The Search For The White Bison
If you don’t know my photography story here it is… I started out in photography shooting wildlife.. or really Macro which when shooting bugs I consider that wildlife or at least an animal. I started going outside in the summer around midnight to 1:00 AM looking for any type of bug or insect I could find and shot them using my little Nikon 3200 with a 50mm prime lens and extension tubes. And for such an inexpensive setup I actually shot some really good shots. It didn’t take long for me to push myself up to true wildlife, animals and zoo animals. For as long as I can remember I have had a passion and love for animals. They are truly magnificent creatures and I absolutely love photographing them. I typically use the word shooting for anything photography related outside of wildlife where I substitute photography. Shooting animals makes me sound like a hunter which I am not.
So… fast forward… I started photographing animals and wildlife for a couple of years with my favorites being gorillas, orangutans, flamingos and bison or buffalo as some call them. From my favorites list you can tell that only one of those animals do I have an opportunity to photograph in the wild and that’s the bison. The others are truly amazing creatures and I photograph them on a regular basis at the zoo where I am a zoo photographer. If you haven’t been to the Oklahoma City Zoo you really should take time to do so. And for those that think zoos are cruel places I challenge you to read up on what the top zoos do in the way of conservation and breeding programs. Yes I know you won’t change your mind and still think they are cruel and disgusting and that’s your opinion and it doesn’t really bother me. Educate yourself. Oh well.. I digress…
Anyway.. out of the four animals the bison is the only one that I have the ability to photograph in the wild so I tend to lean that way. I have photographed bison at the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge near Meers, OK which is north of Lawton. There is a nice herd located there. Sometimes they are out and sometimes they aren’t. It’s a roll of the dice. I have also been to the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve north of Pawhuska. This place is truly incredible. I will write on my time there this weekend as well but in a later post. The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is 39,650 acres of tallgrass and is home to 2,500 amazing bison. And.. I got to see all of them in one place on Saturday but like I said that is for another day and another post. And, lastly.. I have photographed bison on the tribal lands of the Modoc Nation up in Miami, OK. This was a special trip a couple of years ago as the Modoc people were given true Yellowstone bison when they culled their herd and gifted them to the tribe. Did they look the same to me, yes.. was it cool knowing they were from the herd at Yellowstone National Park which is where some of the purest bison are located.. yes.
After all of that reading you now know that I have a slight passion for bison and pride myself on them being my “speciality” if I have one. Anyone that photographs bison knows they are amazing animals and that if you have an opportunity to photograph a White Bison you have done something special. There are multiple types of white bison which the top of the top being the true albino white bison which I tell you now is not what I photographed. I have been looking for a few years now for a white bison near my home in Oklahoma to no luck. There are not many out there to say the least. I found one in Arizona, North Dakota, Wyoming, etc.. You get the picture. They are a long way from Oklahoma and that just wasn’t going to happen for a while. But, every month or so I do a search online to see if I can find any new information. Friday I did my search while drinking coffee and for some reason a photo popped up and the image was taken in Oklahoma. Just outside of Tulsa. I live two hours from where the image was taken. I found out who the photographer was and I tracked her down on Facebook where her business phone number was listed (she is a professional photographer) and I texted her. She responded within minutes of where the white bison was located so the plan went into action. It was Friday morning around 9:00 AM and by 11:00 I had my Saturday planned. I had already planned on going to the Tallgrass Prairie to photograph the bison for a foundation client I photograph bison for but now I added taking a shot at finding him, the white bison and taking photos of him if it worked out.
I woke up Saturday morning at 4:30 AM, got up, dressed, made a coffee and loaded up in the car and left the house at 5:05 AM and heading Northeast up the turnpike. The anticipation was huge but the fear of wasting half a day looking for him was huge as well. Was this a waste as I had limited information. I had a city and a rural country road cross street where he was seen on a woman’s property. Assumed she owned him. I got to the small town, turned north on another highway, came to the gravel country road and started looking at street signs at each intersection. As I watched the signs I knew I was within a mile of where he was seen. The sun was rising and bright straight into my eyes as I came to the cross streets and I looked to my right and there were some horses.. No white bison.. As I got closer I saw a large image that I knew wasn’t a horse and as I got closer all I could see if a huge body with the glow of the sun rising surrounding him. I stopped and just looked. The figure was up on a hill and turned his head and looked right at me with the glow of the sun surrounding him. It was like something out of a movie and…. it was him. I was honestly there with a white bison. Remember I have been looking for one for years and here I was finally in the presence of one. Like I said this was not an albino but a cross that comes out in more of a blonde than true albino white. But he was amazing to say the least. I pulled out my camera and started shooting. He heard the click of my camera and started down towards me. Once again this was amazing. He kept coming and coming and coming until he got right to the fence and I was 2 feet from him. Amazing to say the least.
I spent the next hour and a half watching him graze and he watched me. It was a really cool exchange I had with him that day and after taking over 1,000 images I told him goodbye and packed up my gear. He stood at the fence looking at me and I assured him I would be back again soon. This was Saturday and now I have plans of taking a new friend of mine, another wildlife photographer, Mike with me on Tuesday to meet the white bison. It should be another amazing day and I will report back on the next adventure with Mike and the White Bison.
After all that… I have done a lot of research on the White Bison and the Native American stories and legends are fascinating. I have read numerous versions and they are all pretty close with only slight nuances. I close this post with one of my favorites and hope you enjoy it as well. Goodnight!
JBP
The White Buffalo is sacred to many Native Americans. The Lakota (Sioux) Nation has passed down The Legend of the White Buffalo–a story now approximately 2,000 years old — at many council meetings, sacred ceremonies, and through the tribe’s storytellers. There are several variations, but all are meaningful and tell of the same outcome. Have communication with the Creator through prayer with clear intent for Peace, Harmony, and Balance for all life living in the Earth Mother.
Spirituality among Native and non-Native Americans has been a strong force for those who believe in the power of the Great Spirit or God.
It matters not what you call the Creator. What matters is that you pray to give thanks for your blessings and trust the guidance from the world of Spirit. Many truths about Spirit are told and handed down from generation to generation.
The legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman tells how the People had lost the ability to communicate with the Creator. The Creator sent the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman to teach the People how to pray with the Pipe. With that Pipe, seven sacred ceremonies were given for the people to abide to ensure a future of harmony, peace, and balance.
Legend says that long ago, two young men were out hunting when, from out of nowhere, came a beautiful maiden dressed in white buckskin. One of the hunters looked upon her and, recognizing her as a wakan, or sacred being, lowered his eyes. The second hunter approached her with lust in his eyes, desiring her for his woman. White Buffalo Calf Woman beckoned the lustful warrior to her, and as he approached, a cloud of dust arose around them, causing them to be hidden from view. When the dust settled, nothing but a pile of bones lay next to her.
As she walked toward the respectful young hunter, she explained to him that she had merely fulfilled the other man’s desire, allowing him, within that brief moment, to live a lifetime, die and decay. White Buffalo Calf Woman instructed the young man to return to the People and tell them to prepare for her arrival to teach them the way to pray. The young hunter obeyed.
When White Buffalo Calf woman arrived with the sacred bundle (the prayer pipe), she taught the People the seven sacred ways to pray. These prayers are through ceremonies that include the Sweat Lodge for purification; the Naming Ceremony for child naming; the Healing Ceremony to restore health to the body, mind, and spirit; the adoption ceremony for making of relatives; the marriage ceremony for uniting male and female; the Vision Quest for communing with the Creator for direction and answers to one’s life; and the Sundance Ceremony to pray for the well-being of all the People.
When the teaching of the sacred ways was complete, White Buffalo Calf Woman told the people she would again return for the sacred bundle that she left with them. Before leaving, she told them that within her were the four ages and that she would look back upon the People in each age, returning at the end of the fourth age to restore harmony and spirituality to a troubled land. She walked a short distance, looked back toward the people, and sat down. They were amazed to see she had become a black buffalo when she arose. Walking a little further, the buffalo lay down, this time arising as a yellow buffalo. The buffalo walked a little further the third time and arose as a red buffalo. Walking a little further, it rolled on the ground and rose one last time as a white buffalo calf signaling the fulfillment of the White Buffalo Calf prophecy.
The changing of the White Buffalo Calf Woman’s four colors represents man’s four colors–white, yellow, red, and black. These colors also represent the four directions, north, east, south, and west. The sacred bundle left to the Lakota people is still with the People in a sacred place on the Cheyenne River Indian reservation in South Dakota. It is kept by a man known as the Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, Arvol Looking Horse.
The legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman remains ever-promising in this age of spiritual enlightenment and conscious awareness. Many of us are looking for signs of peace in today’s world of confusion and war.
“With the return of the White Buffalo, it is a sign that prayers are being heard, that the sacred pipe is being honored, and that the promises of prophecy are being fulfilled. White Buffalo signals a time of abundance and plenty.” (from Sams and Carson, Medicine cards).
Legend courtesy Jim and Dena Riley, added March 2005. Updated by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2023.
