BAGDAD, Ky. -- A group of American Indians held a ceremony Sunday honoring the recent Shelby County birth of a white buffalo, considered a rare and sacred symbol.
The calf, named Medicine Heart, was born June 3 at Buffalo Crossing ranch.
"The white buffalo calf is still very sacred to us today," said Steve McCullough of Indiana, who is of Shawnee and Lakota heritage and who led the 90-minute ceremony. "It's still a part of our tradition. That's why we wanted to come when we heard about her birth."
The white buffalo is tied to Lakota tradition, which says a spiritual being known as the White Buffalo Calf Woman came to the Lakota 19 generations ago and bestowed upon them their beliefs and traditions.
The buffalo's Lakota name is Cante Pejuta.
During the ceremony, men sat around a drum while others performed prayer songs. At the end of the ceremony, several of the 200 spectators tied prayer flags and other offerings around the fence to honor the calf.
McCullough said other tribes also believe in the spirituality of the white buffalo calf.
"This ceremony brings unity, peace and hope," he said. "It's for all nationalities -- red, yellow, black and white."
Deborah Hennessey, a Jeffersonville, Ind., resident who has attended other naming ceremonies for white calves in South Dakota and Arizona, said she finds it "very spiritual."
"I feel I'm part Native American, if not in blood then in spirit," she said.
The owner of Buffalo Crossing Restaurant & Family Fun Ranch, Bob Allen, said Medicine Heart is the first fully white calf born there. It is the granddaughter of bull Chief Joseph, a buffalo Allen said he purchased in Denver. Chief Joseph was struck by lightning and died in 2003, Allen said.
Bob Pickering, a white buffalo expert in Cody, Wyo., said his research shows the incidence of white buffaloes at about 16 per million.
The last white buffalo was born in Wisconsin nine years ago, Pickering said.
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