Buffalo Gals

We are sitting in a circle near Old Faithful with our alter items in the center.  We had traveled here to pray for mother earth as the waters in Lake Yellowstone have been heating up to a dangerous level.  It had first come to my attention as I listened to a report on the evening news months earlier, that the fish were dying and there was concern that the earth might erupt to relieve her pressure.  I had also heard that different groups of Native Americans were coordinating efforts so that a ceremony could be preformed at least once a month inside the park. 

We now pass the white sage around the circle.  We are not Native Americans in the traditional way; we are pink Americans that have gathered from our native states of Colorado, Wisconsin, Ohio and other places across the land.  Most of us only knew the few folks that we had driven with to get here.  Now we are making new friends as we come together to lend our support and prayers for our dear Mother Earth.  Our spiritual leader, Rev. Kari Chapman, founder of the Namaste Retreat Center in Wisconsin, had sent out an email to invite everyone to join her here at this time.  We had shown up.

It is the middle of May and colder than I thought it was going to be.  I am a tiny bit conscious of other park visitors looking at us curiously, and then most move away without making eye contact.   A park ranger comes over to the circle and whispers that the buffalo are coming in.  “If they get any closer I am going to ask you to move, and you will need to move quickly.”  

 “Holy Crap”, I thought to myself, but Kari never missed a beat.  She graciously acknowledged his presence but went right on with the ritual – singing, chanting, and praying.  A young man that had been standing behind us came quietly and sat down beside me.  He started singing and praying with us.  It felt right and peaceful and on we went.  Kari described the 21 Lakota elders mounted on their spirit horses that were present and standing behind us in an outer circle.  I could not see them, but I could feel their powerful presence.  They were here to support us and give strength to our prayers.

We finished our ceremony and I began to drift back into my body.  I looked outside the circle and saw several groups of buffalo, standing, watching us.  From my position cross legged on the ground, they looked so much bigger and shaggier than the ones we had driven past yesterday.  I watched the park ranger watch the buffalo.  To release the energy of the ceremony we lifted our hands above our heads and started trilling and singing “hallelujah” as we stood up, hugging and smiling at one another.  As if listening to a silent cue, all of the buffalo slowly turned and gently left the area.  They had been our witnesses, our sentinels, offering us protection and validity ~ a mutual honoring.