White Buffalo Spirit’s lineup of wellness products. Photo credit: White Buffalo Spirit.
There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to cosmetics and skincare.
Unfortunately, clients are often unknowingly led to products with harmful ingredients by dishonest marketing tactics. When it comes to newer trends like CBD, it’s particularly important that customers understand exactly what they’re buying.
Courtney Freeman, creator of White Buffalo Spirit, is on a mission to provide honest and inspiring products that support physical, mental and earthly wellness.
The White Buffalo Prophecy
White Buffalo is a legacy brand; Freeman’s parents started it as a rolling paper company in the 1970s. Freeman’s mother chose the White Buffalo namesake; it was inspired by her Cherokee ancestry and the Native stories of White Buffalo Woman.
“After the American-Indian Movement of the 70s and Wounded Knee, there was a big emphasis on Native American values,” explained Freeman.
Indigenous peoples of North America consider the white buffalo sacred. The birth of a white buffalo is extremely rare. Many tribes revered them as a harbinger of better times to come. Known as the White Buffalo prophecy, the legend says that a deity, White Buffalo Woman, visited tribes and taught tribal ancestors the seven sacred rites, such as the vision quest. Before leaving, White Buffalo Woman said that one day in the future, the health of our planet would be endangered by pollution and mistreatment, and that people would be ideologically divided in a fragmented culture.
The deity also said that she would return at that time when she is needed most.
“We indeed find ourselves today in a dire state of affairs both in terms of the environment and our cultural experience,” Freeman continues. “Our mantra “The Time Has Come” resonates more than ever. We are doing our part to contribute to environmental solutions and hopefully, to unify people through this plant medicine movement that we are experiencing now.”
Taking Over the Family Brand
Freeman became CEO of the family-owned brand in 2015. She has since advocated for cannabis decriminalization, legalization, and the broader plant medicine wellness lifestyle.
She was inspired to embark on this journey after a pivotal announcement by the Department of Justice. In 2013, Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued the now-famous Cole Memo authorizing tribes to cultivate cannabis. The idea of taking over the family brand became about much more than just expanding a product line.
Freeman says this was “a great opportunity for tribes to participate in an emerging industry and to establish new revenue streams. Cannabis has always been a part of our human experience and Indigenous peoples carry the knowledge of our sacred, healing plants. This significant moment in cannabis legalization was a real trigger for me.”
She took immediate action, she explains. “We devised our current plan to create healthy cannabis and hemp products, and through our Benefit corp, to support Indigenous concerns, environmental safeguards, and social impact initiatives.”
Post from @whitebuffalospirit on Instagram.
Paying Homage to Ancestral Legacies
In addition to paying homage to ancestral legacies, White Buffalo Spirit introduces people to cannabis medicine through their leading-edge skincare and personal care products.
“[CBD] is one of the best ingredients you can put on your skin to keep your skin supple and youthful. But this compound offers us so much more,” says Freeman. “Cannabis upregulates and downregulates our endocannabinoid system to bring us a state of balance, or what we call homeostasis.”
Unlike the pharmaceutical industry, she says the cannabis/hemp industry ushers in a new era of personalized wellness, recognizing the efficacy of plant medicine.
For instance, the infusion of CBD into White Buffalo Spirit’s PEACE massage lotion not only nourishes the skin; it also helps to reduce muscle tension, pain and inflammation.
The company also focuses on the medicinal properties and flavonoids of essential oils. Each product contains different oils, highlighting how Indigenous ancestors used plant medicine.
The PEACE Massage Primer, for example, features organic lemongrass and eucalyptus essential oils, and willow bark extract, which tribes used to treat pain and inflammation.
PEACE Massage Lotion. Photo credit: White Buffalo Spirit.
“Native Americans developed hot stone massages and used lemongrass to bring more heat to the muscles so you can work them out better,” says Freeman. “Salicin, found in white willow bark, is the precursor to salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. The origins of our modern pharmacology harken back to the teachings of the Indigenous peoples handed down generation to generation.”
In addition to its cooling effect, eucalyptus helps ingredients permeate the skin, rather than just sitting on it.
The company also uses a variety of other substances such as magnesium in the FREEDOM Facial Toning Mist. As Dr. Joshua Zeichner explains to Women’s Health Magazine, “magnesium is necessary for maintenance of a healthy skin barrier, and [helps] fight off dry, damaged skin.”
Post from @whitebuffalospirit on Instagram.
Supporting the Community
When it comes to sustainability and community building, White Buffalo focuses on keeping with the ethos of the prophecy.
As a registered Benefit corporation, the company contributes to a range of non-profit organizations. This include Last Prisoner Project, Heal the Bay, and The Native American Women’s Education Health Resource Center. Freeman has worked closely with women’s groups in cannabis/hemp, including Women Empowered in Cannabis and Tokeativity.
Post from @whitebuffalospirit on Instagram.
“We’ve been producing events since 2015 and working with a lot of different organizations to create community-building events,” Freeman notes. “We want to further the work of the people who sacrificed everything to establish safe access so that we can purchase clean, lab-tested flower at the corner dispensary or CBD boutique. With federal legalization, larger corporate interests will take more market share, and those C corps are beholden to their shareholders to do one thing — turn a profit. It’s up to our community to keep the momentum and to protect the values of our movement: family-owned farms, plant medicine wellness, and sustainable business practices.”
Shopping Sustainable Skincare
All of White Buffalo Spirit’s CBD products come in renewable, reusable glass packaging.
“We share some ideas on our website of what you can do to reuse the packaging,” explains Freeman. “When you finish the VITALITY natural deodorant, for example, you can rinse out the glass bottle and spray pump and reuse it to mist your plants.”
Additionally, the company offers ECO refills for re-orders to reduce plastic waste. Customers can order a refill of the HARMONY CBD Facial Moisturizer that comes sealed with a metal cap only so customers save and reuse the plastic pump.
White Buffalo Spirit also makes the following efforts towards sustainability:
- All CBD skincare and personal care products include certified organic essential oils when possible to reduce the use of pesticides.
- Tamper evident strips on each product are made of hemp paper.
- Labels are printed on metalized paper in order to reduce plastic.
- The LOVE Lip Primer lip balm is made with locally-sourced beeswax and biodegradable paper tubes.
- Customers can recycle plastic pumps and spray cap bottles at participating Nordstrom stores for the Terracycle recycling program.
The company also launched a “Water is Life” campaign. The campaign supports environmental safeguards and protects precious drinking water. For each stainless steel water bottle they sell, they donate 1$ to Native American Rights Fund (NARF).
Post from @whitebuffalospirit on Instagram.
“The environmental impact is important because it’s really up to us to, either as consumers or as manufacturers, to make the right decisions,” Freeman notes. “As a manufacturer and wellness lifestyle brand, we are making decisions to benefit consumers and leading by example to show what is possible. When our customers purchase our products, they are contributing to their own improved personal experience and to positive change for all.”
Priming With Passion
Overall, when it comes to our skin (and our wallets), it’s important to support with brands dedicated to wellness.
White Buffalo Spirit is a legacy brand on a mission to help people integrate cannabis into their lifestyles and make positive changes.
In addition to skincare products, the company currently offers fitness apparel, rolling papers, and oracle cards to honor the pioneers of the industry.
Post from @whitebuffalospirit on Instagram.
“Overall, [we’re] creating intentional products for cannabis and hemp enthusiasts,” Freeman adds. “We’re doing things that are really fun and healthy and changing the outdated perception of what it means to be a weed lover or a cannabis consumer.“
For those looking for wellness products or a way to incorporate plant medicine into their life, all White Buffalo Spirit products are available at WhiteBuffaloSpirit.org. Customers can also find White Buffalo Spirit on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. To shop in person, check their locations to support local retailers.
For those planning to give the gift of wellness this holiday season, consider their Lux CBD Gift Box. Check out the holiday gift shipping guide to ensure orders arrive on time.
Written by Rita Thompson
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