A Sacred White Buffalo Recently Born to a Herd in Yellowstone, Lakota Legend of More Prosperous Times

A white buffalo calf recently born to a herd of bison that roam Yellowstone National Park is recognized as a sacred occurrence to the Lakota tribe; opening the door to more prosperous times—while simultaneously sounding an alarm call that more must be done to protect the Earth.

“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” explained Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota; Looking Horse is also the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle.

The calf was spotted on June 4 in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley by Kalispell resident Erin Braaten during a visit to the park with her family. While driving through the park Braaten spotted “something really white” amongst a herd of bison that were crossing the road; using the telephoto lens of her camera to get a closer look, she spotted the calf.

“I look and it’s this white bison calf. And I was just totally, totally floored,” Braaten said. After the herd had passed they parked the car and found a spot that allowed them to watch the calf bison from a distance for about 30 to 45 minutes. In Braaten’s photographs, the white-furred calf has black eyes, nose and hooves, meaning the calf is a true white calf, and not an albino.

“And then she kind of led it through the willows there,” Braaten said, referring to the calf’s mother. Braaten returned for two days after the sighting, but the calf did not reappear.

According to Lakota legend, nineteen generations—roughly two thousand years ago—ago a severe famine struck the land, prompting the chief to send two scouts out to hunt for food. As they searched for game they encountered a woman with dark eyes who was dressed in white buckskin, who had descended from a white cloud; although the first scout failed a test due to selfish intentions, the woman saw the second scout, who saw her as a sacred woman, as having a purer heart.

The woman, possessing spiritual powers, taught the scout how to perform the Seven Sacred Rites that would protect Mother Earth and restore prosperity to the land. After giving the scout a sacred ceremonial pipe and bundle—the pipe and bundle now entrusted to Chief Looking Horse—the woman turned into a white buffalo calf and disappeared. The scout did as he was instructed, with the ceremonies he taught to his people life returned to the land; these practices are continued by the Lakota to this day.

“And some day when the times are hard again,” the Woman told the scout, “I shall return and stand upon the earth as a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves,” according to Looking Horse.

Indeed, the June 4 appearance of the white calf follows a severe winter that forced thousands of buffalo to the park’s lower elevations, forcing conservationists to cull or relocate more than 1,500 of the creatures; the relocated bison were transferred to other tribes looking to bolster the numbers of local herds, animals integral to the cultures of many indigenous peoples across North America; it is aspirational to see the birth of this sacred calf as a sign of better times to come.

A naming ceremony has been held for the white calf; although Looking Horse didn’t disclose the baby buffalo’s name, it will be revealed during a ceremony to be held on June 26 celebrating the calf’s birth.