Miracle is Ten Years Old

[Jeanway 0]

This is Miracle. He is a white buffalo. Born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1994. He is very rare and holds great significance to the Indians in America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

<_< SWEETIE

[WEAREBORG4102 0]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! <_<

 

WOW I've never said happy birthday to a buffalo before....

[Jeanway 0]

"It's a Miracle!"

 

A white buffalo, symbol of Native American

 

rebirth and world harmony, is born in Janesville."

 

by Tom Laskin

 

"To tell the truth, the first time I looked out there, I saw a million dollars," says Janesville farmer Dave Heider as he watches Miracle, the white buffalo calf held sacred by Native Americans, chew contentedly on a mouthful of silage. "But once I saw how much this little calf means to so many people, I couldn't see charging money for people to come and look at her. I mean, how can you put a price on something that's sacred and holy? You know, if God meant for me to be a millionaire, I would have won the lottery."

 

Heider and his wife, Val, had been raising buffalo on their 46­acre hobby farm for less than five years when Miracle was born snow white on Aug. 20. Since then more than 20,000 people have come to see her, and the gate to the Heider's pasture and the trees next to it are now covered with offerings: feathers, necklaces and pieces of colorful cloth as well as personal notes and the occasional medal won in Vietnam. All this has piqued the interest of news and infotainment outlets around the world, including the BBC, CBS News, and People magazine. Notes Dave Heider, "We made the front page of papers seven days in a row when O.J. didn't."

 

Naturally, an assortment of wealthy collectors and modern­day Barnums have also shown an interest in the calf. Early on, rock star Ted Nugent, who penned a song about a white buffalo, offered to buy Miracle.

 

But the Heiders haven't tried to make money off the calf. Dave still drives a truck for the county (he'll go up to a 16­hour day when the snow begins to fall) and Val hasn't quit her janitor job. The couple has gotten into a little merchandising, but profits from postcards and T­shirts sold at the farm during weekend visiting hours go into a trust fund that will be used to maintain the calf and pay for such other expenses as the 9,000­ volt electric fence that guards Miracle and the rest of the Heider's 13 buffalo herd. To prevent exploitation of the calf by carnival sharks and what the Heiders' attorney, Dan Varline, calls "UFO magazines," both Miracle's image and name have been copyrighted. (Isthmus had to sign an agreement prohibiting broader use in order to photograph the calf.)

 

The Heiders knew from contacts in the bison industry that their calf was unusual; in fact, the Wisconsin Farmer and The Beloit Daily News both did stories about its birth. But it was only after the story got wider distribution that they learned Miracle was held sacred by buffalo­hunting Plains Indians; including the Lakota and the Cheyenne.

 

"The story hit the news wire on Wednesday and the first Native Americans were here on Thursday," recalls Heider. "I think they were Oneida. They came from Black River Falls. We were up by the calf with some people and these Native Americans had been waiting for an hour, an hour and half. They asked our permission to see the calf and also pray to it and leave an offering."

 

News of the calf spread quickly through the Native American community because its birth fulfilled a 2,000­year­old prophecy of northern Plains Indians. Joseph Chasing Horse, traditional leader of the Lakota nation, explains that 2,000 years ago a young woman who first appeared in the shape of a white buffalo gave the Lakota's ancestors a sacred pipe and sacred ceremonies and made them guardians of the Black Hills. Before leaving, she also prophesied that one day she would return to purify the world, bringing back spiritual balance and harmony; the birth of a white buffalo calf would be a sign that here return was at hand.Owen Mike, who's in line to succeed his 90­year­old father, Thomas, as head of the Ho­Chunk (Winnebago) buffalo clan, says his people have a slightly different interpretation of the white calf's significance. He adds, however, that the Ho­Chunk version of the prophecy also stresses the return of harmony, both in nature and among all peoples.

 

"It's more of a blessing from the Great Spirit," Mike explains. "It's a sign. This white buffalo is showing us that everything is going to be okay."

[Jeanway 0]

Just listening to Leonard Cohen's "Waiting for a Miracle to Come" and thought of Miracle :blink:

Edited August 3, 2004 by Jeanway