Buffalo and Deer - Sustainers of Life

Re-emergence of the Buffalo
White Buffalo and the Unity Ride

Miracle, the white buffalo calf born August 20, 1994, on a small farm in Wisconsin. Five other white buffalo calves have been born since then. Photograph courtesy of Dave and Val Heider

In August 1994, Miracle, a white buffalo calf, was born, as many people believe, in fulfilment of a Lakota prophecy. Nineteen generations ago, White Buffalo Calf Woman brought the sacred pipe with its moral code and ceremonial teachings to the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations. She promised to return again at a time of need. Between 1994 and 1997 five other white buffalo calves were born.

... The white calf comes during times of famine, turmoil and sickness. Its birth is highly significant to many tribes of the Great Plains because its hide is the highest offering that can be given to Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery or Spirit. In the old days, the calf was killed and its hide was taken to the highest hill and offered to the Great Spirit. It was a gift to the people, but it was returned to the Great Spirit as an offering. The birth of a white buffalo usually means a turn for the good for our people.

Rick Two Dog, interviewed by Tim Giago for Indian Country Today, September 28, 1994.

Arvol Looking Horse, nineteenth-generation keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, has called upon all peoples to begin the journey to mending the sacred hoop of life and initiate global healing. Each spring since 1993, the year before Miracle was born, people from many First Nations and international communities have joined together in a spiritual journey on horseback or on foot to pray for unity and world peace.

The birth of (Miracle) the White Buffalo Calf lets us know that we are at a cross-roads — either return to balance or face global disaster. It is our duty to return back to the sacred places and pray for world peace.

"The Okanagan Nation Unity Rider" pamphlet, 1996.

Constable Dennis Fraser, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Arvol Looking Horse on Nehiyaw Unity Ride from The Pas, Manitoba, to the Sunchild Reserve, Alberta, August 1997. Photograph by Morgan Baillargeon, CMC K97-1433

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Introduction | Hunting Methods | Products of Life | Buffalo and Deer Imagery | Buffalo Ritual | Decimation of the Buffalo and Deer | Re-emergence of the Buffalo | Transition to Cattle ranching

Introduction | Buffalo and Deer | Dog and Coyote | Honouring the Horse

SACRED BEINGS | RANCHING | ENTERTAINMENT | RODEO | ARTS AND INDUSTRIES