THE LEGEND OF THE 13 TURTLE MOONS and THE LEGEND OF THE WHITE BUFFALO

The Legend of the 13 Turtle Moons is a powerful example of the Indian's belief in oneness with the earth. Look on the shell of most fresh water turtles and you will see 13 large scales. The Indians believe that these 13 scales represent the 13 new moons which occure in nature and make up the full year. Each new moon begins a 28 day "month" - 13 months make up one year (364 days- leaving one day for rest). .  Add to this the fact that there are 28 platelets surrounding the full edge of the turtle's shell- those 28 representing the 28 days of each of the 13 months.  No wonder that the Indians chose the turtle to be the main player in the creation theory which we share here. As for the white buffalo- many northern tribes believe that the rare white buffalo is a signal of change and a time to make peace. These animals are held to be sacred.This is the legend of the white buffalo and the introduction of the peace pipe to the Indian tribe of the Lakota Sioux.