White Buffalo is one of the most popular stones found in Native American Jewelry. It's found only one place in the world in Tonopah, Nevada and was not discovered until 1993.
White Buffalo Stone was first discovered in the farthest edge of the Dry Creek Turquoise vein. This is majorly the reason why it is referred to as 'Turquoise,' taking on a simplistic term at the mining site. White buffalo turquoise does not have any copper content nor a blue hue. Geologists argue over whether White Buffalo is a unique stone or white turquoise. White Buffalo lies in veins like turquoise. Surrounded by in black chert a black rock similar to flint. It cuts and polishes like turquoise, and is revered by collectors of Native American jewelry. The better stones have clear delineations of black and white.
White Buffalo was named after the Native American legend of the rare white buffalo, a powerful spiritual belief. In this legend, a beautiful Lakota woman appeared to two natives who were searching for wild game amidst a famine.She gave them sacred tobacco and taught them how to use it in prayer. As she was walking away, she then turned into a rare white buffalo. They continued to use the sacred tobacco in her absence and soon thereafter an abundant herd of buffalo appeared to abate the native's hunger. To learn more about this legend -- click here.
White Buffalo is a “power stone” popular among Reiki and Kundalini Yoga practitioners because the stone symbolizes balancing both light and dark energies.
Howlite is a stone that is sometimes represented as White Buffalo by unscrupulous vendors. Howlite is a creamy white with more of grey erratic veining. The grey matrix is a differentiating marker that will help you identify it as a different stone (acutally calcium borosilicate hydroxide). Howlite is porous and easily absorbs dyes to imitate other more costly stones like turquoise, coral and even lapis. This stone when dyed can be confusing to recognize. Howlite has a marble like look and does not generally have as high a shine as white buffalo.
We did a lot of research for this White Buffalo blog, and there is some controversy between experts about whether white buffalo is white turquoise or a unique stone. We are not experts, we simply love White Buffalo.
Shop the Classy Farm Girl White Buffalo collection here!
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