There was a time when the land was sacred,
and the ancient ones were as one with it,
A time when only the children of the
Great Sprit were here to light their fires
in the places with no boundaries . . .
In that time, when there were only simple ways,
I saw with my heart the conflicts to come,
and whether it was to be for good or bad,
what was certain was that there would be change.
2000 years ago, The Lakota (Sioux) Nation storytellers shared a story of a white buffalo and the white buffalo calf woman at council meetings and sacred ceremonies and while there were several variations of this story, the lesson was always the same: “Have communication with the Creator through prayer with clear intent for Peace, Harmony and Balance for all life living in the Earth Mother.”
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 Woman to teach the People how to pray with the Pipe. With that Pipe, seven sacred ceremonies were given for the people to abide in order to ensure a future with harmony, peace, and balance.
The seven sacred ways to pray includes the following:
- Sweat Lodge for purification
- Naming Ceremony for child naming
- Healing Ceremony to restore health to the body, mind and spirit
- Adoption Ceremony for making of relatives
- Marriage Ceremony for uniting male and female
- Vision Quest for communing with the Creator for direction and answers to one's life
- Sundance Ceremony to pray for the well-being of all the People
Sacred Hoops, by Phil Jackson (former head coach of the Chicago Bulls) is a book about interwoven teachings of the Lakota Sioux with basketball in the sense of experiencing every moment with a clear mind and an open heart. When you do that the game of basketball and life will take care of itself, Jackson says.
In the team room of the Chicago Bulls in the Sheri L. Berto Center, hangs a wooden arrow with a tobacco pouch tied to it, a Lakota Sioux symbol for prayer. On another wall hangs a bear-claw necklace, conveying power and wisdom upon its wearer. There is the middle feather of an Owl for balance and harmony and photos of white buffalo, the most sacred of symbols, for prosperity and good fortune.
Perhaps it is time for us to learn a lesson from our Native American brothers and sisters and find our own White Buffalos.
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