
Native American Skies: Winter Solstice
The sky has been an important indicator of what is happening and what will happen on earth for ancient peoples all over the world for as long as man has possessed the curiosity to look up. The movement of the sun across the horizon and back throughout the year, has been especially important as an indicator and predictor of the seasons. On December 21st, 2014 the sun travelled as far south as it would go, rose for three days in the same place and then started its journey nor

White Buffalo, Part 7: Eastern Herds
On some of the early drafts of my novel, “The First Raven Mocker”, witch is book 1 of the “Cherokee Chronicles” series, I was criticized for references to the ancient Cherokee using buffalo blankets. Although, I am sure the Cherokee could have traded for buffalo hides, the Woodland buffalo did thrive east of the Mississippi in pre-Columbian times. In 1540, De Soto sent two soldiers to scout for gold in Cherokee territory. They brought back a dressed buffalo skin, the fir

White Buffalo, Part 6: Hunting White Buffalo
In previous articles, I have mentioned that a true white buffalo happens only once every ten million births, according to the National Bison Association. But, today, white buffalo are not nearly so rare. According to Aaron Bulkley, owner of Texas Hunt Lodge, “There are multiple breeding ranches all over the U.S. that breed white buffalo. If you breed a white buffalo to a white buffalo you will have a white buffalo.” He estimates there are over fifty white buffalo througho

White Buffalo, Part 5: Lone Star
A true white buffalo happens only once every ten million births, according to the National Bison Association, but many white buffalo in North America result from breading a buffalo with cattle (sometimes referred to as bison hybrid, beefalo or cattalo). Breeding the buffalo with cattle has been a serious setback to wild American bison conservation. Most current bison herds are genetically polluted or partly crossbred with cattle leaving only four genetically unmixed American