"White Buffalo" is an extraordinary film. Twenty years in the making, it captures the essence of native American spiritual traditions through interviews with elders, shamans and wisdom keepers from a variety of tribes, with emphasis on the Lakota tribe. Watching it, we feel the great loss of having this deep spiritual connection with Nature and Spirit systematically beaten out of these great Nations by the European invaders of this continent. And yet we see in these surviving wisdom keepers little trace of hatred or resentment towards those who destroyed their way of life and committed mass genocide upon their people.
Instead, we find an all-encompassing love and sense of unity will all humanity, all races. Indeed, the central metaphor of the film, the birth of a white buffalo, symbolizes for natives the emergence of a new epoch, a golden age for all the earth. Another symbol that is important in this wonderful film, is the medicine wheel, which is equally divided into four colored segments-red, yellow, black and white-symbolizing the four races of man on earth sharing a common circle. Early in the film these two symbols come powerfully together with the extremely rare birth of a white buffalo, which then proceeds to change color each year, into yellow, red, and black.
Adding to the delight of "White Buffalo" is the repartee between the unlikely filmmakers of such a project--four Jewish brothers from New York City--whom you will grow to love as much as the fascinating elders and shamans they interview. I found this film to be extremely moving and inspirational, and freely admit to tearing up several times. I recommend watching when you are in a quiet, contemplative, introspective, patient mood, prepared to let these treasured elders speak to your heart.
-- Bart Marshall, author of "Becoming Vulnerable to Grace," "Christ Sutras," "The Perennial Way," and "Bhagavad Gita: The Definitive Translation"
