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Treat Them as Buffalo
Not yet published
Expected 5 May 26An electrifying anti-Western from an exciting new Indigenous writer. As teenage boys begin to disappear from a great plains Métis community, a young man attempts to uncover the evil force lurking out of sight.
In 1885, Nikosis “Niko” Eriksen spends his days playing buffalo hunter, even though it’s been many years since a member of his tribe has actually seen one of the once-ubiquitous animals. But when beloved Cousin goes missing, things start to fall apart. With law enforcement failing—indeed refusing—to investigate the disappearance, the community members take matters into their own hands, rallying around the leadership of a sawn-off shotgun-slinging rancher named Kate McCannon.
The resultant women-led coalition of freedom fighters strikes back against the Mounted Police as they investigate the boys’ disappearance and take their futures into their own hands. But violence continues to haunt Niko, and boys continue to disappear. As he leaves his boyhood behind and draws closer to finding Cousin, Niko’s investigation points to a harrowing revelation about his own heritage, which heels closer to violence that any boy would wish to know.
Written with the pace and punch of Outlawed and the inventiveness of The Only Good Indians, Treat Them as Buffalo delivers a gripping portrait of a young man coming of age before his time.
In 1885, Nikosis “Niko” Eriksen spends his days playing buffalo hunter, even though it’s been many years since a member of his tribe has actually seen one of the once-ubiquitous animals. But when beloved Cousin goes missing, things start to fall apart. With law enforcement failing—indeed refusing—to investigate the disappearance, the community members take matters into their own hands, rallying around the leadership of a sawn-off shotgun-slinging rancher named Kate McCannon.
The resultant women-led coalition of freedom fighters strikes back against the Mounted Police as they investigate the boys’ disappearance and take their futures into their own hands. But violence continues to haunt Niko, and boys continue to disappear. As he leaves his boyhood behind and draws closer to finding Cousin, Niko’s investigation points to a harrowing revelation about his own heritage, which heels closer to violence that any boy would wish to know.
Written with the pace and punch of Outlawed and the inventiveness of The Only Good Indians, Treat Them as Buffalo delivers a gripping portrait of a young man coming of age before his time.
224 pages, Paperback
Expected publication May 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 14, 2026
Wow. What a ride that was! Blair Palmer Yoxall grabbed me in the first couple of paragraphs and took me for one heck of a ride.
Life is hard for the Métis in northwest Canada in 1885. Food is scarce, winter is long, the North-West war is raging, and now boys are disappearing. The story is told by a young boy, cousin to another boy that was taken. You really feel for him as things unfold, secrets are revealed, and lives are changed irrevocably.
I was immediately invested in these characters. I felt sad, hopeful, uncomfortable, and angry in turns. Life as a Métis in the late 1800’s is illustrated so clearly that I felt like I was there.
Life is hard for the Métis in northwest Canada in 1885. Food is scarce, winter is long, the North-West war is raging, and now boys are disappearing. The story is told by a young boy, cousin to another boy that was taken. You really feel for him as things unfold, secrets are revealed, and lives are changed irrevocably.
I was immediately invested in these characters. I felt sad, hopeful, uncomfortable, and angry in turns. Life as a Métis in the late 1800’s is illustrated so clearly that I felt like I was there.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley)
Treat Them As Buffalo hit the ground running, drawing me in immediately and never letting up its breakneck pace. And not only was this a fantastically thrilling historical fiction read, but writing as someone who also appreciates a literary opportunity to know a new time, place, and people better, I frankly loved how immersively, proudly, and unabashedly Métis the entire experience was.
Treat Them As Buffalo hit the ground running, drawing me in immediately and never letting up its breakneck pace. And not only was this a fantastically thrilling historical fiction read, but writing as someone who also appreciates a literary opportunity to know a new time, place, and people better, I frankly loved how immersively, proudly, and unabashedly Métis the entire experience was.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews