Last month, I kept hearing the term “white buffalo.” Not in books or in class, but popping up inexplicably in everyday life. For instance, while scrolling through my phone, I saw a video about a white buffalo appearing on the American prairie; another time, at a coffee shop, I overheard two people chatting about it; and once, while watching a documentary, it happened to feature a Native American tribe’s reverence for this animal.
After encountering the same thing repeatedly, I began to think: This can’t be a coincidence, right? It felt like something was trying to remind me.
To be honest, I’m not someone who’s particularly into “spirituality” or “fate.” I don’t usually delve into metaphysics or philosophy either. But this time felt different. I had this indescribable feeling—like a gentle nudge urging me to learn something.
So, on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, I sat on the couch, opened my old laptop—the one with the keyboard worn smooth from years of use—and started researching.
How I Researched It
I opened a search engine and, like many first-time researchers, typed in: “Why is the white buffalo sacred?”
A flood of results appeared, most mentioning North American Indigenous peoples, especially tribes like the Lakota and Sioux. I clicked through article after article, growing increasingly dizzy.Web pages kept throwing around capitalized terms like “Prophet,” “Sacred Teacher,” and “Great Transformation,” giving me a headache.
There was too much information—like someone spraying me with a hose. I couldn’t absorb it all, couldn’t tell what was true and what was made up. Finally, I closed every tab, brewed some chamomile tea, and let myself calm down.
Trying a Different Approach
The next day, I didn’t want to just read text anymore. I wanted to try something else. I found some ancient tribal stories online, but instead of silently reading them, I sat in my living room and read them aloud. When I came to “Ptesanwi”—their word for “White Bison Woman”—it suddenly felt like the word had come alive, no longer just letters on a screen.
I also did something I found odd myself: I lit a candle, sat cross-legged on the floor, and stared at a photo of a white buffalo on my phone for a full ten minutes. I wanted to see if I could “feel” what it meant.
Honestly, most of the time I just felt my knees aching and my butt going numb.But I discovered that when I quieted my mind—stopping thoughts about work, bills, or tomorrow’s meals—questions I’d never considered before began surfacing.
Talking to a Real Person Finally Made Sense
I realized I might never figure this out through online research and my own musings alone. So I reached out to a friend named Dave. He’s no expert, but he’s attended Indigenous cultural events and even experienced a traditional sauna ritual called a “sweat lodge.”(a traditional meditation ritual).
I met him at a cheap fast-food joint and bought him coffee. He laughed at me at first: “You city folks always think a cup of coffee can buy a soul awakening?”
But I pressed him, and he finally shared two things that stuck with me:
First, the white buffalo isn’t just any white animal. It isn’t dyed or Photoshopped.It’s naturally white, a genetic rarity. So for many tribes, its appearance is like a sign from the heavens, signaling some kind of miracle unfolding.
Second, this story isn’t just about a buffalo. Legend says that when humans learn to respect the earth and treat each other well, the White Buffalo will return. In other words, its reappearance depends on how we conduct ourselves. That’s no small responsibility.
I finally began to understand
After returning home that day, I still hadn’t fully processed it. My mind kept drifting—one moment pondering this, the next thinking about supermarket sales or my dog needing a haircut… Humans are like that; it’s hard to stay focused.
But one day while walking my dog, I reached the edge of the park and saw a dirty plastic bag hanging in the bushes, swaying in the wind.I was about to walk past it, but then Dave’s words flashed through my mind—“repairing our relationship with the Earth.”
In that moment, I realized that “repairing” doesn’t have to mean grand gestures like saving forests or stopping wars. It could simply mean bending down to pick up that bag.
So I picked it up. It was a small act, unseen by anyone, and no one praised me for it. But inside, I felt a little lighter.
Since then, my view of the world has shifted a bit. Take the neighbor next door, for instance. He always parks his car too close to my front door, and it used to make me angry every time. But now I wonder: Does “unity” also mean embracing these little things?
So I baked a banana bread and gave it to him. When he opened the door, he looked completely bewildered, as if asking, “Did you get the wrong house?”
But I could tell he was genuinely pleased.
These small acts are truly enough
To this day, I still don’t grasp those intricate rituals or fully understand the profound meanings hidden in ancient languages. If I hadn’t grown up immersed in that culture, I might never truly “understand” them.
But I know this much: the story of the white buffalo isn’t meant to be recited or flaunted.It’s a reminder—
- Have you treated the people around you well?
- Have you paid attention to the land beneath your feet?
- Have you made even a small effort to become a little better?
Now, whenever I see that famous photo of the white buffalo online, I don’t scroll past it quickly anymore.I pause to reflect: Did I litter yesterday? Did I speak too harshly to someone? Did I forget to do a small, kind thing?
None of these are earth-shattering events. But perhaps it’s precisely these small acts that build true change.
So I no longer ask, “What does the white buffalo really symbolize?”
Now I ask myself: “Can I do just a little bit better today?”
That’s enough.
