A once-in-a-generation event has occurred in Yellowstone that fulfills an ancient Native American prophecy that is both a “blessing and a warning.”
The Lakota tribe has long believed that the birth of a white buffalo indicates a world in trouble; The last time one appeared was in 1994.
Legend has it that a woman appeared to the tribe in a time of danger and promised to return when times were tough again; She then transformed into a white buffalo before disappearing.
‘The birth of this calf is both a blessing and a warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th guardian of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman’s Pipe and Pack.
He believes the arrival is also a sign that people need to take better care of the planet.
The birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that heralds better times, according to members of the American Indian tribe who warned that it is also a sign that more must be done to protect the land and its animals.
Traffic ended up stopping as the bison crossed the street, so Braaten stuck his camera out the window to get a closer look with his telephoto lens.
The birth of the sacred calf comes after a harsh winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations.
The birth of the sacred calf comes after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations.
More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to regain stewardship of an animal their ancestors lived with for millennia.
Erin Braaten of Kalispell took several photographs of the calf shortly after its birth on June 4 in the Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of the park.
His family was visiting the park when he saw “something really white” among a herd of bison across the Lamar River.
Traffic ended up stopping as the bison crossed the street, so Braaten stuck his camera out the window to get a closer look with his telephoto lens.
‘I look and it’s this white bison calf. And I was totally, totally floored,’ she said.
After the bison cleared the road, the Braatens turned their vehicle around and found a place to park. They watched the calf and its mother for 30 to 45 minutes.
“And then she led him through the willows,” Braaten said. Although Braaten returned each of the next two days, he did not see the white calf again.
For the Lakota, the birth of a white buffalo calf with a black nose, eyes and hooves is similar to the second coming of Jesus Christ, Looking Horse said.
The 2,000-year-old Lakota legend says that when nothing was right, food was running out and the bison were disappearing, a White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared, presented a pipe and a pack to a member of the tribe, taught them how to pray and said: the pipeline could be used to bring buffaloes to the area to feed.
As he left, he turned into a white buffalo calf.
“And someday, when times get tough again,” Looking Horse said in recounting the legend, “I will come back and stand on the earth like a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves.”
A similar white buffalo calf was born in Wisconsin in 1994 and named Miracle, he said.
Troy Heinert, executive director of the South Dakota-based InterTribal Buffalo Council, said the calf in Braaten’s photos looks like a real white buffalo because it has a black nose, black hooves and dark eyes.
‘The birth of this calf is both a blessing and a warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th guardian of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman’s Pipe and Pack.
A ceremony was held to name the Yellowstone calf, Looking Horse said, although he declined to reveal the name. A ceremony to celebrate the birth of the calf is scheduled for June 26 at the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters in West Yellowstone.
In and around Yellowstone, the killing or removal of large numbers of bison occurs almost every winter, under an agreement between federal and Montana agencies that has limited the size of the park’s herds to about 5,000 animals.
“From the photographs I’ve seen, that calf appears to have those traits,” said Heinert, who is Lakota. An albino buffalo would have pink eyes.
A ceremony was held to name the Yellowstone calf, Looking Horse said, although he declined to reveal the name. A ceremony to celebrate the birth of the calf is scheduled for June 26 at the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters in West Yellowstone.
Other tribes also worship the white buffalo.
“Many tribes have their own story of why the white buffalo is so important,” Heinert said. “All the stories go back to being very sacred.”
Heinert and several members of the Buffalo Field Campaign say they have never heard of a white buffalo born in Yellowstone, which runs wild herds. Park officials had not yet seen the buffalo and could not confirm its birth in the park, and they have no record of a white buffalo being born in the park before.
Jim Matheson, executive director of the National Bison Association, could not quantify how rare the calf is.
«To my knowledge, no one has traced the birth of white buffaloes throughout history. “So I’m not sure how we can determine how often it happens.”
In addition to herds of animals on public lands or overseen by conservation groups, about 80 tribes across the United States keep more than 20,000 bison, a number that has been growing in recent years.
More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to regain stewardship of an animal their ancestors lived with for millennia.
In and around Yellowstone, the killing or removal of large numbers of bison occurs almost every winter, under an agreement between federal and Montana agencies that has limited the size of the park’s herds to about 5,000 animals.
Yellowstone officials last week proposed a slightly larger population of up to 6,000 bison, with a final decision expected next month.
But Montana ranchers have long opposed increasing Yellowstone’s herds or transferring the animals to tribes. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has said he would not support any management plan with a target population of more than 3,000 Yellowstone bison.
Heinert sees the birth of the calf as a reminder “that we should live well and treat others with respect.”
“I hope the calf is safe and lives its best life in Yellowstone National Park, exactly where it was designed,” Heinert said.