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Tribes honor birth of rare white buffalo in Yellowstone, announce its name – WPXI

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WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — A Native American tribal leader announced the name of a rare white buffalo calf born earlier this month Wednesday as hundreds of people gathered outside Yellowstone National Park.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse announced the calf’s name: Wakan Gli, meaning “sacred return” in Lakota, the Associated Press reported. The calf’s name was revealed on a painted hide, the culmination of a Native American religious ceremony.

The ceremony included dancing, drumming, singing and the telling of a legend that has persisted for more than 2,000 years, according to the new organization.

“It’s up to each and every one of you to make this happen for the future of our children. We have to come together and bring back that good energy,” Looking Horse said Wednesday.

He is the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate tribes and the 19th keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle, according to the AP.

Representatives from the Lakota and Sioux tribes of Dakota, the Colville tribes of Washington state, the Northern Arapaho of Wyoming and the Shoshone-Bannock of Idaho attended the ceremonies at the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters, the news agency reported.

( White buffalo calf spotted in Yellowstone appears to fulfill ancient Lakota prophecy )

Devin Old Man, a preservationist and advocate for the tribes, said the white calf comes at a time of great peril for people, especially for tribes that have become isolated from each other, NBC News reported.

“It’s hard to be a native these days,” he told the outlet. “We need to take a broader view.”

The calf’s birth in Yellowstone National Park would fulfill a prophecy that foreshadows better times when a white calf is sighted, according to Native American tribe members.

According to legend, about 2,000 years ago, a white buffalo calf woman appeared to the tribe during hard times and presented a pipe and a bundle to a tribesman.

She 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, legend has it.

“And one day, when times are hard again,” the woman said before leaving, “I will come back and stand on the earth like a white buffalo calf, with black nose, black eyes, black hooves. “

Bison were declared the nation’s first mammal in 2016 when then-President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act, NBC News reported.

“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.

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