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Told by Stormwalker
White Buffalo Calf is Born.
Many of you may already know the legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman, but for those who do not , Let me tell you a story.
Two thousand years ago while out hunting one day in the Black Hills, two hunters saw a beautiful maiden. One of the hunters has lust and evil thoughts about the maiden, the other dropped to his knees to pray. A black cloud came down on the first and soon he was nothing but dust.
The maid then spoke to the other one, saying she was sent from the Creator with gifts for the people. She told him to return home and wait , she would be there in four days. On the fourth day a cloud settled in the village , and she stepped out of the cloud with a bundle in her hand. She stayed with the people four days teaching them seven scared ceremonies, which are still done today. One being the Scared Pipe Ceremony. Before leaving she promised to return some day as a White Buffalo Calf.
According to Legend there would be four different calves born, each one changing colors four times, each one the sire would die soon after birth. When the fourth one would came, She would begin to bring balance and harmony back to the races of man. The healing of our Mother Earth would also begin.
The chances of a white calf being born are eight million to one. The first was born in 1933, with the sire dying. The fourth was born in August, 1999. It was born in Wisconsin. All to date have changed colors, sires have died, this fourth one is strong and healthy, bringing with it the final chapter to a legend.
The time has come for the people to unite in balance and once again walk in harmony with each other as well as with the Mother Earth and the Creator.
Story by: Marcia Nelesen - The Janesville Gazette
It's happened for the third time!
September 14, 2006
Valerie and Dave Heider were checking for damage on their South River Road farm after an electric storm two weeks ago. They pulled up short, not believing their eyes.
In the pasture, suckling on its buffalo mom, was a newborn calf.
It was pure white.
Valerie's first words?
"Oh, God. Here we go again.''
"Unbelievable,'' Dave said on Friday. "How many times in a lifetime does lighting strike?''
The Heiders' lives were changed when Miracle, a female white buffalo, was born on their farm Aug. 20, 1994. White buffaloes are extremely rare and are said to fulfill a Native American legend foretelling peace.
And now, a white male buffalo has been born on the same property.
"I just couldn't believe that we could possibly ever have another one, not even related to Miracle whatsoever,'' Valerie said.
Miracle, the Heiders and Janesville made international news in 1994.
Believers and the curious descended on the farm, creating traffic jams on the rural road. In 1995, visitors to the Heider farm increased tourism to Rock County by 22 percent, David said.
The pilgrimages continued over the next decade, even after Miracle turned brown, which also was prophesized. The visits continued even after the buffalo died in 2004.
Now, Miracle is stuffed in the Heider gift shop.
This year, the number of visitors had dwindled enough so that the Heiders plowed the nearby parking lot, planting it in corn.
The couple, who never charged visitors to view Miracle, got on with their lives. Dave works for the Rock County Highway Department. And the Heiders sell the produce from their thriving buffalo meat business at area farmers markets.
Dave recalled that he and Valerie went outside Aug. 25 to make sure no trees were downed on the fence.
"And it (the white buffalo) was standing up, sucking, the naval still really wet,'' he said.
"It was kind of shocking, actually,'' Valerie said. "God gives you a second chance on a lot of things.''
Neither Dave nor Valerie knows whether the birth will produce a similar deluge of visitors.
"With this one being a male, I don't think it's going to have that kind of a draw on people,'' he said. The white buffalo in the Indian legend is female. And they have no clue how long the animal will remain white.
"But I imagine it's still sacred one way or the other,'' Dave said. "We know the Native Americans are going to show up.''
Native Americans consider the land where Miracle was born to be sacred, Valerie said. A second birth on the same sacred ground might increase the significance.
The calf, which has yet to be named, is not related to Miracle, Dave said.
The dad was a Wisconsin grand champion who Dave bought two years ago. But the bull kept jumping the fence.
"We couldn't keep him in,'' Dave said. "We just turned him into Hamburger Helper.''
The bull also impregnated two other females that have yet to deliver.
The Heiders plan to eventually breed the calf with Miracle's decedents.
"Maybe we'll end up with three or four (white buffalo),'' Heider said.
The couple hadn't announced the birth as of Friday morning.
They didn't really want the hassles of the last time, Dave said.
"We don't want the influx, the hoards of thousands of people we had before,'' he added.
But recently, while Valerie and Dave were photographing the calf, they noticed neighbors watching with binoculars.
"We told one of the neighbors it was a dog,'' Valerie said.
The neighbor didn't buy it.
"Here it goes,'' Dave recalled thinking.
Someone was sure to call the media. And someone did.
"I guess something like that can't be kept quiet forever," Dave said.
The couple hope to continue their farmers markets, closing the farm when they are gone. Or they may try to find somebody to stay at the place.
This actually is the third white buffalo born on the property.
One was born in 1997 but died at four days old, Valerie said.
On Friday, Valerie was still somewhat in shock.
"I still don't know whether to sit down and cry or be happy.''
Just how rare is the birth of a white buffalo?
Search the subject on the Internet, and you'll find the chances range anywhere from 1 in 16 million to 1 in 6 billion.
Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association in Colorado, agreed that he's seen all kinds of statistics but doesn't have any firm figures.
Considering the number of animals out there-and the number of white calves the association knows have been born-those statistics are "a little overstated,'' he said.
But the statistics are also skewed because some of the animals that have produced white buffalo have been partially crossbred with Charolais beef cattle, he said.
Carter said it remains "extremely rare'' for a white buffalo to come from pure bison genetics.
"In terms of the overall number of animals out there, it continues to be very rare,'' Carter said. "Particularly for the Native Americans, its very special and sacred.''
The number of buffalos being raised is increasing, so Carter predicts that more white buffalo will be born.
Carter said the association would watch with interest Dave Heider's plans to breed the new male white buffalo with Miracle's descendents.
"There's been so little research done on bison genetics-in terms of these kind of characteristics-compared to research done on cattle and sheep,'' Carter said. "Our learning curve is very steep. We'll take all the information we can get.''.
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