When a herd of 11 rare white buffalo living near the Grand Canyon needed a new home earlier this year, all signs seemed to point to Central Oregon, from the climate on down to Madras High School’s mascot being the White Buffalo, says Cynthia Hart Button, founding president of the nonprofit Sacred World Peace Alliance.

The herd was brought to Oregon in March, and the buffalo is now grazing at Pine Mountain Buffalo Ranch, located east of Bend near Pine Mountain. The Sacred World Peace Alliance is offering private viewings of the herd on Sundays through the rest of the month. Visits must be arranged in advance through the group (see “If you go”).

According to Button, her organization, which currently hangs its hat in Bend, began as the Sacred World Peace Church. It adopted the “Alliance” name as it shifted its focus to green living, education and providing a sanctuary for the white buffalo and endangered animals.

The white buffalo is considered a sacred symbol of peace and change among the Lakota and other American Indian tribes, according to Button, who says her father was a Lakota Indian named Uriah White Buffalo.

“In 1988, before he died, he said, ‘One day you’re going to have to protect white buffaloes, and you’re going to have to deal with these white buffaloes,’” she says. “He was in the hospital dying of cancer, and I just thought it was the drugs they gave him.”

In 2000, while driving with her husband in Arizona, she followed a road sign for “White Buffalo.” When they arrived at the 5-acre ranch, she met the herd’s original caretakers, Jim and Dena Riley.

“(Jim Riley) says, ‘Hey, welcome home to the white buffalo,’” Button recalls. “I ended up … working there and started to become their protector. And I’ve been with them ever since. Kind of a crazy story, but it’s the real one,” she says, laughing.

After Jim Riley died of a heart attack in 2008, “Dena was kind of left on her own. We were going to do some fundraising to help her raise money.”

Eventually, Dena Riley “decided to put the buffaloes into the alliance so that we could give educational programs,” says Button. “We kind of dropped the ‘Church’ a little bit … so we kind of do the ‘Alliance’ more than we do a church, even though we are a Peace Church and we do support peace events, really what we’re focused on is the buffaloes.”

Uncommon genes

The alliance was drawn to Central Oregon because of the presence of Alan Rousseau, who started the Pine Mountain Buffalo Ranch in 2000, according to the ranch’s website.

“We were invited by … Rousseau to bring the white buffalo herd to Bend, and we found the high grasses, the beauty of the land and community ideal for these animals,” Button explains in publicity materials for the herd.

All buffalo are born red, then become brown, black or, most rarely, white, says Button. White animals sometimes result when buffalo are crossbred with cattle or yaks, says Button: “They’re called ‘beefalo’ or ‘yako.’” However, the alliance’s herd are DNA-tested American-Canadian bison, and they are not to be confused with albinos, she stresses. Little is known about the genetics of the white buffalo, says Button.

According to the website sacredwhitebuffalo.org, the odds of one turning out white are about one in 10 million.

However, Jim Matheson of the National Bison Association says, “It’s a funny topic, because … there’s really no data collected on the matter. It’s really difficult to cite a number; I think these numbers have been thrown around over the years. The bottom line is it’s extremely rare to have an authentically white buffalo. The numbers simply are not available to give you a 1-in-X amount of times that it occurs.”

Incidentally, Matheson has heard of this herd.

“At the National Bison Association, we don’t focus on white buffalo or that sort of thing. Our stance, officially, is we believe in bison being left bison, 100 percent. It sounds like this is a legitimate bison herd that happens to be white,” he says. “They said they were DNA-tested, and they came back 100 percent bison.”

Says Button, “We do know that the white gene is in the female. Whites can have a brown. A white male and a white female can have a brown. We’ve actually had it happen. You can see one (at the ranch), and he’s black,” she says. “You just don’t know. This is an all-new breed for us, and it’s all exciting. We have kept the breeds 100 percent pure.”

Third generation

The herd started in Wyoming in 1997, when “Big Momma,” a brown buffalo still living among her fair-haired progeny, gave birth to “Miracle Moon,” which turned white shortly after its birth, explains Button.

Big Momma went on to give birth to three more white buffalo, including the first documented white male buffalo, named Arizona. Three from that generation parented white buffalo themselves. “We’re on the third generation … and we’re getting ready to go on to our fourth generation,” says Button.

Pendleton Woolen Mills is making a white buffalo blanket using fibers from hair the buffalo shed annually. The blankets will be available from Sacred World Peace Alliance, which is currently looking for a permanent home for the herd in Oregon, says Button.

“You’ve got incredible grass here, and you’ve got (an) incredible climate. And Bend’s perfect for them.”

If you go

To see the white buffalo, Sunday visits can be arranged through Aug. 29 by calling 888-401-5066. The cost is $10 per person, free for children under 6.

To help support their board, feed and care, contact Sacred World Peace Alliance at 888-401-5066 or sacredworldpeacealliance@msn.com.