The Heiders have gone about it in the right way. They are good people. They have tried to do the right things. They are good listeners.
Does it make any difference that its color has changed from white to black to red to blonde?
White Buffalo Woman came from the west. When she left, she went to the west. The first time she rolled over, she was black. The second time, she was red. The third time she rolled over, she was the color of buckskin. The fourth time, she was white. Through our prayers, we ask that Miracle will change back to white.
What do the changes in color symbolize?
Every medicine person or spiritual leader makes their own interpretations. Things that were written a hundred years ago may not be interpreted the same way today. It is a sign that the religion is alive and well.
If the colors were interpreted as sacred, or if they were interpreted just as being part of the story of White Buffalo Woman, that's all right. Today, if the elders think that the colors represent the four colors of mankind, then that's what they think. You can't question the elders.
As far as you are concerned, is there a difference between an albino calf, a white calf and a buffalo-Charolais cross?
Yes. The calf has to be pure. If it's mixed with cattle, it is not pure.
Have you heard about the white buffalo recently born on the Pine Ridge Reservation?
Yes. The elders have accepted it as pure buffalo. It is one of the four white buffalo that were prophesied to be born alive and well.
Right now there appear to be three white buffalo and three partially white buffalo. Are they all sacred in the same way?
The ones that are born partially white are sacred too. They are different and they are significant to the ceremonies. These are signs that the prophecy is alive and well.
The elders have said that there would be four white calves born and they would live. Miracle was the first one born in 1994. This summer, a calf was born at Pine Ridge. The elders have accepted this one. Another calf, an albino one, also was born this summer in North Dakota. It is sacred. One more will be born.
Readings from the last century all say that when white buffalo were encountered, they were sacrificed. Should that be done today?
No, they should not be sacrificed. They bring people together. The white buffaloes carry the message to the people.
When you look at Miracle or one of the other white buffalo, what do you see?
I see the history of my family and the Lakota people when I look at the calf. My family has kept the sacred pipe for nineteen generations. I feel very comfortable and honored to see the white buffalo being born and to see them being honored by others.
The white buffalo is a sign. Many nations have these signs, and all of these signs validate our prayers and point toward world peace and harmony. On August 27, 1997, there will be a day of peace and harmony in New Orleans. The spirit of White Buffalo Woman is part of that.
John Tarnesse is a Sun Dance Chief of the Eastern Shoshone tribe and a member of the Seed Eater Clan. He was born on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. For much of his early adult life, he went to school and hitchhiked around western North America. His wife, Virgene, comes from a line of medicine people, and she is also active in traditional Shoshone spirituality and ritual. Each of them is a reserved yet powerful personality. Talking with them together was an energizing experience.
Are you a member of any society for which the white buffalo has special meaning?
JOHN: I am not a member of any white buffalo society. I don't really think there was a white buffalo society among the Shoshone. But we have lost much of our culture. If there was one, we don't know about it now. When I was growing up, I saw many dances, particularly in winter and spring months. There were buffalo dances. The dancers were probably warriors.
Are you a member of any other societies?
VIRGENE: John is a Sun Dance Chief and a traditional dancer, as are those in his family line. [In the old days] they knew the buffalo dance, chokecherry dance, sun dance, war bonnet, tail feather, grass dance, wolf dances, owl dance, and other dances.
Do you remember when you first heard about the white buffalo?
JOHN: At Bull Lake on the Fort Washakie Reservation. When I was growing up, I heard the story that some of our people found some buffalo, among which was a white buffalo. They chased the buffalo toward a drop. They were running the buffalo toward the edge of the mountain. One buffalo didn't fall. He ran down the side of the mountain and down into the lake. It was a white buffalo bull. When I was growing up, you could hear the grunts and bellows of the bull in the winter.
Are there any ceremonies or dances associated with the white buffalo?
JOHN: At that particular ground there was a dance from midnight to midmorning called "blanket dance." Those dances had a lot of the meaning. Now, no one knows.
Do the Shoshone people have the legend of White Buffalo Woman?
JOHN: We probably had a similar legend, but many now believe the books and stories that have come from the Sioux tribes. The story of the White Buffalo Woman is a legend of spirituality, and it opens the teaching of the spiritual world. The white buffalo is a spirit that can change from a bird to a woman to a buffalo. It appeared to the Lakota as a woman but appeared to other tribes as other things. The same spirit appears to different people in different ways.
VIRGENE: The ceremony became the spiritual reality it is medicine. It is different from the physical side of life. The white buffalo calf in Wisconsin [Miracle] doesn't mean anything to us. Our ceremonies are the spiritual part.
Are there any other stories or legends about the white buffalo that you know?
JOHN: The white buffalo is very strong in its spiritual powers. One had to be very wise and very courageous to show his people how to bring strength to life. That person could kill a white buffalo and would keep the hide. The hide would be used to make a medicine bundle. He who had the white buffalo hide was the spiritual leader. I have never seen a white buffalo medicine bundle.
Who could prepare the hide?
JOHN: It didn't matter who prepared the hide; all people had respect for all living things. However, the one who killed the white buffalo usually prepared the hide.
Who could eat the flesh?
JOHN: The meat was eaten by the warriors, with offerings and prayers of thanks. The one who killed the white buffalo would dry the flesh and bring it out at ceremonial times.
They would give the spirits some of the flesh and sing songs that everything would come back again; that our lakes would be filled up again, that the rivers would be full, and that the flatlands would be replenished, both the spiritual side and the human side.
They would ask that the old ones and the young ones would learn as they go on into the spiritual world. They would pray, "Now our old ones have gone into the spiritual world; it is time to put our feet into the moccasins of our old people and begin teaching our young ones. So that they learn our sacred ways."
What would happen to the hide?
JOHN: The hide became part of the medicine bundle. At ceremonial times, the one who had killed the buffalo wore this bundle, showing that he was the spiritual leader with many powers. He could heal. That was his purpose.