White buffalo sacred to Lakota Sioux found mutilated

[Opmmur]

Link: U.S. News - White buffalo sacred to Lakota Sioux found mutilated

This story is very sad: The white buffalo sacred to all Sioux Indians!

White buffalo sacred to Lakota Sioux found mutilated

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.
By Frank Heinz, NBCDFW.com

Lightning Medicine Cloud, a rare white buffalo born in 2011, and his mother were found dead at the Lakota Buffalo Ranch in Texas this week just weeks after the calf's father was fatally struck by lightning.

The rare animal, sacred to the Lakota Sioux, was about to celebrate its first birthday during a powwow on May 12.

NBC 5 has learned the calf was found mutilated and skinned on the ranch northeast of Dallas. The next day, the calf's mother was found dead as well.

Read the original report at NBCDFW.com

Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks has opened a criminal investigation into the livestock deaths, although Meeks said they have not yet classified the crime. The Texas Rangers and other state agencies are assisting.

"I feel very confident we'll work together with a renewed vigilance to find whoever this is that perpetrated this heinous act," Judge John Horn said during a news conference at the ranch Friday.

Arby Little Soldier, the owner of the ranch, would not comment on the specifics of the white calf or his mother.

A rare white buffalo walks in a corral in Greenville, Texas, in June 2011. The calf and its mother were found dead this week.

"I will not say what has happened to this animal," he said. "I will not say what has happened to the mother. Ben, the dad that protected this calf was struck by lighting April 3 when we had the tornado when it hit Lancaster. Lightning ... struck Ben, and I seen him go down. My people, my brothers, my sisters are hurt by what has happened here on this ranch. You don't think things like this are going to happen to such a sacred animal, a sacred family."

Little Soldier said Lightning Medicine Cloud's legacy will carry on and that the powwow scheduled for May 11-12 will go on as planned -- only now, they will memorialize the rare animal as well.

"The powwow will continue on. I welcome you all to come grieve with us, mourn with us and celebrate with us," Little Soldier said. "Ecclesiastes said, 'There is a time for life and a time for death.' My little boy went on home. His mother went on home. His dad went on home. They're all together, and God bless them. This legend will go on forever."

Little Soldier said there is a reward of $5,000 leading to an arrest and capture of the person responsible for the deaths of Lighting Medicine Cloud and his mother.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hunt County Sheriff's Department at 903-453-6800 and ask for either Sheriff Randy Meeks or Lt. Tommy Grandfield.

 

[Peregrini]

"The powwow will continue on. I welcome you all to come grieve with us, mourn with us and celebrate with us," Little Soldier said. "Ecclesiastes said, 'There is a time for life and a time for death.' My little boy went on home. His mother went on home. His dad went on home. They're all together, and God bless them. This legend will go on forever."

I stand in awe at the Spirit of the Native Americans.

 

[Samstwitch]

This is horrible! I pray that the killers are caught and brought to justice. What evil there is in the world.

I read about when the Buffalo were killed to near extinction in the USA. The president at the time (can't remember his name) urged and sanctioned the killing of the Buffalo, because it was the source that sustained Native Americans. What a sinful and evil thing to do. The Native Americans lived in perfect harmony with the earth and God until they were infiltrated by white men. They are far better human beings than white men.

 

[titorite]

Not many races on planet earth have been genocided....the native north american does not have the base it needs. As time goes on whats left of them will be assimilated into the rest of us.


Poor buffalo.

is the black market for that kind of thing so hot?... Or did a couple of red neck locals grab it in the middle of the night ....

 

[Samstwitch]

UPDATE: REWARD INCREASED TO OVER $50,000

Rains dampen spirits for first day of white buffalo memorial

GREENVILLE - May 11, 2012 - The rain had been falling for hours, but people were still coming to Lakota Ranch to memorialize the death of Lightning Medicine Cloud, the sacred white buffalo killed two weeks ago. Many have come with Justice on their minds.
The event was planned as a first birthday party. Instead of canceling, ranch owner Arby Little Soldier worked all week to transform it into a memorial.

"The young warriors are looking at me to see if I'm going to fold or [if] we can," Little Soldier said. "And this is when I'm going to go stronger."
The Hunt County Sheriff is investigating the killing of the white buffalo and his mother. The sheriff said they're making progress, but there's nothing new to report.

Because the animal was a sacred sign of unity to Native Americans, Little Soldier wants the killings classified as hate crimes.
"I'd like to see it get there," he said. "Right now it's right at a felony, and hopefully we take the next up and go further."

The reward to catch the killer is also going further. Little Soldier started with a $5,000 reward, but contributions from the public pushed that number over $50,000.

Little Soldier recognizes that the white buffalo's message of unity has gone further in death than in life. "I don't like to compare this to the Bible but, you know, the Lord was trying to say things to us at one point and people missed the message until he was killed. And that's when the message got out there," he said.

The Lightning Medicine Cloud Annual Greenville Scholarship Native American Powwow is scheduled to continue as planned through the weekend, including a Sunday spiritual service all are welcome to attend at 10 a.m.

WATCH NEWS VIDEO HERE!

 

[Samstwitch]

Sacred white buffalo's slaughter raises religious and legal issues

May 10, 2012 - Lightning Medicine Cloud, the all-white male buffalo calf considered by some Native Americans to be a sacred religious symbol, was killed late last month in Greenville, Texas, less than two weeks before his first birthday.

The Fort-Worth Star Telegram reported Monday, "Arby Little Soldier, great-great-great grandson of Sitting Bull and owner/operator of the Lakota Ranch, said (May 7) that he found the calf slaughtered and skinned April 30 after returning to the North Texas town from an out-of-town trip to Oklahoma City."

A page on the Lakota Ranch website explained the significance of a white buffalo in the Lakota Tribe's lore: "The Native Americans see the birth of a white buffalo calf as the most significant of prophetic signs, equivalent to the weeping statues, bleeding icons and crosses of light that are becoming prevalent within the Christian churches today. Where the Christian faithful who visit these signs see them as a renewal of God's ongoing relationship with humanity, so do the Native Americans see the white buffalo calf as the sign to begin life's sacred hoop."
Given the animal's elevated religious status, Lightning Medicine Cloud's untimely death left behind not only a $45,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator, but also a bevy of unresolved religious and legal questions. Indeed, Arby Little Soldier told the Indian Country Today Media Network on Wednesday that a groundswell of voices is calling for the perpetrator(s) to eventually stand trial on hate-crime charges.

“Local people here are pushing for this to be considered a hate crime,” Little Soldier said. “They’re contacting their senators, their congressmen. There is no penalty for killing a buffalo in the state of Texas. If you kill a horse, you get hung. If you kill a buffalo, nothing happens. So some people around here would like to see this classified as a hate crime, which would make it a federal crime."

Lightning Medicine Cloud would've marked his first birthday on May 12. His mother, the aptly named Buffalo Mother, appeared disoriented when Lightning Medicine Cloud's corpse was discovered; she died the next day. The white calf's father, Gentle Ben, died April 4 after being stuck by lightning.

Per the Lakota Ranch website, the 18th Annual Greenville Scholarship Native American Powwow takes place this weekend. The event was previously hailed as the 1st Annual Lightning Medicine Cloud Birthday and Powwow. NPR reported Tuesday that the event "was supposed to be a ceremony honoring the birth of a sacred white buffalo. Instead, it will serve as a memorial for Lightning Medicine Cloud and his mother."

ARTICLE SOURCE

 

[titorite]

Fudge this story is sad. :C

I mean SO many sad aspects.... Like the fudging killers... Thery proly only did it for meth money or something...and if it was out of native spite ... WHY!!!!!!! Hate crimes need not be invented.... I loath the idea of extra special crimes....THis thing... this event... anyone should be able to see the criminality of it. So what of the perps? When they are caught who shall they be? What reasons will they offer? That they came back for the moma buffalo tells me they could of had normal access , familiarity , A big truck that would need to be washed out, a buyer established for pelt 1 (and later pelt 2 for a lesser fee than the "magical pelt 1"...arg) assuming it was a clean skinning... if it wasn't a clean skinning then IDKWTFOMG

Sad sad sad


Who did this why? Money? Hate? Certainly their was nothing to Fear...??? WHy?

 

[Samstwitch]

Great news!

White buffalo being donated to ranch

DALLAS - May 12, 2012— An Oregon peacemaker said she’s so incensed by the apparent slaughter of a rare white buffalo calf —deemed “the hope of all nations” by a Lakota Sioux rancher last year — that her organization is donating a white buffalo bull from its herd.

Arby Little Soldier, who owns the Lakota Ranch near the North Texas town of Greenville, said he had hoped the 3,000-pound gift would arrive during a memorial this weekend that was initially intended to celebrate Lightning Medicine Cloud’s first birthday, which was May 12. The calf was found dead nearly two weeks ago.

“We’re trying to surprise everybody,” Little Soldier said Friday, while preparing for opening ceremonies that were later cancelled by rain.
Cynthia Hart-Button, the bull’s caretaker and the president of the Sacred World Peace Alliance, is tight-lipped about the animal’s exact arrival time because of transportation and security concerns. The organization claims to have a record 14 white buffalo on its sanctuary in central Oregon.

“It’s a sad tragedy,” she said of the calf’s death. “So, instead of them thinking that they lost their hope, we’re bringing their hope back in a different way.” Hart-Button said she hopes the bull, named Chief Hiawatha, will produce another white calf for the Lakota Ranch. The bull will turn 7 Wednesday.

She said Hiawatha has been like a guard dog, growling when someone comes near who “is not good in spirit.”
“I’m sending it down to protect not only the buffalo but to protect him (Arby Little Soldier) and his family,” Hart-Button said.

According to Lakota Sioux lore, the goddess of peace once appeared in the form of a white buffalo calf.

As a non-albino white buffalo, Lightning Medicine Cloud was revered by Native Americans. Thousands of people of all races attended a naming ceremony for the unusual calf last year, and Little Soldier called it the “hope of all nations.”

Little Soldier said he found the calf dead and skinned, a few feet away from where it was born a year ago. Little Soldier said the calf’s mother, which was found dead and skinned the next day, was poisoned. The calf’s father was struck and killed by lightning in April.

The Hunt County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Rangers are investigating the calf’s death, and Little Soldier said the Bureau of Indian Affairs is also involved. “We’re pushing for this to be a hate crime,” said Little Soldier, who wants lawmakers to offer some kind of protection for the white buffalo. There is also a reward that now exceeds $45,000.

Hart-Button said her organization doesn’t open its sanctuary up to the public because of safety concerns. “We’ve been threatened, people have offered me millions of dollars for their heads and hides,” she said. “I’ve even been offered money for their meat. These are the rarest animals in the world.”

The peace organization’s bull may not carry the same spiritual significance, as Little Soldier said it was bred to be a white buffalo. But he said he’s grateful and excited for the gift.

“These buffaloes represent world peace, killing something that’s sacred is not what we’re supposed to be walking,” Hart-Button said. “We’re supposed to be walking towards peace, not going backwards.”

Little Soldier said he wants the buffalo’s killers to know they may have destroyed the animal, but not what he stood for. Little Soldier said he has received condolences and concerned calls from as far away as Australia, Europe and Canada.

“They’ve opened the doors to him being bigger than ever,” Little Soldier said.

SOURCE

 

[Opmmur]

I'm still very upset over the loss of the white buffalo. If I have my facts straight: There are three kinds of white Buffalo.

1. A baby white buffalo born with white fur, as the young baby white buffalo matures its coat of white starts turning brown and stay brown rest of their life.

2. Albino white buffaloes have red or pink eyes and they are a true albino and will continue to be white as it matures and for the rest of their life.

3. This baby white buffalo was the rare one, because it was born white and as it matured it stayed white. This means after a year of no changing of the color white, it truly was a white buffalo, all Indians look for as a messenger from great-grandfather (God) to the Native American people.

The killing this baby white buffalo and possibly its mother is a great tragedy. Even the members of this forum have lost possible insight to the future of this planet when this truly rare baby white was murdered. I'm very surprised that the Native American tribes haven't been more vocal on the subject. If you were to compare this to Christianity it would be almost the same as Jesus and mother Mary both being killed, when Jesus was one year old. This also would've changed the whole Christian religion as we know it today.

 

[kurisu]

If a normal buffalo was rare in the usa the white one is even more so. I'm surprised someone would kill a rare animal that has to be a serious crime.