White buffalo bull being donated to Texas ranch

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 celebration 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. A memorial service will be held on Sunday morning.

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 on May 16.

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."