Roots of the Spirit Spiritual Leaders Bless Calf First of three parts - by Neal White, City Editor. ©1994 by Neal White and the Beloit Daily News

September 13, 1994 - Janesville, Minnesota.

With the help of a cane, he pulled himself out of the car and turned toward the crowd. Within seconds, word had spread around the field that he had arrived.

The blessing of a miracle was about to begin.

That miracle occurred on August 20th, with the birth of a white buffalo calf born on David and Valerie Heider's exotic animal farm in rural Janesville.

The blessing was yet to come.

As Chief Medicine Man of the Okolala Sioux, Floyd Hand had begun his journey several days ago in South Dakota. With protectors standing on each side of him, Hand politely spoke to reporters, only interrupting once to ask where the Heiders were. In Native American religion, his spiritual presence is regarded to that of the Pope in Catholicism. Many in the crowd of about two-hundred stopped whaty they were doing and walked toward the circle of television cameras and microphones. When asked what the white buffalo calf means, Hand pointed up toward the buffalo pasture, just ahead of where he was standing.

"It will unify each and everyone of the people of all colors, all over the world," he said, leaning down on his cane.

He was here to perform the ceremony of peace and unification. It would also be seen as a validation of the miracle foretold by the elders in which all nations would one day live in harmony. The elders had said in the seventh generation, the white buffalo calf would return. It is one of many signs of unity, which began May 10th, 1991 with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, he explained.

"We are here today to encourage people to pray together to end the desecration we are doing to Mother Earth," Hand said. "To me personally, it is a coming home of a prophecy we've been waiting for many years."

The earth, Hand said, has been divided into four islands representing the four sacred colors. The people of each island have been entrusted to care for a part of the four spirits:

The island of Africa was given to our black brothers, who were to take care of the energy force, or our heart.

The island of Europe was given to our white brothers, who were to care for the air.

The island of Asia was given to our yellow brothers, who were to take care of the water, our life's blood.

The island of North America was given to the red men, who werre to care for Mother Earth.

Hand said the white buffalo calf was a sign to begin the joining of the four islands, and unifying the four sacred colors of the earth.

"The message is simple. The people should be of one heart, one mind, one people. Peace, love, and harmony. It is time to educate the world," Hand said, raising up his cane to make the point.

"I'm fifty-five years old and I've been lucky. It's been the dream of our people for five-hundred years (to see the white buffalo calf return). In 1954 my grandfather said I would live to see it, and see a change in the world. We've been praying for her return," he said.

Swinging his arm around the field, Hand pointed to the other elders who had journeyed from around the United States and Canada to attend the ceremony. "If we keep desecrating Mother Earth, there's gooing to be nothing left. This is like the Second Coming to us!" he shouted.

aid at the present time there is an anti-Christ movement throughout the world, evident by rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, and murder. "The values of man have been lost through contemporary life. We are losing our respect, our dignity, and self-worth," he said. "We've lost it by losing faith in ourself, and placing it on a computer chip."

"Instead of seeing a problem and trusting our ability to figure it out, we pick up a calculator. It's gotten to the point where we let computers think fo us because we don't trust ourselves," he said.

The problem, he added, goes much deeper because people have lost common sense and the ability to know right from wrong. "Within each of us, the gift of common sense is there to know the difference between right and wrong. There is no great mystery. This just a new beginning."

When asked how he expected to unify the world, Hand began to laugh. "Can you learn how to shake a hand?" he asked. "We have lost that art."

With that, Hand called for the singers to gather around the drum. Side-by-side, the ten men began to pound on the large instrument between them. As the drum beat increased in time and intensity, they began singing the Drum Song. As the song began, Hand translated the words into English.

They sang of a warrior who found an old broken drum in an abandoned cabin while hunting. Instead of leaving it, he took it back to the village where he repaired it and played it at the next gathering. "He played and it was the heartbeat of Mother Earth. What we hear in this song, what we see here today is how we can unify," Hand said, leaving to prepare for the ceremony.

Within a half-hour, dressed in a traditional ceremonial outfit and accompanied by his father, Jim DuBray, Hand walked toward the fire smoldering near the center of the field. On the other side, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Keeper of the Sacred Pipe, held a leather-wrapped bundle close to his chest. Inside was contained the sacred pipe given to the Lakota Sioux by the White Buffalo Calf Woman.

As the three men greeted one another, the crowd of onlookers and pilgrims circled around. Hand called out for the Heider family to joint them, along with the spiritual leaders of the different tribes present.

"This has been a long day coming," Hand said. "Over the years we have drifted apart. We have been temporarily tested to be on separate islands. We have now been given the test to unite.

"We all come from the darkness of our mother's womb. In a short time we will all return to darkness. During this time we have not worked together. We have air pollution filling up the skies, polluted water, drugs, and we're having heart attacks from unhealthy living. We have forgotten the responsibility given to us.

"Today we come together like we're supposed to," Hand said, motioning an assistant to bring gifts for the Heiders. Each family member received an armload of blankets with boxes stacked on top, which were quickly carried to the house by another assistant.

Moving one arm toward the Heider family, Hand circled the other arm over the crowd, "On behalf of all Indian people, this family is our family. We will always be with them in prayer."

As Hand began to pray to the four directions of the wind, DuBray, carrying a bowl of food prepared for the sacred feast, began walking toward the fire. Naring the edge of the pit, the elderly man stepped down, standing inches away from the flames. As the prayer ended, DuBray dumped the food into the fire as an offering to the spirits.

Working together, Looking Horse and Hand removed the sacred pipe from the pouch and began assembling the red stone bowl and long wooden stem. The pipe is only used in special prayer ceremonies. Working as a team, the two men pulled tobacco from the pipe's bowl. Looking Horse took the handful of tobacco and threw it into the fire.

"With this, the ceremeony ends. It is time to feast," said Hand.

Hours later, sitting in a lawn chair, backdropped by the setting sun, Hand tried to sum up the moment. "You know, this really made my day," he said, breaking into a wide grin.

©1994 by Neal White and the Beloit Daily News





Back to top of page . . .





Back to Home . . . .





Need more information--?