Chief Arvol Looking Horse spoke to members of the University community during a March 17 gathering at the Michigan League, sponsored by Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, the Native American Student Association and the Native American Studies Department. A spiritual leader of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, a part of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Great Sioux Nation, Looking Horse carried a message of concern for the well-being of the planet and for all living things upon it.
The event began with a traditional welcome song by the Treetown Singers.
Looking Horse is the 19th generation keeper of the sacred white buffalo calf pipe, said to have been given to the people by a woman who descended from the sky and who subsequently transformed into a white buffalo calf before disappearing. This original pipe was entrusted to Looking Horse when he was 12 years old, making him the youngest keeper of the pipe in history.
A strong advocate for peace and environmental healing of the Earth, Looking Horse has met with many of the world’s leading spiritual leaders, and is the founding force behind World Peace & Prayer Day, celebrated every year on June 21.
