Chapter 2

The White Buffalo

The white buffalo led her herd into a lush meadow surrounded by a dense forest. The grass was a young, tender new growth after a late autumn rainy season. Deep in the earth, she could smell the passing of her buffalo tribe earlier in the year. They had stayed long and had grazed the grass away, leaving dark brown soil as they migrated north. Within the wisdom of her body, she could feel the migrations of her tribe's many generations that had stopped to eat in this place. The new grasses grew sweet and fragrant, and the white grandmother buffalo's mind drifted to the needs of her herd.

The white leader of the buffalo tribe closed her eyes in the sunlight. She felt deep joy in leading this strong herd through lush grasslands. But hidden deep in her body's mind, a forgotten thought tugged at her: there seemed to be something she meant to do on this migration. There was another tribe that could benefit from her wisdom. A distant memory awoke in the white buffalo. She held the Web of Life teachings to gift to the people of this land. A loud cry brought the grandmother buffalo out of her deep meditations. Above her an eagle screeched loudly, and in her nose a scent screamed an even louder alarm. Humans!

She bellowed to the herd to flee south, reaching out to the group mind to turn in that direction. The old grandfather buffalo fell at her side with three arrows in his heart. Other arrows flew in the air and several hunters ran toward them with clubs to make a quick death of her old companion. The herd fled in all directions and thundered away, leaving her alone as she ran south.

The white buffalo ran until she was winded then slowed to a walk to catch her breath. She came to a stream and stood still, turning her ears to the north. There was no sound of pursuit, so she tasted the gentle northerly breeze with her nose until she was content that no hunters were near.

The tired buffalo bent down and took a long cool drink. Her legs trembled with fatigue as she lay down to rest. She set all her senses on guard in case any predators approached and then drifted into the dream world. She was with Grandmother Spider Woman in the Painted Earth Temple. Spider Woman was explaining that, as a young priestess, it was important to learn about the Web of Life so she could pass the teachings onto future generations.