Tribes celebrate birth of baby white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park

Associated Press

Tribes Honor Birth of Rare White Buffalo in Yellowstone, Reveal Its Name: Wakan Gli

At a gathering near a scenic lake outside Yellowstone National Park, hundreds of people cheered Wednesday as a Native American chief spoke the name revealed on the painted skin of a rare white buffalo born in the park at the beginning of the month: Wakan Gli, which means “Sacred Return” in Lakota. Earlier this month, the little white buffalo was born in Yellowstone National Park’s vast, lush Lamar Valley, where enormous bison graze by the hundreds in scenes reminiscent of the old American West. For the many tribes who revere the American bison – which they call “buffalo” – the calf’s appearance was both the fulfillment of a sacred prophecy and a message to better care for the Earth.