Indigenous tribes welcome rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone ceremony
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — Sage burned on the banks of Hebgen Lake as Indigenous tribal leaders marched in procession Wednesday morning to honor the birth of a white buffalo calf.
They sang songs and danced in a sacred ceremony under a cloudy sky as hundreds of onlookers watched in silence.
The arrival of the rare white calf this month in Yellowstone National Park signaled, under tribal lore, both a blessing and a warning to the world.
“We need to bring healing to this whole area, we need to bring healing to Earthmother,” said Lee Juan Tyler, chairman of the Fort Hall Business Council of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
The young buffalo was presumably in the wilderness with its mother during the ceremony.
“Hopefully we get to see her some time and get another blessing.” Tyler added.
Before the tribal event got underway, photographer Jordan Creech said that in all the years he has been leading tours through Yellowstone, he never imagined stumbling upon the birth of a sacred animal.
But on June 4, as he was driving a tour group through the park, observing badgers, bears and other wildlife, he came upon a scene like no other.
An American buffalo, or bison, was running along the road with her amniotic sac protruding from her belly. Creech knew she was about to give birth and tried to follow her. But the mother-to-be swam across a river and disappeared over a hill.
Some time later, Creech spotted the bison again, this time with her new calf. But unlike most newborns that have reddish-orange coloring, this calf was white.
“I know how important it is to the Native people,” he said. “I’m still processing. It feels unreal.”
Creech was among the first people to snap photos of the white calf, which was honored in a Lakota ceremony on the sovereign land of the Shoshone-Bannock near Yellowstone National Park.
The birth of a white calf is said to fulfill a nearly 2,000-year-old prophecy of better days on the horizon, according to Lakota legend.
But tribal leaders cautioned that the white calf also serves as a reminder to protect Earth as climate change threatens animals and humans.
According to the Lakota people, the white calf marks the return of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. She first appeared when food was scarce and the buffalo were disappearing. She taught tribes how to pray and vowed to return one day to restore harmony and balance.
“It is hope for a better future and a warning for how we’re treating the world,” Creech said.
Alicia Victoria Lozano is a California-based reporter for NBC News focusing on climate change, wildfires and the changing politics of drug laws.
Steve Patterson
Steve Patterson is a correspondent in Los Angeles for NBC News.