Mahpiya Ska (

Sioux language Sioux is a Siouan language spoken by over 30,000 Sioux in the United States and Canada, making it the fifth most spoken Indigenous languages of the Americas, Indigenous language in the United States or Canada, behind Navajo language, Navajo, Cre ...

) or White Cloud (July 10, 1996 – November 14, 2016) was an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

female buffalo primarily residing at the

National Buffalo Museum National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

located in

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in and the county seat of Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, ninth most populous city in North ...

. She was on loan to the museum and the project caring for her was funded by the City of Jamestown for approximately $10,000 per year. She was certified a true Albino

American Bison The American bison (''Bison bison''; : ''bison''), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with Bubalina, true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic species, endemic (or native) to North America. ...

. She died November 14, 2016, at her birthplace herd that she had been returned to, Shirek Buffalo Ranch. White Cloud, like most albino buffalo, was almost totally

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

and had limited vision and joined the herd located at the museum in 1997. She gave birth to several calves, although none of them were pure white. Native Americans from all over America performed sacred pilgrimages to visit her. She was allowed to roam freely within a several hundred acre expanse of the museum grounds. The fence outside of her compound in Jamestown was tied with hundreds of prayer and ribbon bundles from Native Americans who traveled thousands of miles to offer prayers and receive blessings. According to ''Buffalo Tales'', the newsletter of the North Dakota Buffalo Foundation and the National Buffalo Museum, White Cloud had a white calf on August 31, 2007. According to the newsletter and the museum's website this was White Cloud's first white calf.{{cite web , url=http://www.nationalbuffalomuseum.com/ , title=Home , website=nationalbuffalomuseum.com Museum officials determined that the calf was a male, but it would not be named until January 2008. The museum solicited suggestions from the public for a name for the calf until November 30, 2007. Finally, the name Dakota Miracle was decided on. While Dakota Miracle is white, he is not albino like his mother. White Cloud was born on July 10, 1996, on the Shirek Buffalo Farm in Michigan, North Dakota. She was DNA tested for albino genes and cattle genes before she went to the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, North Dakota in May 1997. The results of those tests indicated that she was pure albino and also pure bison (commonly known as buffalo). It is not known for sure whether or not White Cloud's white calf is also a true albino. The white calf was produced when White Cloud mated with her first male calf, a normally brown-colored bison.

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External links

City of JamestownAt National Buffalo Museum, rare white bison call pastures home
with photograph. From ''Cowboys and Indians'', October 2009, by Keith Norman. Individual bovines Native American religion 1996 animal births 2016 animal deaths Individual albino animals Jamestown, North Dakota Individual animals in the United States

See also

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External links