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Rare Yellowstone event that fulfills ancient prophecy is a 'blessing and warning,' says Native American leader
A once-in-a-generation sighting of a white buffalo being born has occurred in Yellowstone National Park - an event viewed as a religious prophecy.
The Native American tribes see the arrival of the rare calf as a sign that major change is incoming - but it is considered both a 'blessing and warning' to the world.
Montana photographer Erin Braaten took photos of the white buffalo in the Lamar Valley on June 4 while visiting the park with her children.
Records show it the first white bison to be born from the last wild herd in the US, with other births in recent decades occurring in captivity.
The legend says that a woman appears to the tribe at a time of peril, promising to restore harmony to a troubled world.
'The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,' said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle.
The birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that portends better times, according to members of the American Indian tribe who cautioned that it's also a signal that more must be done to protect the earth and its animals
Traffic ended up stopping while bison crossed the road, so Braaten stuck her camera out the window to take a closer look with her telephoto lens
The birth of the sacred calf comes as after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations
He believes the arrival is also a sign that people need to take better care of the planet.
The birth of the sacred calf comes as after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations.
More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim stewardship over an animal their ancestors lived alongside for millennia.
Erin Braaten of Kalispell took several photos of the calf shortly after it was born on June 4 in the Lamar Valley in the northeastern corner of the park.
Her family was visiting the park when she spotted 'something really white' among a herd of bison across the Lamar River.
Traffic ended up stopping while bison crossed the road, so Braaten stuck her camera out the window to take a closer look with her telephoto lens.
'I look and it's this white bison calf. And I was just totally, totally floored,' she said.
After the bison cleared the roadway, the Braatens turned their vehicle around and found a spot to park. They watched the calf and its mother for 30 to 45 minutes.
'And then she kind of led it through the willows there,' Braaten said. Although Braaten came back each of the next two days, she didn't see the white calf again.
For many Native tribes of the Great Plains, including the Lakota people, the birth of a white buffalo calf with a black nose, eyes and hooves is akin to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The 2,000-year-old Lakota legend says that when nothing was good, food was running out and bison were disappearing a White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared, presented a bowl pipe and a bundle to a tribal member, taught them how to pray and said that the pipe could be used to bring buffalo to the area for food.
As she left, she turned into a white buffalo calf.
'And some day when the times are hard again,' Looking Horse said in relating the legend, 'I shall return and stand upon the earth as a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves.'
A similar white buffalo calf was born in Wisconsin in 1994 and was named Miracle, he said.
Troy Heinert, the executive director of the South Dakota-based InterTribal Buffalo Council, said the calf in Braaten's photos looks like a true white buffalo because it has a black nose, black hooves and dark eyes.
'The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,' said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota , and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle
A naming ceremony has been held for the Yellowstone calf, Looking Horse said, though he declined to reveal the name. A ceremony celebrating the calf's birth is set for June 26 at the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters in West Yellowstone
In Yellowstone and the surrounding area, the killing or removal of large numbers of bison happens almost every winter, under an agreement between federal and Montana agencies that has limited the size of the park's herds to about 5,000 animals
'From the pictures I've seen, that calf seems to have those traits,' said Heinert, who is Lakota. An albino buffalo would have pink eyes.
A naming ceremony has been held for the Yellowstone calf, Looking Horse said, though he declined to reveal the name. A ceremony celebrating the calf's birth is set for June 26 at the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters in West Yellowstone.
Other tribes also revere white buffalo.
'Many tribes have their own story of why the white buffalo is so important,' Heinert said. 'All stories go back to them being very sacred.'
Heinert and several members of the Buffalo Field Campaign say they've never heard of a white buffalo being born in Yellowstone, which has wild herds. Park officials had not seen the buffalo yet and could not confirm its birth in the park, and they have no record of a white buffalo being born in the park previously.
Jim Matheson, executive director of the National Bison Association, could not quantify how rare the calf is.
'To my knowledge, no one's ever tracked the occurrence of white buffalo being born throughout history. So I'm not sure how we can make a determination how often it occurs.'
Besides herds of the animals on public lands or overseen by conservation groups, about 80 tribes across the U.S. have more than 20,000 bison, a figure that's been growing in recent years.
More than 1,500 were killed, sent to slaughter or transferred to tribes seeking to reclaim stewardship over an animal their ancestors lived alongside for millennia
In Yellowstone and the surrounding area, the killing or removal of large numbers of bison happens almost every winter, under an agreement between federal and Montana agencies that has limited the size of the park's herds to about 5,000 animals.
Yellowstone officials last week proposed a slightly larger population of up to 6,000 bison, with a final decision expected next month.
But ranchers in Montana have long opposed increasing the Yellowstone herds or transferring the animals to tribes. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has said he would not support any management plan with a population target greater than 3,000 Yellowstone bison.
Heinert sees the calf's birth as a reminder 'that we need to live in a good way and treat others with respect.'
'I hope that calf is safe and gonna live its best life in Yellowstone National Park, exactly where it was designed to be,' Heinert said.