family Foundation; Fred and Donna Seigel; Jacqueline Mars; John and Leslie McQuown; and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Tudor Jones. Funding was also provided by the Volgenau Foundation.

For more information on this event, visit amarillolibrary.org or call (806)378-3054. For more on “The American Buffalo,” visit panhandlePBS.org/AmericanBuffalo or call (806)371-5479.