As in his earlier film M*A*S*H, Altman skewers an American historical myth of heroism, in this case the notion that noble white men fighting bloodthirsty savages won the West.

[2] The story begins in 1885 with the arrival of an important new guest star in Buffalo Bill Cody's grand illusion, Chief Sitting Bull of Little Big Horn fame.

Altman uses the setting to criticize Old West motifs, presenting the eponymous western hero as a show-biz creation who can no longer separate his invented image from reality.

Cody's long hair is a wig, he can't shoot straight anymore or track an Indian, and all his staged battles with ruffians and savages are rigged in his favor.

[6] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "[Altman's] films are sometimes pretentious and sometimes exasperating, but they are not often boring, although his latest, 'Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson' is all three."

"[7] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote that the film "emerges as a puerile satire on the legends of the Buffalo Bill era, silly when it's not cynical, distasteful throughout its 123 minutes.

"[8] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post stated, "Everyone who cares about Altman's work should find 'Buffalo Bill' an interesting and intriguing experience, but in the last analysis it's an emotionally empty, alienating movie, an ill-advised attempt to project a cynical, apprehensive view of the present onto the past.