In a gathering near a picturesque lake outside Yellowstone National Park, hundreds of people cheered Wednesday as a Native American leader spoke the name revealed on a painted hide for a rare white buffalo that was born in the park earlier this month: Wakan Gli, which means “Return Sacred” in Lakota. The moment marked the highlight of a Native American religious ceremony to commemorate the calf’s birth that also featured dancing, drumming, singing and the retelling of how a mysterious woman brought a message of reassurance during hard times.
Earlier this month, the white buffalo calf was born in Yellowstone National Park’s vast and lush Lamar Valley, where huge, lumbering bison graze by the hundreds in scenes reminiscent of the old American West. To the several tribes who revere American bison — they call them “buffalo” — the calf’s appearance was both the fulfilment of sacred prophesy and a message to take better care of the Earth.
“It’s up to each and every one of you to make it happen for the future of our children. We must come together and bring that good energy back,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse at the ceremonies a few miles west of Yellowstone, in far southern Montana. Looking Horse is 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. He describes the white buffalo calf’s appearance as both a blessing and a warning about the natural environment.
About 500 people — including representatives of the Colville Tribes in Washington, Lakota and Sioux in the Dakotas, Northern Arapaho in Wyoming, and Shoshone-Bannock in Idaho — attended the ceremonies at the headquarters of Buffalo Field Campaign between Hebgen Lake and the southern reach of the Madison Range. The conservation group works with tribes to protect and honor wild buffalo.
Each passing week without a sighting adds to suspicions the calf has fallen victim to predators, river currents, illness, or any number of hazards for young buffalo. Regardless, it was an auspicious sign with deep roots in Lakota legend and spiritual belief. This calf came after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo 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.
Jordan Creech, who guides in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, was one of a few people who captured images of the white buffalo calf. Creech was guiding a photography tour when he spotted a cow buffalo about to give birth near the Lamar River. The buffalo disappeared over a hill, and the group continued to a place where grizzly bears had been spotted. They returned later and saw the cow with its calf, Creech said. It was clear the calf had just been born, he said, calling it amazing timing.
Yellowstone park officials have no record of a white bison being born in the park previously. Park officials have been unable to confirm this month’s birth. Erin Braaten, who also captured images of the white calf, looked for it in the days after its birth but couldn’t find it. “The thing is, we all know that it was born and it’s like a miracle to us,” Looking Horse said.
