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Rare white buffalo born in New England

Posted at 5:35 PM, Jul 19, 2012
and last updated 2012-07-19 17:37:31-04

GOSHEN, Conn. — The birth of a white bison, considered an extremely rare event, will bring, by the hundreds, Native Americans to a farm in New England.

As many as two thousand people will converge on a small farm in northwestern Connecticut next week for a naming ceremony for a rare white bison. The official naming ceremony will be held July 28.

Peter Fay, a fourth-generation Goshen farmer, will allow his hay field to be used as a campsite for the travelers and crowds expected.

According to the Associated Press, word spread rapidly after the birth of the white bison–which experts say is as rare as one in 10 million—on June 16.

Marian White Mouse, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota, said the birth of a white bison is a sign from a prophet, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who helped them endure times of strife and famine, according to the AP.

In the video above, Fay said that South Dakota members of the Sioux Indian tribe told him that they had performed a ceremony for the birth of a white buffalo just three days before the baby was born. Indian legend states that this three-day period is exactly how long it takes for a white buffalo to be born after such ceremony takes place.

Click on the video for more shots of the white buffalo.