[Editor’s Note: The following is a reprint of an article first published in the November 15, 2005 edition of The Activist. We are republishing in honor of Native American History Month].To Native Americans, the Bison or American Buffalo was a symbol of sacred life and abundance. This importance and symbolism was created from legend.
Once an extremely beautiful woman dressed in white buffalo fur or a white buckskin outfit appeared to two Indian warriors somewhere in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This woman presented the Lakota people with the sacred pipe, which showed how all things were connected. She taught the Lakota people the mysteries of the earth. She taught them how to pray and follow the proper path while on earth. As the woman left the tribe, she rolled upon the earth and became a white calf, and she disappeared over the horizon. Almost at the same time as her leaving, great herds of buffalo could be seen surrounding the Indian camps.
The American Buffalo or Bison is a symbol of abundance and manifestation. The lesson learned by the Lakota is that one does not have to struggle to survive. This is especially true if the right action was joined by the right prayer. By learning to unite the mundane with the divine appropriately, all that would be needed would be provided.
The Native Americans see the birth of a white buffalo calf as the most significant of prophetic signs, equivalent to the weeping statues, bleeding icons, and crosses of light that are becoming prevalent within the Christian churches today. Where the Christian faithful who visit these signs see them as a renewal of God’s ongoing relationship with humanity, so do the Native Americans see the white buffalo calf as the sign to begin life’s sacred hoop.
The birth of a white calf is often seen as a starting point for the healing process to begin. Floyd Hand Looks For Buffalo, an Oglala Medicine Man, sees these births as omens, because they happen in the most unexpected places and often among the poorest people in the nation.
Omens are good, especially if people pay attention to them. An example would be something like taking the journey to see Jesus lying in the manger. Ultimately, the birth of the sacred white buffalo provides those within the Native American community with a sense of hope and an indication that good times are to come.