MovieChat Forums > The White Buffalo (1977) Discussion > Shocking real-life White Buffalo story

Shocking real-life White Buffalo story

posted 11 years ago by captainapache
4 replies | jump to latest

For anyone who missed this recent and horrifying story:

"Lightning Medicine Cloud, born May 12, 2011 on a stormy night at the Lakota Ranch in Greenville Texas, was a natural white buffalo, an extremely rare occurrence, happening an estimated once per ten million births. In June, a naming ceremony attracted over 2,000 visitors to the ranch, and a report on the proceedings cited beliefs held by some Lakota that the calf was the third white buffalo ever, and the first male in 150 years. Such a white buffalo is tied to the story of White Buffalo Calf Woman, and is the most sacred animal, perhaps the most sacred thing on the planet, to the Lakota people."

The young Lightning Medicine Cloud was found skinned and left to rot just days before his first birthday celebration. The killers were never found.

Pics and more info here:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/lightning-medicine-cloud%2C-sacred-white-buffalo%2C-killed-and-skinned-111453

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Rare-White-Buffalo-Killed-on-Texas-Ranch-150200805.html

[–] sumankey13 10 years ago

another poster brought this up:

"White buffalo are very rare, and are actually revered by the Indians as the return to Earth of a God. I'm not sure exactly what the writers were thinking here."

and i could not agree more. Upon viewing this movie again, playing tonite on "this.tv"----i can't wrap my brain around the synopsis for this movie ;( Did they not even research the subject matter?

Doubt very much if Crazy Horse would have ever been "hunting" the white buffalo, as it was part of a sacred prophecy given to the Native Americans

[–] Jetfire1959 8 years ago

I've loved this film since I first saw it on HBO a hundred years ago. My guess is they didn't research the subject matter very much. They were trying to make a monster movie; a western version of "Jaws" basically.

Careful.The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming train.

[–] Jetfire1959 8 years ago

I remember seeing a news piece about the birth of a white buffalo and all it meant to the Lakotas, but I never heard about this. The Lakota people must have been devastated. Could it have just been someone who thought the coat was worth money or was the motive more sinister and wide-reaching? I'm ashamed to say I'm woefully uneducated about Native American culture. The fact that I was born and partially raised in Oklahoma makes me even more ashamed for my ignorance.

Careful.The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming train.

[–] andersonb85 (1578) 2 years ago

I enjoyed this movie too from first viewing it on network television.