Buffalo Spirit
The Buffalo Spirit (Tatanka) is one of the most powerful and revered animal spirits in Lakota mythology. The buffalo is considered a relative of the Lakota people and a source of life, providing food, clothing, shelter, and tools. Buffalo spirits appear in many stories—as the buffalo people who intermarry with humans, as spirit guides in vision quests, and as the ultimate gift from the Creator. The White Buffalo Calf Woman is the most sacred manifestation of the buffalo spirit. The buffalo also appears as one of the Wakan Kuya (lesser sacred beings)