A long time ago in the midst of a great famine, two Lakota scouts searching for game had come across a beautiful woman. One of the scouts, who was foolish, had lustful thoughts of the woman, while the other scout knew that she was sacred. The woman invited the foolish scout to approach her, and they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke had cleared, the foolish scout had been reduced to bones. The woman then spoke to the respectful scout saying, "You shall go home and tell your people that I am coming and that a big tipi shall be built for me in the center of the nation."
The scout returned to his village and they built a tipi for her. She approached the site, singing, "With a visible breath, I am walking, A voice I am sending as I walk. In a sacred manner, I am walking. With visible tracks, I am walking. In a sacred manner, I walk."
Soon afterwards, the White Buffalo Woman established the ritual and social life of the Lakota people with the gift of the sacred pipe and seven sacred ceremonies, which include the pipe ceremony, sweat lodge, vision quest and sundance. She told people to "...always remember that the two-leggeds and all other peoples who stand upon this Earth are sacred and should be treated as such... I am leaving now, but I shall look back upon you in every age, and at the end I shall return." When she left, she turned into a buffalo that changed into four different colors -- red, black, yellow and white, which represent the races of humanity. White Buffalo Woman said that one day she would return to "mend the hoop" and establish brotherhood between all races. According to the Lakota keeper of the sacred pipe, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, "It was told the next time there is chaos and disparity, she would return again."
Part of the White Buffalo Woman's prophecy talks about the seven fires or ages. During the seventh fire, a new world would be formed uniting all races-- red, white, yellow and black. In this world, we would all be able to communicate telepathically -- and computers and telephones would become obsolete. People would also be able to travel astrally to other planets -- something shamans and mystics have been doing for centuries.
However, at the beginning of the seventh fire, the white race would be given a choice -- either the way of technology or that of Nature. According to Floyd Hand and other prophets, the wrong choice could spell destruction for us all. But if current trends toward spirituality continue, the right choice will be made, and a new age of harmony will begin. The White Buffalo Woman (Elder Sister) is the Spirit of the North as represented by the four directions, and her reappearance means that prayers for peace are being answered.
In the 1890's, Lakota leader Crazy Horse predicted the return of the White Buffalo Woman. Floyd Hand, also had a vision of the White Buffalo in 1968.
Floyd Hand
(Looks for Buffalo) is a full-blooded Oglala Sioux spiritual leader
and the White Buffalo Calf Avatar. He is also the grandson of Bigfoot
(Poor Elk). At the age of 8, Floyd Hand was initiated by his
grandparents to carry on their leadership. In 1979, Chief Fools Crow
gave a sacred pipe bag to him. He has been serving the Great Spirit
for over 49 years, healing people using spirit medicine. This has
prepared him for the miraculous event that was to occur in 1994.
The first White Buffalo Calf, Miracle, was born in Janesville, Wisconsin on August 20, 1994 between 7 and 8 pm. Her birth coincided with the signing of the Peace and Unity agreement hosted by the Abernaki and Alliance Council, which was ceremoniously conducted in Evansville, Vermont at the same time. She is considered to be a gift to all indigenous and spiritual people worldwide, uniting all faiths closer to the ideals of faith, harmony and universal love.
According to the legend, the new white buffalo would go through the same color changes as the original one. Miracle's coat has changed from black, to red, then yellow. Her current color is more blonde, with streaks of silver appearing in her coat. It is expected that her coat will again change to white when humankind comes together in prayer and harmony.
Joseph Chasing Horse among others, believes that Miracle is the calf of the prophecy. Chasing Horse adds that a count of the winters in which the White Buffalo Calf Woman story has been told, confirmed that Miracle is the one. The strange death of Miracle's father is also part of the prophecy, and the Heiders were stunned when Chief Looking Horse spoke of the events before they happened. According to the American Bison Association, the chances of a white buffalo birth is anywhere from one in a million to one in 40 million.
Chief Arvol
Looking Horse, the nineteenth holder of the pipe given to the Lakota
by the White Buffalo Woman, participated in a pipe ceremony with
Floyd Hand weeks after Miracle's birth. According to an Associated
Press article, Chief Looking Horse said, "The buffalo's return
signifies that a healing would begin, and dreams and visions would
return." He considered Miracle, "An omen that's bringing a new change
to a new world. The 21st century that's coming 'round is going to
unify all of us. We are here to encourage people to pray for peace.
We're gonna heal together now."
Floyd Hand stated that "while the white buffalo is part of Native American religion, it is significant in the 'holistic spirituality movement' taking place around the world."
Today, Miracle is alive and well and has recently given birth to a female calf, Millennium, which is mostly reddish in color.
According to some, seven white buffaloes are to be born -- one for each of the sacred ceremonies. Six have been confirmed -- Miracle; Rainbow (died after 14 days) in South Dakota; Medicine Wheel in South Dakota; White Cloud in North Dakota; an un-named from the same herd as White Cloud (died after 10 days); and Spirit Walker in North Dakota. A couple of the buffaloes are albinos, but so far, only Miracle has undergone the sacred color changes. Some people believe that Spirit Walker was the seventh white buffalo, however, she was not to remain on the Earth plane for long.
Spirit Walker was born on July 29, 1998. Her owner, Gary Childs, was quite shocked at the new arrival. According to Childs, "Apparently the other buffaloes on the ranch knew she was different, and kept licking and sniffing at her."
Even though she only lived for 18 days, she affected many people, especially a woman who had contacted Gary Childs soon after hearing about the new calf. She told Gary an amazing story -- her late husband, David Walker, an avid collector of buffalo memorabilia, had been hospitalized for a heart condition. His heart had been beating erratically and then someone has brought over a small white buffalo statue and his heart had become steady again, and he died peacefully hours later. His moment of death had coincided with Spirit Walker's birth, and the woman had felt there was a connection between her husband and the calf. She donated a large sum of money to help Spirit Walker. Unfortunately, Spirit Walker had a deficient immune system and died a short time later from pneumonia. The woman had subsequently donated a plaque that would be placed on a 1 ton rock that was the spot where Spirit Walker is buried. It reads, "This life was short, the legend lives on."
Despite the setback, however, two Native Americans from two different tribes approached Gary Childs separately and told him to expect another white calf birth in either 2 or 5 years. According to both of them, it just means that the prophecies will be delayed by a couple of years.
Since 1996, World Peace and Prayer Ceremonies have been organized by Chief Arvol Looking Horse. Chief Looking Horse was born on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota in 1954. He has been the Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe since the age of 12, the youngest in Lakota history. In 1986, Looking Horse was one of the riders participating in the Bigfoot Riders journey, held in the winter to honor the memory of Chief Bigfoot and his band. There they initiated the prophecy of "Mending the Sacred Hoop of the Nation" -- some say this Hoop was broken at the battle of Wounded Knee, where troops massacred 300 women and children in 1890. Chief Looking Horse has also traveled to South Africa to meet with Desmond Tutu for the purpose of Global Healing, and in 1995 met with the Dali Lama to establish a relationship between Tibet and the Lakota Nation. He has also traveled to Iraq to pray for peace, and has recently met with a representative of the United Nations concerning indigenous religious freedom.
The first World Peace and Prayer Day was held on June 21, 1996 at Gray Horn Butte (He Hota Paha), also known as "Devil's Tower". Chief Looking Horse had asked world leaders and peoples from all nations to pray at the same time in their own sacred centers. Three thousand people participated in this sacred event, and open pipe ceremonies were held for everyone who wanted to participate.
The second Peace and Prayer Day took place a year later in Canada, and was hosted by Chief Sundown of the Joseph Bighead Reservation. Last year's ceremony took place in Pipestone, Minnesota, the place where stone is quarried to make sacred pipes. This year's ceremony will be held in Costa Rica, completing the circle. The event has become international, and it is hoped that with all our prayers, peace will finally manifest itself on Earth. For more information on the Costa Rica Ceremony, and other events around the world, check out http://www.worldpeaceday1999.com/. (If there isn't an event near you, think about organizing one! Even a small circle of people is powerful!)
Chief Looking Horse has said that, "The birth of the White Buffalo Calf lets us know we're at a crossroads -- either return to balance or face global disaster. It is our duty to return back to sacred places and pray for world peace. If we do not do this, our children will suffer. The prophecies have directed that we pray for four years at sacred sites in the four directions on June 21st of each year." It is hoped that this year, 1999, will usher in a new age of peace and harmony -- truly beginning the Age of Aquarius.
In closing, I would like share a vision of this new age to come. According to Vera Louise Drysdale's account of the White Buffalo Woman (The Gift of the Sacred Pipe), the Creator's only law was to "be in good relationship with all beings and all things." Just think of how things would be different! In a world that has forgotten the Feminine Principle, White Buffalo Calf Woman calls to us to "nurture and care for all things, for the whole of our universal family." It is a vision worth holding on to, and one that we should all pray for.
