A RARE WHITE BISON WAS BORN INTO A HERD BELONGING TO THE SIOUX VALLEY DAKOTA NATION (PHOTOS)

“To have another white buffalo calf that’s born is more of a signal to us that not only is our culture and people surviving, but thriving,” the chief said. The community welcomed a rare, white male buffalo calf on May 7.

The calf’s mother, also a white a buffalo, was born at Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park in 2009 and gifted to the community’s herd because of its significance through the generations.

“The significance of the white buffalo is that… we received all of our teachings and our culture and our ceremonies were given through the white buffalo calf woman,” said Sioux Valley Chief Vince Tacan.  Since the birth, people have been coming from as far as the United States to see the baby buffalo and leave tobacco offerings wrapped in colourful ribbons and pouches that now line the fence along the buffalo’s enclosure.

He said the community has had requests to bring the buffalo out and put it on display at fairs and other events, but the community is opting to keep it in the pasture instead. “I don’t think we’d want to display her [the mother] in that sort of way,” said Tacan.

“The buffalo were important in the past and we hope they’ll be important in the future coming up,”

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