White Buffalo Born in Kentucky

[Blackbear]

Oh hey.. thanks for that info! We'd have never known if you had'nt gone to see it! So how was the visit?

[wannabendn]

I visited the White Buffalo calf on Saturday (June 11), and confirmed with the owner that the original Newspaper article had a typo. The Grandfather of the White Buffalo calf was struck by lightning on September 11th, but in 2003, not 2001.

Thanks Historian. I got to thinking about this later and I was like dang how long does a Buffalo carry?

[Historian]

The white buffalo calf is so cute, and it is a female by the way. The calf and the mother are in a small seperate paddock by themselves, which is behind a double fence to keep visitors away from climbing on the fence or touching the buffalo. The mother and calf will be rotated back and forth between two paddocks to give the grass time to re-grow. When I first got there, the mother and calf were up walking around. The mother then came to our side of the fence to investigate our presence, and the calf then followed and started to feed while we stood there. I was then able to go into the adjoining paddock with the owner and the livestock manager, to hang prayer flags on the branch of a tree within the adjoining paddock. Some prayer flags had already been placed in another tree earlier in the week. I layed out one of my star quilts on the grass in the adjoining paddock, and the owner, the livestock manager and myself sat down and had a prayer ceremony, with the mother & calf being about 30 feet away, with only one fence between us. The mother and calf were laying down and very calm while we prayed, although the mother never took her eyes off us. As soon as we finished, the mother rolled on her back a couple times and then stood up, then we stood up and calmly walked out. There is going to be a large prayer ceremony with holy men from many nations at the ranch on July 3rd, and at that time they will give the calf a name.

[Historian]

Should the White Buffalo Calf (Ptehi'ncalasan) have a name?

If you think it should, what do you think the name should be?

[Sierrahawk]

What does it mean?

I am from the Peace River region and was joyous that a White Buffalo Calf was born here. To us first nations thought it a sign. The people here are lost, beyond lost for 3 generations. Their children are growing up in drunken/drug addicted homes. It is wreaking their lives. That maybe the crippled calf would fight and be a mentor for the lost people. Then we hear a calf was born here and some of the lost started to feel pride. In the press release it did not say that the calf was born premature and crippled and could not walk hardly. Now the crippled calf just could not fight and the poor baby died. We ask what does that mean? It is wonderful that he was reborn in Kentucky but...what about the few that hoped in the Peace Country?

[Historian]

I'm not sure that I am the type of person that could answer such a question. It sounds like this would be the type of question to ask a holy person during a sweat.

[Historian]

White Buffalo named "Medicine Heart"

Well, my wife and I got back very late last night from the prayer/naming ceremony for the White Buffalo Calf at the Buffalo Crossing Ranch in Shelbyville, Kentucky. It was attended by about 200 people from many different tribes and backgrounds.

In a cleared field in back of the paddock where the White Buffalo Calf and it's mother are kept, an altar was set up no more than 30 feet away from the buffalo, with nothing but a 8 foot metal fence between us. The ceremony started with a Lakota Sundance Leader telling all the people about why the White Buffalo Calf is important to Lakota people and what it's appearance represents for all the nations of the world.

A drum group of 7 singers led the Pipe Filling Songs, and Prayer Songs, and we had a Prayer Pipe Ceremony being led by a Lakota Sundance leader, with two Pipes being passed around a circle of the 30 or so of us in attendance that have completed Sundance vows. When the pipes were finished, the Sundance leader announced that the name for the mother of the White Buffalo Calf (formerly referred to as cow number "9") would now be known as Ina' Na'gi or "Spirit Mother." Then he announced that the White Buffalo Calf would now be known as Cante' Peju'ta or "Medicine Heart."

After the naming, Wo'pila songs were sung, people were then allowed to tie prayer flags, prayer ties, etc. on the fence of the paddock, and we all went to a sunshade pavillion for a feast and socializing.

[Historian]

Does anyone know of any other White Buffalo that have been born recently, besides the one in Kentucky and British Columbia?

[~pathwalker~]

This is a nice thread, thanx for sharing your visits with us.

[Historian]

This is a nice thread, thanx for sharing your visits with us.

Thanks...for your kind words.

[Historian]

For more information on the Buffalo Crossing Ranch that owns the White Buffalo Calf, now called "Medicine Heart", including some photos taken within a week of it's birth (as you can still see the dried umbilical cord), you can go to this website:

http://www.buffalocrossing.com/index.php3?pageid=20