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Statement of recent prayer gathering to pray again with the Buffalo Nation (Pte Oyate) by Arvol Looking Horse, the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe "We, the two-legged and four-legged Pte Oyate, the Buffalo Nation call upon all relatives to prepare for a gathering. We call for this Buffalo Summit during the Fall 2009, to put our hearts and our minds and our spirits together on behalf of our relatives in distress..."
Today, we stand on this sacred site; the ground where our relatives, the Pte Oyate, have chosen to bring the renewal of life. Many, many generations ago, our relatives, the buffalo emerged from Wind Cave in the Black Hills; the heart of Unci Maka (the Earth) and prepared the way for our existence. From that time forward, they saw to our survival. They taught us how to live in an honorable way, by example and through the teachings of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. She brought the Sacred Pipe to remind us of our responsibilities and also the rituals that are necessary to discipline ourselves. From the buffalo, we learned to have an honorable kinship with Unci Maka. They knew Unci and carefully tended to her health. For that reason, we hold them to be sacred.
We are here once again to pray for the Pte Oyate, the four-legged relatives that have perished in Yellowstone and for the little ones are born here into suffering. We pray for those that cause this needless death and suffering. We pray that they can accept the wisdom that we cannot turn away from; the wisdom that Pte Oyate is very essential to the wellbeing of Unci Maka and that the two-legged ones must respect and work with the Natural Laws of Unci Maka. We must pray for Unci Maka, who has been seriously wounded by this violence. We must pray for the healing of the human spirit.
We, the two-legged and four-legged Pte Oyate, the Buffalo Nation call upon all relatives to prepare for a gathering. We call for this Buffalo Summit during the Fall 2009, to put our hearts and our minds and our spirits together on behalf of our relatives in distress. With deepest respect for the challenges of leadership, we call upon another relative, President Barrack Obama, to join us to begin shaping a Nation-to-Nation agreement for the Yellowstone buffalo. Such an agreement would not come easy nor can it be reached in one discussion, but we invite him to sit with us to begin an honorable Nation-to-Nation consultation process. Great things can be achieved when good spirits come together in honor. Ho hecetu welo. Mitakuye Oyas'in (All My Relations) |
We co-existed in a good way until we were nearly decimated.
Ob unkasotapi tka. The sacred buffalo in these mountains are the
survivors. We are culturally and spiritually indebted to them
and we still need their guidance, to remind us how to be at
peace with Unci Maka. Let it be known that the habitat of the
wild buffalo is sacred ground, a SACRED SITE for the Lakota, for
all native people, and for all humanity who hold reverence for
Creation.
We give wopila; thanks for the relatives and the newly born
that have survived. We give wopila and ask for tunkasila's
blessings for all those that gather here today, for the people
who have woksape, the wisdom of the Earth and have stood with
our relatives for many, many cold winters. We are deeply
grateful for all of your efforts and ask for your continued
help.