Chief Arvol Looking Horse
“I pray today. Like every morning we get up in the morning with a good mind to pray for the health and the wellbeing of all nations, that we are in a time of a global disasters. We are the crossroads and we need to pray and heal together for our future generations to come. We ask people to stand in prayer with us in a humble way. So our children and the environment will be good because we, as a people of the Earth. We are at our sacred sites, we are in ceremonies and Mother Earth has this fever and we ask people to pray with us during this hard time for there’s a lot of sicknesses, viruses that’s happening. And we know, each and every one of you know, how it is, so I ask each and every one of you to pray with us in a humble way.”
Arvol Looking Horse was born on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. At the age of 12, he was given the responsibility of becoming the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, the youngest ever. He is widely recognized as a chief and the spiritual leader of all three branches of the Sioux tribe. He is the author of White Buffalo Teachings and a guest columnist for Indian Country Today. A tireless advocate of maintaining traditional spiritual practices, Chief Looking Horse is the founder of Big Foot Riders which memorializes the massacre of Big Foot’s band at Wounded Knee. Chief Looking Horse’s prayers have opened numerous sessions of the United Nations and his many awards include the Juliet Hollister Award from the Temple of Understanding, a Non-Governmental Organization with Consultation Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He lives on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. Film interviews with Arol Looking Horse on spirituality, tribal history, and advice for American Indian youth are a featured part of the documentary film and DVD on the Crow Shoshone Sun Dance entitled Native Spirit: The Sun Dance Way. An illustrated book, Native Spirit: The Sun Dance Way, by Thomas Yellowtail (recorded and edited by Michael Fitzgerald), also features his counsel.