re: Is Dances With Wolves Buffalo hunt the grandest spectacle in a western?

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Yes, they hunted them and chased them on horseback to get close enough to kill them.

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Horses were (re)introduced to the American West by the Spanish in the 16th century. Which is still relatively recent in the timeline of American Indian civilizations.

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They sure as hell didn't just stroll up to the herd and take their pick.

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I'm guessing the Indians used various tactics depending on what was available to them. Maybe horses weren't ubiquitous across all tribes, at least not at first. Very reasonable to assume different tribes used sneak attacks or hide & wait plans when horses weren't available. They adapted fairly well.

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Yes, they hunted them and chased them on horseback to get close enough to kill them.

They sure as hell didn't just stroll up to the herd and take their pick.

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The indians hunted buffalo for thousands of years before Europeans and horses showed up on the scene.

One of the most successful hunting techniques was to track them (on foot) and patiently wait until the herd got near the edge of a cliff or ravine and then launch a coordinated ambush that would panic the herd and send many of them toppling over the ledge to their death like lemmings. No weapon needed and the death pile at the bottom could sustain them for long periods.

Also, the introduction of the horse completely changed the power dynamics of indian civilizations and warped our perceptions about them. For example we think of the Comanche as one of the strongest and most fearsome tribes but they were the wimps on the schoolyard getting beat up and pushed into the worst lands by the other school yard bullies. But for some reason they took to horses like fish to water and suddenly all hell broke lose and they went on a terror campaign of revenge.