Case file · Apparition / miracle
Miracle, the white buffalo calf
On 20 August 1994 a white bison calf was born on the Heider farm near Janesville, Wisconsin; Lakota and other Plains people saw it as a sign tied to White Buffalo Calf Woman, who brought the sacred pipe.
1994 CE · 42.68, -89.02 · status: account
The account
The calf, named Miracle, drew tens of thousands of visitors and pilgrims before she died in 2004.
The sceptical view
White bison are rare genetic variants; their meaning is spiritual, which is how the Lakota themselves describe it.