WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN is a central figure in Lakota Indian history and contemporary life. Known in the Lakota language as Pte-san win-yan, she brought the Sacred Buffalo Calf Pipe and the Seven Sacred Rites to the Lakota people. The Lakota consider her extremely holy. Some regard her as the reappearance of Woȟpe (Falling Star or Beautiful Woman) who, like Pte-san win-yan, embodies the ideals of Lakota womanhood. White Buffalo Calf Woman is one of many female sacred powers in Native American myth and ritual, including Corn Woman (Cherokee), Changing Woman (Navajo), White Painted Woman (Apache), Our Grandmother (Shawnee), and Thought Woman (Keres).

Some tribal histories indicate that Pte-san win-yan arrived among the Lakota in the late 1700s during their difficult transition from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains. Buffalo were integral to Lakota life on the plains, providing everything...