A rare white buffalo has been born in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, an event that holds cultural importance for the Lakota people and is seen as a call to action for environmental protection.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate tribes, emphasized the dual significance. “The birth of this calf is both a blessing and a warning. We must do more to protect the earth and its animals,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

The appearance of the sacred white buffalo calf comes after a harsh winter in 2023, which forced thousands of Yellowstone buffalo to move to lower elevations. Unfortunately, more than 1,500 of these bison were killed, sent to slaughter or relocated to tribes reclaiming stewardship over the animal, which has been integral to their heritage for millennia.

The calf was first observed by Erin Braaten of Kalispell, Montana, who photographed the newborn while visiting Lamar Valley in the northeastern part of the park.

Lakota legend recounts that approximately 2,000 years ago, during a time of great hardship, the appearance of a white buffalo calf signaled hope and renewal. According to the legend, White Buffalo Calf Woman presented a sacred pipe and bundle to the tribe, teaching it how to pray and promising the return of buffalo for sustenance. She turned into a white buffalo calf upon her departure, with a prophecy that she would return during challenging times.

Chief Looking Horse reiterated this prophecy, quoting the legend, “And some day when the times are hard again, I shall return and stand upon the earth as a white buffalo calf, black nose, black eyes, black hooves.”

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