This was the first year we’ve done White Buffalo Day, and we’re glad we did, though there were saddened to find fewer people than we’d expected.

According to Powersource.com, the legend of the White Buffalo goes like this:

One summer a long time ago, the seven sacred council fires of the Lakota Sioux came together and camped. The sun was strong and the people were starving for there was no game.

Two young men went out to hunt. Along the way, the two men met a beautiful young woman dressed in white who floated as she walked. One man had bad desires for the woman and tried to touch her, but was consumed by a cloud and turned into a pile of bones.

The woman spoke to the second young man and said, “Return to your people and tell them I am coming.” This holy woman brought a wrapped bundle to the people. She unwrapped the bundle giving to the people a sacred pipe and teaching them how to use it to pray. “With this holy pipe, you will walk like a living prayer,” she said. The holy woman told the Sioux about the value of the buffalo, the women and the children. “You are from Mother Earth,” she told the women, “What you are doing is as great as the warriors do.”

Before she left, she told the people she would return. As she walked away, she rolled over four times, turning into a white female buffalo calf. It is said after that day the Lakota honored their pipe, and buffalo were plentiful.

The procession started from the Backstreet Museum, which is dedicated to Mardi Gras Indians and Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, and is well worth a visit. It’s little, but a wealth of information.

The ceremony is led by the Reverend Goat (short for Go On And Try), as it has been for the last 15 years. In fact, four years ago today as they held the ceremony there were sounds of traffic and aggravation all around as the city emptied in the Katrina evacuation, but peace and crickets were all there were to be heard tonight.

The local men who sung and chanted are part of the New Orleans tradition of honoring the American Indians for the assistance they gave the slaves, hiding them when they ran away from their ‘owners,’ and treating them as equals. Tonight they spoke passionately about traveling to visit the Hopi and other tribes, sharing their beliefs and experiences and trying to find ways to bring peace and happiness to both their peoples.

Video of a warmup here.
Video of the blessing of the pipes is here.