Rare White Bison Named ‘Wakan Gli’ by Lakota: Return to the Sacred

The sweet smell of burning sage and cedar wafted throughout the outdoor gathering near West Yellowstone, at the Buffalo Field campaign headquarters overlooking Hebgen Lake.

A few hundred people gathered in the grass for the naming ceremony of a weeks-old white bison calf born nearby in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley.

“This was the homeland of my great-great-great-grandfather, Chief Tendoy,” said Lee Juan Tyler, Shoshone-Bannock president.

A flatbed trailer served as a platform for representatives from tribes in South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming and elsewhere to speak. Many spoke of their ancestral ties to the Yellowstone region, including Darnell Sam of the Confederated Tribes of Colville. He said, “I’m from north-central Washington. We have a connection to the land here. Our tribes came here to hunt buffalo. We know and understand that our ancestors come here.”

Lakota spiritual leader Chief Avrol Looking Horse introduced the buffalo’s name. A blue tarp hanging behind the stage was removed, revealing the painted image of the white buffalo and its new name.

“Wakan Gli, Sacred Return.”

The calf was first spotted shortly after its birth on June 4. Wildlife photographers took photos of the calf, which began circulating online. The photographs helped confirm the one-in-a-million event. Yellowstone National Park says the birth may reflect a natural genetic inheritance that has been preserved in this wild herd.

Looking Horse is the 19th generation keeper of the sacred pipe, which was given to the Lakota people during a time of famine, along with seven spiritual laws, by a woman who transformed herself into a white buffalo. He said that before she disappeared, the woman gave a warning: “She told the people that the next time I come back to earth as a white buffalo with a black nose, black eyes, black hooves, Mother Earth will be sick and have a fever and that’s happening right now,” Looking Horse said.

Other tribes also shared the calf’s significance, such as Vincent White Crane, a Sundance priest of the Northern Cheyenne in southeastern Montana, who said, “We have so much to do as allies when we return, and we have come to honor the Sioux prophecy of the birth of this little calf.”

This is the first known white bison born in a wild herd; few others have been born in captivity. The black eyes and hooves indicate that the bison is leucistic rather than albino.

The fulfillment of the Lakota prophecy is significant for western tribes working to restore bison populations to their original lands, including Chairman Ryman LeBeau.
“Back home in Cheyenne River, we have one of the largest bison herds in Indian Country. And the purpose of that bison herd is to give meat back to the people. Our own people… Feed people in a healthy way. Teach people how to cook and eat,” LeBeau said.

Looking Horse said he was both very happy and very sad to hear the news of the new calf. To him, this calf is a clear warning from Mother Earth.

“The White Buffalo Woman prophecy says we are at a crossroads. It is up to each and every one of you to make this happen. For the future of our children, we must come together and bring back that good energy,” Looking Horse said.

Buffalo Field Campaign Council Vice President Dallas Gudgell helped organize the event in recent weeks and echoed Looking Horse’s sentiments.

“This is the fulfillment of a prophecy that is over 1,000 years old. This is not a reminder, this is real. This is it. We need to reconnect with each other, first with Mother Earth, and our spiritual connection with all of our relationships. Whether they have two legs or four legs, wings, fins or roots. That’s where we need to come back to. So that’s what this is about. This is the turning point that will wake us up,” Gudgell said.