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Tribes Honor Birth of Rare White Buffalo in Yellowstone, Reveal Its Name: Wakan Gli

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JUNE 27, 2024:

Extended version:

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. (AP) – At a gathering near a scenic lake outside Yellowstone National Park, hundreds of people cheered Wednesday (June 26, 2024) as a Native American leader spoke the name revealed on a hide painted with a rare white buffalo born in the park earlier this month: Wakan Gli, which means “Sacred Return” in Lakota.

The moment marked the culmination of a Native American religious ceremony commemorating the birth of the calf, which also included dancing, drumming, singing and the story of how a mysterious woman brought a message of comfort in difficult times .

Earlier this month, the little white buffalo was born in Yellowstone National Park’s vast, lush Lamar Valley, where enormous bison graze by the hundreds in scenes reminiscent of the old American West.

For the many tribes who revere the American bison – which they call “buffalo” – the calf’s appearance was both the fulfillment of a sacred prophecy and a message to better care for the Earth.

“It’s up to each of you to make this happen for the future of our children. We need to come together and bring back that good energy,” Chief Arvol Looking Horse said during the ceremonies a few miles west of Yellowstone in far southern Montana.

Looking Horse is the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Oyate in South Dakota and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle. He describes the appearance of the little white buffalo as a blessing and a warning about the natural environment.

About 500 people — including representatives from the Colville tribes in Washington, the Lakota and Sioux tribes in the Dakotas, the Northern Arapaho in Wyoming and the Shoshone-Bannock in Idaho — attended the ceremonies at the campaign’s Buffalo Field headquarters between Hebgen Lake and the southern part of the state’s Madison Range. The conservation group works with the tribes to protect and honor wild buffalo.

At most, only a handful of people were able to observe the calf shortly after its birth on June 4. Even fewer have received photos proving its existence. The calf has not been seen since.

Each week that went by without observation added to the suspicion that the calf had fallen victim to predators, river currents, disease, or any number of dangers to young buffalo. Either way, it was an auspicious sign deeply rooted in Lakota legend and spiritual belief.

About 2,000 years ago – when nothing was going well, food was running out and bison were disappearing – a female white buffalo calf appeared and presented a pipe and a bundle to a member of the tribe and said the pipe could be used to bring buffalo into the area for food.

As she left, she transformed into a little white buffalo. She promised to return one day, when times are hard again, in the form of a white buffalo with a black nose, black eyes and black hooves.

“It’s a very important moment in our history where this little white buffalo with a black nose, black eyes and black hooves is born,” Looking Horse said.

White calves are unusual but not unheard of on buffalo ranches, the result of crossbreeding between buffalo and cattle. White bison in the wild are another level of rarity, with none known to occur in Yellowstone – the continent’s largest wildlife preserve – in recent memory, if ever.

This calf arrived after a harsh winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo to lower elevations. More than 1,500 people have been killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim management of an animal their ancestors lived with for millennia.

Jordan Creech, a guide in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, is one of the few people to have captured images of white bison.

Creech was guiding a photography tour when he spotted a buffalo cow about to give birth near the Lamar River. The buffalo disappeared over a hill and the group continued to an area where grizzly bears had been seen, Creech said.

They came back later and saw the cow with her calf, Creech said. It was clear the little one had just been born, he said, calling the moment incredible.

“And I pointed out to my guests that it was oddly white, but I didn’t announce that it was a white bison, because, you know, why should I just assume that I just witnessed to the very first birth of a white bison in recorded history in Yellowstone?

Yellowstone park officials have no record of a white bison being born in the park before. Park officials were unable to confirm the birth this month.

Erin Braaten, who also captured images of the white calf, searched for it in the days after its birth but was unable to find it.

“The fact is we all know he was born and it’s like a miracle to us,” Looking Horse said.

JUNE 26, 2024:

HELEN, Mont. (AP) — Ceremonies and celebrations are planned near the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park to mark the recent birth of a white buffalo in the park, a spiritually significant event for many Native American tribes. Witnesses saw the white calf shortly after its birth on June 4 in the Lamar Valley. For the Lakota people, this birth portends better times, but also signals that more must be done to protect the land and its animals. Wednesday’s ceremony will include the announcement of the calf’s name and members of several tribes explaining the spiritual and cultural significance of the calf’s birth according to their traditions.

JUNE 12, 2024:

HELEN, Mont. (AP) — The reported birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that portends better times, according to members of the Native American tribe who warned that it is also a signal that more must be done to protect the earth and its animals.

“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 19th Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Wife’s Sacred Pipe and Bundle.

The birth of the sacred calf comes after a harsh winter in 2023 pushed thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations. More than 1,500 people have been killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim management of an animal their ancestors lived with for millennia.

Erin Braaten of Kalispell took several photos of the calf shortly after it was born June 4 in Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of the park.

Her family was visiting the park when they spotted “something really white” among a herd of bison across the Lamar River.

Traffic eventually stopped as the bison crossed the road, so Braaten took his camera out the window to take a closer look with his telephoto lens.

“I look and it’s this white buffalo calf. And I was totally, totally stunned,” she said.

Once the bison cleared the roadway, the Braatens turned around and found a place to park. They observed the calf and its mother for 30 to 45 minutes.

“And then she kind of guided him through the willows there,” Braaten said. Although Braaten returned each of the next two days, she did not see the white calf again.

For the Lakota, the birth of a white bison with a black nose, eyes and hooves is akin to the second coming of Jesus Christ, Looking Horse said.

Lakota legend has it that about 2,000 years ago – when nothing was going well, food was running out and the bison were disappearing – a white buffalo woman appeared, presented a pipe and a packet to a tribesman, taught them to pray and said the pipe could be used to bring buffalo to the area for food. As she left, she transformed into a little white buffalo.

“And one day, when times are hard again,” said Looking Horse in recounting the legend, “I will return and stand on the earth like a white buffalo calf, black-nosed, black-eyed, black-hoofed .”

A similar white buffalo calf was born in Wisconsin in 1994 and was named Miracle, he said.

Troy Heinert, executive director of the InterTribal Buffalo Council, based in South Dakota.said the calf in Braaten’s photos looks like a real white buffalo because it has a black nose, black hooves and dark eyes.

“From the pictures I’ve seen, this calf appears to have those characteristics,” said Heinert, who is Lakota. An albino buffalo would have pink eyes.

A naming ceremony was held for the Yellowstone calf, Looking Horse said, although he declined to reveal the name. A ceremony celebrating the calf’s birth is planned for June 26 at the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters in West Yellowstone.

Other tribes also worship the white buffalo.

“Many tribes have their own stories of why the white bison is so important,” Heinert said. “All the stories tell that this bison is a very sacred animal. »

Heinert and several members of the Buffalo Field Campaign say they have never heard of a white buffalo born in Yellowstone, which is home to 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, couldn’t quantify how rare this calf is.

“To my knowledge, no one has ever traced the birth of white buffalo throughout history. So I’m not sure how we can determine how often this happens.

In addition to herds of animals living on public lands or overseen by conservation groups, about 80 tribes across the United States own more than 20,000 bison, a number that has been increasing in recent years.

In and around Yellowstone Park, many bison are slaughtered or disposed of almost every winter, under an agreement between federal and Montana agencies that limits the size of the park’s herds to about 5,000 animals. Last week, Yellowstone officials proposed a slightly larger population of up to 6,000 bison, and a final decision is expected next month.

But Montana ranchers have long opposed expanding Yellowstone’s herds or transferring the animals to tribes. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said he would not support any management plan with a population goal greater than 3,000 Yellowstone bison.

Heinert views the birth of the calf as a reminder “that we must live rightly and treat others with respect.”

“I hope the calf is safe and living its best life in Yellowstone National Park, exactly where it was designed to be,” Heinert said.

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