Why the rare white buffalo calf is both a celebration and a warning for Indigenous tribes [Video]

There has never been any record of a white buffalo calf born in Yellowstone National Park — until now.

The rare white American buffalo calf was spotted for the first time earlier this month, and to some Indigenous tribes, the birth signaled both a blessing and a warning to the world.

“I never thought this would happen in our generation,” Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate, said in an interview that aired on TODAY June 27.

Looking Horse said the birth is seen as the second coming of the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who first appeared thousands of years ago when buffalo were scarce and people were hungry, NBC News reported. She taught members of the Lakota to pray and honor the Earth, and promised to return one day as a white bison calf with black eyes, nose and hooves.

Indigenous groups burned sage, sang songs and danced in a …