Native American Prophecies - Bayer - Teofanov

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NATIVE AMERICAN PROPHECIES

Editors: Emil Teofanov and Robert Bayer

(2015)

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CONTENTS:

1. INTRODUCTION 5

2. WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW 10

3. HOPI PROPHECY 14

THOMAS BANACYCA TALKS ABOUT HOPI PROPHECY 25

THE HOPI MESSAGE 28

EPILOGUE 33

HOPI PROPHECIES FOR OUR FUTURE 35

DESCRIPTION OF HOPI PROPHECY IMAGE 35

NOTES FROM THE BIG MOUNTAIN MEETING 37

SCIENCE AFFIRMS HOPI PROPHECY FOR SACRED LANDS 39

WHAT'S HAPPENING? 39

TO WHOM IS IT HAPPENING? 42

HOPI MESSAGE VIA RUDI SCHULTTHESISS 44

HOPI PROPHECY CLARIFICATION 48

MEDITATIONSWITH THE HOPI 50

MESSAGES FROM THE ELDERS 55

INTRODUCTION TO SUN CLAN LEADER 55

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE 56

EMMERGENCE INTO THE PRESENT WORLD 58

THE FIRST MEETING WITH THE GREAT SPIRIT 61

AN ACT OF PROPHETIC CONSEQUENCE 62

THE MISSION OF THE TWO BROTHERS 63

THE MEETING WITH MAASAU'U NEAR ORAIBI 66

THE FOUNDING OF ORAIBI VILLAGE 67

THE ARRIVAL OF ANOTHER RACE FORETOLD 70

THE FORCES OF PURIFICATION 71

THE FAITHFUL HOPI MEET THEIR TEST 73

THE FAITHFUL HOPI EVICTED FROM ORAIBI 76

THE FOUNDING OF HOTVELA VILLAGE 77

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RENEWED ATTACKS 77

THE DISRUPTION CONTINUES TODAY 78

THE KEEPER OF THE HOPI FIRE CLAN TABLETS 84

HOPI DECLARATION OF PEACE 96

4. MORE NATIVE AMERICAN PROPHECIES 99

NAVAJO PROPHECY OF THE WHIRLING RAINBOW 99

LAKOTA SIOUX PROPHECY OF THE WHITE BUFFALO 101

PAWNEE PROPHECY 104

OJIBIWA (CHIPPEWA) PROPHECY OF THE FIRES 106

IROQUOIS PROPHECY 113

APACHE PROPHECY: NIGHT OF THE RED SKY 115

THE FOUR SIGNS 125

THE FIRST SIGN 126

THE SECOND SIGN 130

THE THIRD SIGN 133

THE FOURTH SIGN 135

LUMMI TRIBE PROPHECIES 138

MAYAN PROPHECY OF THE HARMONIC CONVERGENCE 140

THE INCA PROPHECY 147

CHEROKEE AND HOPI PROPHECIES 149

5. NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUAL LEADERS 170

THE PROPHECY OF DEGANWIDA: THE TWO SERPENTS 171

GOING TO THE NATIONS 175

DELIVERING THE YAGOWANEH 177

THE GREAT COUNCIL 180

MOTHER OF NATIONS 181

BLACK ELK’S VISIONS 187

EARLY BOYHOOD 187

THE GREAT VISION 188

THE BISON HUNT 211

THE COMPELLING FEAR 212

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THE HORSE DANCE 215

THE POWERS OF THE BISON AND THE ELK 227

BLACK ELK SPEAKS 230

GRANDMOTHER MONA 234

SMOHALLA 240

WOVOKA 243

ROLLING THUNDER 247

LAME DEER 250

SUN BEAR 252

6. THE GREAT SPIRIT OF NATIVE AMERICANS 254

CHIEF NOBLE RED MAN 255

CALLING GREAT SPIRIT 255

THE GREAT MYSTERIOUS 256

TALKING TO GOD 257

LISTENING TO GOD 257

PRAYER 258

VISIONS, DREAMS AND MIRACLES 258

GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS 260

RESPECT 260

GOODNESS 261

EVERYONE IS SACRED 262

GOD'S MERCY 262

SHARING 262

GOD MADE EVERYTHING SIMPLE 264

GOD'S TABERNACLE 264

LEON SHENANDOAH'S SPEECH TO THE UNITED NATIONS 265

A PROPHECY BY LEON SHEANDOAH, TADADAHO, SIX NATIONS 267

CHIEF OREN LYONS' SPEECH TO THE UNITED NATIONS 269

THE PROPHECY OF THE WHITE EAGLE 275

NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITIONAL ETHICS 278

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1. INTRODUCTION

American Indian Prophecies is not about the end of the world but, rather, a

change of worlds—the beginning of a new Earth cycle. The prophecies of

Black Elk, Wovoka, Rolling Thunder, Lame Deer, Sun Bear, and the Hopi are

used to examine the differences between Western and Native American world

views and their relationship to the future.

There is a remarkable difference between Western prophecies and those of

native peoples. When Western prophets see into the future they envision

Armageddon. The end of the world. When native prophets look down that

same path they see the completion of a great cycle. A change of worlds.

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The reason for these vastly different views is found in the way time is

experienced. In the West time is history. There is a past, a present, and a

future; a beginning, a middle, and an end. Like a stick. Native peoples

experience time as a cycle. There are four stages, such as the seasons:

spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Like a hoop. Each stage is a preparation

for the next. At the center of the hoop is a still timelessness; the eternal

present around which the cycles revolve. The visions of native prophets occur

at that center point from where the cycles of change can be seen. There is no

end.

For the Indians of North America, the last quarter of the 1800s was the

winter of their culture. All that they had known had fallen away, like leaves on

a tree. In 1863, among the sacred hills of South Dakota, was born a wachasha

wakon, a holy man of the Oglala Sioux. His name was Black Elk. As a young

man his father told him a story that had been passed down from the

grandfathers.

In the time of the ancestors lived a Lakota holy man, Drinks Water, who

dreamed of what was to be. In a dream Drinks Water saw all the four-leggeds

go back into the earth and in their place a race of two-legged strangers wove a

web around the Lakota. Then, in his dream, Drinks Water saw his people living

in square gray homes, on a barren land; and beside those homes, the people

starved. Soon after his vision, it is said, Drinks Water returned to Mother Earth.

He died from sorrow.

Drinks Water's vision occurred long before the coming of the whites with

their fences and houses and their slaughter of the great buffalo herds. At the

time his dream must have been incomprehensible to his people. What Drinks

Water saw was a change of worlds and it was more than he could endure.

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When interpreting dreams or prophecies it should be remembered that a

literal approach is often misleading. This is particularly the case with the

prophecies presented here. Rather than the end of the world, what is implied

is a transformation of consciousness from one view of the world to another,

and the emergence of the new world.

For over a century, the American Indian shamans have prophesied the end

of an earth cycle, the disappearance of the white man, and the return of all

living things which had vanished under the pressures of the present world. The

time, we are told, is near. As we observe governments, industries, and

ourselves, we can see a system of waste and pollution so widespread as to

cast a shadow across the generations to come. It doesn't take a clairvoyant to

predict disaster. Fortunately, we are aware of the need for change. The

question is, whether the necessary changes in our institutions and ourselves

will occur faster than the production of pollution generated by our old patterns

of behavior.

Like a dormant tree enduring winter, the Indian's respect for the earth, their

desire to live in harmony with nature, lives still, waiting to bloom again in the

next world cycle. Only by honoring Mother Earth, Indian shamans tell us, can

we avert disaster. We have their example and their prophets to guide the

human family into the new world. We are one with all creation.

There are two concepts common to all the prophecies presented here. One

speaks of a change of worlds, another of the importance of American Indian

traditions, particularly their reverence for Mother Earth. The old ways of the

Native Americans cannot answer all of the dilemmas we face now and

tomorrow. But, our present way of life is dysfunctional and outmoded.

Choosing one or the other does not bring us into the new earth cycle

envisioned by the prophets. Accepting certain Indian traditions doesn't mean

rejecting all things from the white world. Each way can stand side-by-side like

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monumental pillars forming a gateway between which the path of the new way

leads into the future.

Native traditions are rooted in magic, myth and metaphor; Western

traditions, in science, history and fact. For the first time in human history both

are accessible. In a very real sense these differing world views are like the two

hemispheres of the brain: the intuitive right and the reasoning left. The

synergistic potential of incorporating native and Western thought is an exciting

and difficult prospect. But in a world that is long on problems and short on

alternatives, this notion should be considered.

For example, take the concept of time. As mentioned earlier, the native view

is circular, the Western is linear. In fact, Western linear time actually stands on

end, the past is at the bottom, the new and improved present in at the top.

That's called progress. Now, when you combine the two concepts the result is

a spiral. It is a different image retaining the qualities of both, but its

implications are deeper and richer.

For many, changing lifestyles and modifying world views have a quality

about them akin to dying. For, indeed, such changes mean the end of the

familiar world; but death isn't necessary. Imagine a caterpillar. It lives its life

voraciously eating leaves until one day through some mysterious impulse it

wraps itself in a cocoon and emerges some time later as a butterfly. It no

longer creeps along on branches eating leaves, but takes wing and flies from

flower to flower sipping nectar. The caterpillar didn't die, it transformed itself.

Human history is a story of transformation. We change our physical world

through technology and our metaphysical world through religion. Many of our

present difficulties arise out of the fact that our physical world is shifting faster

than our ability to assimilate the changes. Concurrently, our spiritual life has

atrophied from inattention. Our bodies and our spirits are off balance and out

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of sync. This results in feelings of confusion, impotence and stress. Anything

we do under these conditions will be less than optimum. For our own wellbeing

we must transform ourselves, and remake our world.

Every place on earth, like every person, has a distinct character. Perhaps it

is time to listen to the spiritual elders of this continent when they implore us to

honor Mother Earth. Perhaps, with Western ingenuity and native wisdom we

can cross the threshold into a new earth.

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2. WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW

There was an old lady, from the “Cree” tribe, named “Eyes of Fire”, who

prophesied that one day, because of the white mans' or Yo-ne-gis' greed,

there would come a time, when the fish would die in the streams, the birds

would fall from the air, the waters would be blackened, and the trees would no

longer be, mankind as we would know it would all but cease to exist.

There would come a time when the “keepers of the legend, stories, culture

rituals, and myths, and all the Ancient Tribal Customs” would be needed to

restore us to health. They would be mankind’s key to survival; they were the

“Warriors of the Rainbow”. There would come a day of awakening when all the

peoples of all the tribes would form a New World of Justice, Peace, Freedom

and recognition of the Great Spirit.

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The “Warriors of the Rainbow” would spread these messages and teach all

peoples of the Earth or “Elohi”. They would teach them how to live the “Way of

the Great Spirit”. They would tell them of how the world today has turned away

from the Great Spirit and that is why our Earth is “Sick”.

The “Warriors of the Rainbow” would show the peoples that this “Ancient

Being” (the Great Spirit), is full of love and understanding, and teach them how

to make the “Earth or Elohi” beautiful again. These Warriors would give the

people principles or rules to follow to make their path right with the world.

These principles would be those of the Ancient Tribes. The Warriors of the

Rainbow would teach the people of the ancient practices of Unity, Love and

Understanding. They would teach of Harmony among people in all four

comers of the Earth.

Like the Ancient Tribes, they would teach the peoples how to pray to the

Great Spirit with love that flows like the beautiful mountain stream, and flows

along the path to the ocean of life. Once again, they would be able to feel joy

in solitude and in councils. They would be free of petty jealousies and love all

mankind as their brothers, regardless of color, race or religion. They would feel

happiness enter their hearts, and become as one with the entire human race.

Their hearts would be pure and radiate warmth, understanding and respect for

all mankind, Nature, and the Great Spirit. They would once again fill their

minds, hearts, souls, and deeds with the purest of thoughts. They would seek

the beauty of the Master of Life - the Great Spirit! They would find strength and

beauty in prayer and the solitudes of life.

Their children would once again be able to run free and enjoy the treasures

of Nature and Mother Earth. Free from the fears of toxins and destruction,

wrought by the Yo-ne-gi and his practices of greed. The rivers would again run

clear, the forests be abundant and beautiful, the animals and birds would be

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replenished. The powers of the plants and animals would again be respected

and conservation of all that is beautiful would become a way of life.

The poor, sick and needy would be cared for by their brothers and sisters of

the Earth. These practices would again become a part of their daily lives.

The leaders of the people would be chosen in the old way - not by their

political party, or who could speak the loudest, boast the most, or by name

calling or mudslinging, but by those whose actions spoke the loudest. Those

who demonstrated their love, wisdom, and courage and those who showed

that they could and did work for the good of all, would be chosen as the

leaders or Chiefs. They would be chosen by their “quality” and not the amount

of money they had obtained. Like the thoughtful and devoted “Ancient Chiefs”,

they would understand the people with love, and see that their young were

educated with the love and wisdom of their surroundings. They would show

them that miracles can be accomplished to heal this world of its ills, and

restore it to health and beauty.

The tasks of these “Warriors of the Rainbow” are many and great. There will

be terrifying mountains of ignorance to conquer and they shall find prejudice

and hatred. They must be dedicated, unwavering in their strength, and strong

of heart. They will find willing hearts and minds that will follow them on this

road of returning “Mother Earth” to beauty and plenty - once more.

The day will come, it is not far away. The day that we shall see how we owe

our very existence to the people of all tribes that have maintained their culture

and heritage. Those that have kept the rituals, stories, legends, and myths

alive. It will be with this knowledge, the knowledge that they have preserved,

that we shall once again return to “harmony” with Nature, Mother Earth, and

mankind. It will be with this knowledge that we shall find our “Key to our

Survival”.

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This is the story of the “Warriors of the Rainbow” and this is my reason for

protecting the culture, heritage, and knowledge of my ancestors. I know that

the day “Eyes of Fire” spoke of - will come! I want my children and

grandchildren to be prepared to accept this task. The task of being one of the

...”Warriors of the Rainbow”.

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3. HOPI PROPHECY

The end of all Hopi ceremonialism will come when a “Kachina” removes his

mask during a dance in the plaza before uninitiated children [the general

public]. For a while there will be no more ceremonies, no more faith. Then

Oraibi will be rejuvenated with its faith and ceremonies, marking the start of a

new cycle of Hopi life.

World War III will be started by those peoples who first revealed the light

(the divine wisdom or intelligence) in the other old countries (India, China,

Islamic Nations, Africa.)

The United States will be destroyed, land and people, by atomic bombs and

radioactivity. Only the Hopis and their homeland will be preserved as an oasis

to which refugees will flee. Bomb shelters are a fallacy. “It is only materialistic

people who seek to make shelters. Those who are at peace in their hearts

already are in the great shelter of life. There is no shelter for evil. Those who

take no part in the making of world division by ideology are ready to resume

life in another world, be they Black, White, Red, or Yellow race. They are all

one, brothers.”

The war will be “a spiritual conflict with material matters. Material matters

will be destroyed by spiritual beings who will remain to create one world and

one nation under one power, that of the Creator.”

That time is not far off. It will come when the Saquasohuh (Blue Star)

Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his mask. He represents a blue

star, far off and yet invisible, which will make its appearance soon. The time is

foretold by a song sung during the Wuwuchim ceremony. It was sung in 1914

just before World War I, and again in 1940 before World War II, describing the

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disunity, corruption, and hatred contaminating Hopi rituals, which were

followed by the same evils spreading over the world. This same song was

sung in 1961 during the Wuwuchim ceremony.

The Emergence to the future Fifth World has begun. It is being made by the

humble people of little nations, tribes, and racial minorities. “You can read this

in the earth itself. Plant forms from previous worlds are beginning to spring up

as seeds [as described in SW-II, Effects and Coming Events # 1]. This could

start a new study of botany if people were wise enough to read them. The

same kinds of seeds are being planted in the sky as stars. The same kinds of

seeds are being planted in our hearts. All these are the same, depending how

you look at them. That is what makes the Emergence to the next, Fifth World.

“These comprise the nine most important prophecies of the Hopis,

connected with the creation of the nine worlds: the three previous worlds on

which we lived, the present Fourth World, the three future worlds we have yet

to experience, and the world of Taiowa, the Creator, and his nephew,

Sotuknang.”

The Hopi and others who were saved from the Great Flood made a sacred

covenant with the Great Spirit never to turn away from him. He made a set of

sacred stone tablets, called Tiponi, into which he breathed his teachings,

prophecies, and warnings. Before the Great Spirit hid himself again, he placed

before the leaders of the four different racial groups four different colors and

sizes of corn; each was to choose which would be their food in this world. The

Hopi waited until last and picked the smallest ear of corn. At this, the Great

Spirit said:

“It is well done. You have obtained the real corn, for all the others are

imitations in which are hidden seeds of different plants. You have shown me

your intelligence; for this reason I will place in your hands these sacred stone

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tablets, Tiponi, symbol of power and authority over all land and life to guard,

protect, and hold in trust for me until I shall return to you in a later day, for I am

the First and I am the Last.”

The Great Chieftain of the Bow Clan led the faithful ones to this new land,

but he fell into evil ways. His two sons scolded him for his mistake, and after

he died they assumed the responsibilities of leadership. Each brother was

given a set of Tiponi, and both were instructed to carry them to a place to

which the Great Spirit directed them. The elder brother [of the shining light]

was told to go immediately to the east, toward the rising sun, and upon

reaching his destination to start back immediately to look for his younger

brother, who remained on Turtle Island [the Continental United States of

America]. His mission was to help his younger brother to bring about the

Purification Day, at which time all evildoers would be punished or destroyed,

after which real peace, brotherhood, and everlasting life would be established.

The elder brother would restore all land to his younger brother, from whom the

Evil one among the white men had taken it. The elder brother [of the shining

light] also would come to look for the Tiponi tablets and fulfill the mission given

him by the Great Spirit.

The younger brother was instructed to travel throughout the land and mark

his footsteps as he went about. Both brothers were told that a great white star

would appear in the sky; when that happened, all people would know that the

elder brother had reached his destination. Thereupon all people were to settle

wherever they happened to be at that time, there to remain until the elder

brother returned.

The Hopi settled in the area now known as Four Corners, where the state

lines of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet. They lived in humble

simplicity and the land produced abundant crops. This area is the “heart” of

Turtle Island [the U.S.] and of Mother Earth, and it is the microcosmic image of

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the macrocosm of the entire planet. Each Hopi clan perpetuates a unique

ceremony, and the ceremonies together maintain the balance of natural forces

of sunlight, rain and winds, and reaffirm the Hopi respect for all life and trust in

the Great Spirit.

The Hopi were told that after a time White Men would come and take their

land and try to lead the Hopi into evil ways. But in spite of all the pressures

against them, the Hopi were told they must hold to their ancient religion and

their land, though always without violence. If they succeeded, they were

promised that their people and their land would be a center from which the

True Spirit would be reawakened.

It is said that after many years the elder brother might change the color of

his skin, but his hair will remain black. He will have the ability to write, and he

will be the only person able to read the Tiponi. When he returns to find his

younger brother, the Tiponi will be placed side by side to show all the world

that they are true brothers. Then great judgment will take place, for the elder

will help the younger brother to obtain real justice for all Indian brothers who

have been cruelly mistreated by the white man since he came to Turtle Island.

The transformed elder brother, the True White Brother, will wear a red cloak

or a red cap, similar to the pattern on the back of a horned toad. He will bring

no religion but his own, and will bring with him the Tiponi tablets. He will be all-

powerful; none will be able to stand against him. He will come swiftly, and in

one day gain control of this entire continent. It is said, “If he comes from the

East, the destruction will not be so bad. But if he comes from the West, do not

get up on your housetops to see because he will have no mercy.”

The True White Brother will bring with him two great, intelligent and powerful

helpers, one of whom will have a sign of a swastika (a masculine symbol of

purity), and the sign of the sun. The second great helper will have the sign of a

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Celtic cross with red lines (representing female life blood) between the arms of

the cross.

When the Great Purification is near, these helpers will shake the earth first

for a short time in preparation. After they shake the earth two times more, they

will be joined by the True White Brother, who will become one with them and

bring the Purification Day to the world. All three will help the “younger brother”

(the Hopi and other pure-hearted people) to make a better world. In the

prophecies, the two helpers are designated by the Hopi word for “population,”

as if they were large groups of people.

The Hopi were warned that if these three great beings failed, terrible evil

would befall the world and great numbers of people would be killed. However,

it was said that they would succeed if enough Hopi remained true to the

ancient spirit of their people. The True White Brother and his helpers will show

the people of earth a great new life plan that will lead to everlasting life. The

earth will become new and beautiful again, with an abundance of life and food.

Those who are saved will share everything equally. All races will intermarry

and speak one tongue and be a family.

Hopi prophecy states that World War III will be started by the people who

first received the Light — China, Palestine, India and Africa. When the war

comes, the United States will be destroyed by “gourds of ashes” which will fall

to the ground, boiling the rivers and burning the earth, where no grass will

grow for many years, and causing a disease that no medicine can cure. This

can only mean nuclear or atomic bombs; no other weapon causes such

effects. Bomb shelters will be useless, for “Those who are at peace in their

hearts already are in the Great Shelter of Life. There is no shelter for evil.

When the Saquahuh (blue Star) Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his

mask, the time of the great trial will be here.” The Hopi believe that only they

will be saved.

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The Hopi also have prophesied that “Turtle Island could turn over two or

three times and the oceans could join hands and meet the sky.” This seems to

be a prophecy of a “pole shift” — a flipping, of the planet on its axis. The Hopi

call this imminent condition — and that of society today — “Koyaanisqatsi”,

which means “world out of balance...a state of life that calls for another way. “

The following extraordinary Hopi prophecy was first published in a

mimeographed manuscript that circulated among several Methodist and

Presbyterian churches in 1959. Some of the prophecies were published in

1963 by Frank Waters in The Book of the Hopi. The account begins by

describing how, while driving along a desert highway one hot day in the

summer of 1958, a minister named David Young stopped to offer a ride to an

Indian elder, who accepted with a nod. After riding in silence for several

minutes, the Indian said:

“I am White Feather, a Hopi of the ancient Bear Clan. In my long life I have

traveled through this land, seeking out my brothers, and learning from them

many things full of wisdom. I have followed the sacred paths of my people,

who inhabit the forests and many lakes in the east, the land of ice and long

nights in the north, and the places of holy altars of stone built many years ago

by my brothers' fathers in the south. From all these I have heard the stories of

the past, and the prophecies of the future. Today, many of the prophecies

have turned to stories, and few are left — the past grows longer, and the

future grows shorter.

“And now White Feather is dying. His sons have all joined his ancestors,

and soon he too shall be with them. But there is no one left, no one to recite

and pass on the ancient wisdom. My people have tired of the old ways — the

great ceremonies that tell of our origins, of our emergence into the Fourth

World, are almost all abandoned, forgotten, yet even this has been foretold.

The time grows short.

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“My people await Pahana, the lost White Brother, [from the stars] as do all

our brothers in the land. He will not be like the white men we know now, who

are cruel and greedy. we were told of their coming long ago. But still we await

Pahana.

“He will bring with him the symbols, and the missing piece of that sacred

tablet now kept by the elders, given to him when he left, that shall identify him

as our True White Brother.

“The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the

elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and

so few are left.

“This is the First Sign: We are told of the coming of the white-skinned

men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana men who took the land that was

not theirs. And men who struck their enemies with thunder.

“This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning

wheels filled with voices. In his youth, my father saw this prophecy come true

with his eyes — the white men bringing their families in wagons across the

prairies.”

“This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long

horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. These White Feather saw with

his eyes — the coming of the white men's cattle.”

“This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron.”

“This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's

web.”

“This is the Sixth sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone

that make pictures in the sun.”

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“This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and

many living things dying because of it.”

“This is the Eight Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long

like my people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn their ways and

wisdom.

“And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in

the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as

a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of my people will cease.

“These are the Signs that great destruction is coming. The world shall rock

to and fro. The white man will battle against other people in other lands — with

those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of

smoke and fire such as White Feather has seen the white man make in the

deserts not far from here. Only those which come will cause disease and a

great dying. Many of my people, understanding the prophecies, shall be safe.

Those who stay and live in the places of my people also shall be safe. Then

there will be much to rebuild. And soon — very soon afterward — Pahana will

return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the

seeds of his wisdom in their hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted.

These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World.

“But White Feather shall not see it. I am old and dying. You — perhaps will

see it. In time, in time...”

The old Indian fell silent. They had arrived at his destination, and Reverend

David Young stopped to let him out of the car. They never met again.

Reverend Young died in 1976, so he did not live to see the further fulfillment of

this remarkable prophecy.

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The signs are interpreted as follows: The First Sign is of guns. The Second

Sign is of the pioneers' covered wagons. The Third Sign is of longhorn cattle.

The Fourth Sign describes the railroad tracks. The Fifth Sign is a clear image

of our electric power and telephone lines. The Sixth Sign describes concrete

highways and their mirage-producing effects. The Seventh Sign foretells of oil

spills in the ocean. The Eighth Sign clearly indicates the “Hippy Movement” of

the 1960s. The Ninth Sign was the U.S. Space Station Skylab, which fell to

Earth in 1979. According to Australian eye-witnesses, it appeared to be

burning blue.

Another Hopi prophecy warns that nothing should be brought back from the

Moon — obviously anticipating the Apollo 11 mission that returned with

samples of lunar basalt. It this was done, the Hopi warned, the balance of

natural and universal laws and forces would be disturbed, resulting in

earthquakes, severe changes in weather patterns, and social unrest. All these

things are happening today, though of course not necessarily because of

Moon rocks.

The Hopi also predicted that when the “heart” of the Hopi land trust is dug

up, great disturbances will develop in the balance of nature, for the Hopi holy

land is the microcosmic image of the entire planet; any violations of nature in

the Four Corners region will be reflected and amplified all over the Earth.

In 1959, a six-man delegation of traditional Hopi leaders led by the late

spiritual leader, Dan Katchongva, traveled to the United Nations Building in

New York to fulfill a sacred mission in accordance with ancient Hopi

instructions. Because of their prophetic knowledge, the Hopi leaders felt it was

time to go east to the edge of their motherland, where “a house of mica” [The

United Nations building] would stand at this time, where Great Leaders from

many lands would be gathered to help any people who are in trouble.”

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They were to go when the motherland of the Hopi and other Indian brothers

were about to be taken away from them and their way of life was in danger of

being completely destroyed by evil ones among the White Men and by some

other Indian brothers who were influenced by the White Race. This is a clear

and present danger: the betrayal of Indian-U.S.A. treaties, land sales, and coal

and uranium mining are destroying the Hopi land and its people — and all

other peoples and lands, in eventual effect...

According to prophecy, at least one, two or three leaders or nations would

hear and understand the Hopi warnings, as “It is told that they too should know

these ancient instructions”. Upon hearing the message of the Hopi, they would

act immediately to correct many wrongs being done to the chosen race — the

Red Man who was granted permission to hold in trust all land and life for the

Great Spirit. This prophecy would seem to have failed. Hopi prophecy also

declares that the doors of the “Glass House” would be closed to them. This

was the case at first, though they have delivered their message to the United

Nations Assembly since then:

“When the Great Leaders in the Glass House refuse to open the door to you

when you stand before it that day, [Repeated, again in 1993] do not be

discouraged or turn about on the path you walk, but take courage,

determination, and be of great rejoicing in your hearts, for on that day the

White Race who are on your land with you have cut themselves from you and

thereon lead themselves to the Greatest Punishment at the Day of Purification.

Many shall be destroyed for their sins and evil ways. The Great Spirit has

decreed it and no one can stop it, change it, or add anything to it. It shall be

fulfilled!”

On August 7, 1970, a spectacular UFO sighting was witnessed by dozens of

people and photographed by Chuck Roberts of the Prescott (Arizona)

“Courier”. This sighting occurred after a “UFO calling” by Paul Solem and

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several Hopi Indians. This sighting was interpreted by some Hopis as being a

partial fulfillment of a certain Hopi prophecy given by the Great Spirit Maasau

and inscribed on Second Mesa, warning of the coming of Purification Day,

when the true Hopi will be flown to other planets in “ships without wings.”

Hopi prophecy also tells us that there will be a mass migration of Indians

northward from Mexico and Central and South America. The migration will be

led by a 130-year old Indian named Etchata Etchana. The movement will

come after the huge fire and explosion that will herald the advent of the True

White Brother.

According to Hopi belief, the survivors of the Great Deluge thousands of

years ago split up into four groups that moved north, south, east and west.

Only one group completed their journey — to the North Pole and back —

under the guidance of a brilliant “star” in which the Great Spirit Maasau

traveled. When he landed, he drew a petroglyph on Second Mesa, showing a

maiden (with the traditional “butterfly” hair arrangement) riding in a wingless,

dome-shaped craft. The petroglyph signified the coming Day of Purification

when the true Hopi will fly to other planets in “ships without wings.”

The prophecy also warns that there will be three divisions among the Hopi -

The first division was in 1906 between the Traditionalists and the Modernists.

The Traditionalists were forced to leave Oraibi and move to Hotevilla. The

second division took place in the wake of the spectacular appearance of UFOs

in August, 1970.

'Hopi' means 'peaceful people,' and the truest and greatest power, the

strength of peace, is the will of the Great Spirit.

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THOMAS BANACYCA TALKS ABOUT THE HOPI PROPHECY

The circle with the 4 (o's) and cross within (above), symbolizes the Four

Corners Region (where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet - a

very high energy vortex). The circle represents no end - the infinite Great

Spirit. The Indians believe we are the 5th World of Man. When the 4th World

was destroyed (this destruction was foretold), those Indians who had listened

were guided to places of safety, underground. After the 5th World was

created, they assembled at Four Corners and were instructed to spread out in

the four directions (north - south - east - west). Four (4) also represents the

four elements in nature: fire, water, air and earth; and the four color races of

man.

In the Hopi Prophecy, it spoke of a white man who would come to them and

help transform the entire continent into a spiritual paradise. He would be

recognized because he would carry the fragment of stone which would

complete their Holy Stone, filled with Indian writing characters. The Holy Stone

had been preserved for thousands of years. Thus, when the white settlers

came to the American continent, remembering their prophecy, they were

openly welcomed. The Indians shared all they had. But, in return, all the White

Man did was to take. The Indians noticed that their White Brothers had

brought a cross. However, it was not enclosed by the circle of the Great Spirit,

showing the White Man had lost his way.

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The Indians believe that at the beginning of the 5th World, when man was

told to disburse throughout the planet, from Four Corners, the White Race was

one of the original races that went East. Upon their return to our continent,

they had become confused and forgotten the ways of the Great Spirit. Further

the prophecy continued, either the White Man would bring peace and harmony

or attempt to totally destroy the Indian's way of life and take all his

possessions and the land. If the latter occurred, (which is clearly the case

today) there would come a time when the Indian people would appear to be

almost non-existent. Yet, one day, they would rise out of nowhere, as the

white race is falling due to their own ignorance and destruction, to lead a

spiritual revolution, so all people on this continent would become attuned to

the Great Spirit. To hold fast to the traditional ways even if it seemed that

everything was against them. To protect Four Corners at all cost, because

there is great power under the land that if it is allowed to escape, great

destruction would result. Today, the Indians are going through the test to hold

onto their traditional ways and protect the land. The White Man's society is

trying to swallow the Indians up. Many of their people, especially the young,

are falling prey to the White Man's ways.

Their prophecy also talks about creation of atomic bombs as catastrophes of

great heat, equal to the heat of a sun. It also warns about tampering with the

moon (violating its nature by removing rocks, soil from moon)

(Related to the Big Mountain issue:) It is their duty/responsibility to their

family, animals and all of nature, to keep this land protected and in harmony.

Everything in nature has a power in it. Water represents purification of human

beings. All spiritual people should unite on a spiritual path. To save this land is

a mission assigned by the Great Spirit.

One of the prophecies - All Indians and Non-Indians would one day (now)

begin to understand a great problem facing all people. Someday a white

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brother who went away to record things will return to this land and bring

spiritual life to the continent. When White Brother returns, Hopi must keep their

spiritual ways so they can show others how to live the right way. Very

important job. Elders know ancient knowledge, which also will be shared at the

right time with all. Based on prophecy, Indians welcomed the white man. White

man destroyed privilege. Indians gave hospitality and whites took everything.

Indians do not lie - Whites tricked Indians with lies. By prophecy - Four

Corners will be area of confrontation between White and Red. Indians will be

pushed into Four Corners. Great Spirit told Hopi - Four Corners is the

backbone of the United States. Hopi must hold land till Human Beings live in

harmony. The power under the land would be used for destruction. (There

would be a) Terrible punishment if give up Four Corners. (Hopi Elders also

know about the prophecies of earth changes and Space Brothers - side note).

As prophesized the rainbow light warriors will unite, bringing love, healing

and harmony to the world, but it starts within the heart, here and NOW!

It takes ALL colors to make a rainbow!

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THE HOPI MESSAGE

The presentation by Mr. Thomas Banyacya, the final speaker, was

preceded by three shouts by Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Six Nations, and

first speaker of the day. The shouts were a spiritual announcement to the

Great Spirit of the people assembled and the intention to give a message of

spiritual importance.

Thomas then sprinkled corn meal next to the podium of the General

Assembly and made a brief remark in Hopi that translates as follows:

Hopi Spiritual leaders had an ancient prophecy that some day world leaders

would gather in a Great House of Mica with rules and regulations to solve the

world problems without war. I am amazed to see the prophecy has come true

and you are here today! But only a handful of United Nations Delegates are

present to hear the Motee Sinom (Hopi for First People) from around the world

who spoke here today.

(In English:) My name is Banyacya of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote Clan and I

am a member of the Hopi sovereign nation. Hopi in our language means a

peaceful, kind, gentle, truthful people. The traditional Hopi follows the spiritual

path that was given to us by Massau'u the Great Spirit. We made a sacred

covenant to follow his life plan at all times, which includes the responsibility of

taking care of this land and life for his divine purpose. We have never made

treaties with any foreign nation, including the United States, but for many

centuries we have honored this sacred agreement. Our goals are not to gain

political control, monetary wealth nor military power, but rather to pray and to

promote the welfare of all living beings and to preserve the world in a natural

way. We still have our ancient sacred stone tablets and spiritual religious

societies which are the foundations of the Hopi way of life. Our history says

29

our white brother should have retained those same sacred objects and

spiritual foundations.

In 1948, all traditional Hopi spiritual leaders met and spoke of things I felt

strongly were of great importance to all people. They selected four interpreters

to carry their message of which I am the only one still living today. At the time,

I was given a sacred prayer feather by the spiritual leaders. I made a

commitment to carry the Hopi message of peace and deliver warnings from

prophesies known since the time the previous world was destroyed by flood

and our ancestors came to this land.

My mission was to open the doors of this Great House of Mica to native

peoples. The Elders said to knock four times and this commitment was fulfilled

when I delivered a letter and the sacred prayer feather I had been given to

John Washburn in the Secretary General's office in October, 1991. I am

bringing part of the Hopi message to you here today. We have only ten

minutes to speak and time is late so I am making my statement short.

At the meeting in 1948, Hopi leaders 80, 90 and even 100 years old

explained that the creator made the first world in perfect balance where

humans spoke one language, but humans turned away from moral and

spiritual principles. They misused their spiritual powers for selfish purposes.

They did not follow nature's rules. Eventually the world was destroyed by

sinking of land and separation of land by what you would call major

earthquakes. Many died and only a small handful survived.

Then this handful of peaceful people came into the second world. They

repeated their mistakes and the world was destroyed by freezing which you

call the great Ice Age.

The few survivors entered the third world. That world lasted a long time and

as in previous worlds, the people spoke one language. The people invented

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many machines and conveniences of high technology, some of which have not

yet been seen in this age. They even had spiritual powers that they used for

good. They gradually turned away from natural laws and pursued only material

things and finally only gambled while they ridiculed spiritual principles. No one

stopped them from this course and the world was destroyed by the great flood

that many nations still recall in their ancient history or in their religions.

The Elders said again only small groups escaped and came to this fourth

world where we now live. Our world is in terrible shape again even though the

Great Spirit gave us different languages and sent us to four corners of the

world and told us to take care the the Earth and all that is in it.

This Hopi ceremonial rattle represents Mother Earth. The line running

around it is a time line and indicates that we are in the final days of the

prophecy. What have you, as individuals, as nations and as the world body

been doing to take care of this Earth? In the Earth today, humans poison

their own food, water and air with pollution. Many of us, including children, are

left to starve. Many wars are still being fought. Greed and concern for material

things is a common disease.

In this western hemisphere, our homeland, many original native people are

landless, homeless, starving and have no medical help.

The Hopi knew humans would develop many powerful technologies that

would be abused. In this century, we have seen the First World War and the

Second World War in which the predicted gourd of ashes, which you call the

atomic bomb, fell from the sky with great destruction. Many thousands of

people were destroyed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For many years there has been great fear and danger of World War Three.

The Hopi believe the Persian Gulf War was the beginning of World War Three

but it was stopped and the worst weapons of destruction were not used. This

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is now a time to weigh the choices for our future. We do have a choice. If you,

the nations of this Earth, create another great war, the Hopi believe we

humans will burn ourselves to death with ashes. That's why the spiritual Elders

stress strongly that the United Nations fully open the door for native spiritual

leaders as soon as possible.

Nature itself does not speak with a voice that we can easily understand.

Neither can the animals and birds we are threatening with extinction talk to us.

Who in this world can speak for nature and the spiritual energy that creates

and flows through all life? In every continent are human beings who are like

you but who have not separated themselves from the land and from nature. It

is through their voice that Nature can speak to us. You have heard those

voices and many messages from the four corners of the world today. I have

studied comparative religion and I think in your own nations and cultures you

have knowledge of the consequences of living out of balance with nature and

spirit. The native peoples of the world have seen and spoken to you about the

destruction of their lives and homelands, the ruination of nature and the

desecration of their sacred sites. It is time the United Nations used its rules to

investigate these occurrences and stop them now.

The Four Corners area of the Hopi is bordered by four sacred mountains.

The spiritual center within is a sacred site our prophecies say will have special

purpose in the future for mankind to survive and now should be left in its

natural state. All nations must protect this spiritual center.

The Hopi and all original native people hold the land in balance by prayer,

fasting and performing ceremonies. Our spiritual Elders still hold the land in

the Western Hemisphere in balance for all living beings, including humans. No

one should be relocated from their sacred homelands in this Western

Hemisphere or anywhere in the world. Acts of forced relocation, such as

Public Law 93-531 in the United States, must be repealed.

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The United Nations stands on our native homeland. The United Nations

talks about human rights, equality and justice and yet the native people have

never had a real opportunity to speak to this assembly since its establishment

until today. It should be the mission of your nations and this assembly to use

your power and rules to examine and work to cure the damage people have

done to this Earth and to each other. Hopi Elders know that was your mission

and they wait to see whether you will act on it now.

Nature, the First People and the spirit of our ancestors are giving you loud

warnings. Today, December 10, 1992, you see increasing floods, more

damaging hurricanes, hail storms, climate changes and earthquakes as our

prophesies said would come. Even animals and birds are warning us with

strange change in their behavior such as the beaching of whales. Why do

animals act like they know about the earth's problems and most humans act

like they know nothing? If we humans do not wake up to the warnings, the

great purification will come to destroy this world just as the previous worlds

were destroyed.

This rock drawing shows part of the Hopi prophecy. There are two paths.

The first with technology but separate from natural and spiritual law leads to

these jagged lines representing chaos. The lower path is one that remains in

harmony with natural law. Here we see a line that represents a choice like a

bridge joining the paths. If we return to spiritual harmony and live from our

hearts, we can experience a paradise in this world. If we continue only on this

upper path, we will come to destruction.

It’s up to all of us, as children of Mother Earth, to clean up this mess before

it's too late.

The Elders request that during this International Year for the Worlds

Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations keep that door open for spiritual

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leaders from the four corners of the world to come to speak to you for more

than a few minutes as soon as possible. The Elders also request that eight

investigative teams visit the native areas of the world to observe and tell the

truth about what is being done and stop these nations from moving in this self-

destructive direction.

If any of you leaders want to learn more about the spiritual vision and power

of the Elders, I invite you to come out to Hopiland and sit down with our real

spiritual leaders in their sacred Kivas where they will reveal the ancient secrets

of survival and balance.

I hope that all members of this assembly that know the spiritual way will not

just talk about it, but in order to have real peace and harmony, will follow what

it says across the United Nations wall: “They will beat their swords into

plowshares and study war no more.” Let’s, together, do that now!

EPILOGUE

The night before the presentations of the native people from around the

world to the General Assembly, there was a total eclipse of the moon over

New York City and the sky was clear. The evening after the presentation by

Mr. Banyacya and the other native spokespersons, heavy rain and strong wind

began. The weathermen had been calling for a snowstorm but what came the

following day were the worst floods in New York's memory. Major highways

were washed away by the sea and the United Nations itself experienced

flooding of its lower subfloors, forcing a shutdown of its heating and air

conditioning and all personnel were dismissed at three o'clock.

In the ground floor meeting room, where on December 11, native peoples

were meeting representatives of various UN agencies, Thomas Banyacya

spontaneously called on all the participants, including UN officials, to form a

great circle. All the Elders were in the center and Thomas called in some non-

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native people as well. Each silently said a prayer. The forming of the circle of

unity of all people from the four corners of the Earth was more than just a

symbolic act. One participant said she had never felt herself to be in such a

safe place. Later, several people present noted that no further storm damage

occurred in Manhattan and that the storm itself abated that afternoon.

(Thomas and Oren Lyons - a large Hopi rock drawing .)

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HOPI PROPHECIES FOR OUR FUTURE

Re-drawing of Image on the Prophecy Stone on Hopi Land

One of the most powerful Prophecies held by a native people is that by the

Hopis, or known as the Hopi Prophecy. In the graphic above, is a recreation of

the drawing I made when I attended a special meeting in Los Angeles, in June

of 1981, related to the forced removal of Native Americans from the Big

Mountain area of Arizona (also shared in our Journeys book in Chapter 8).

Included in this section is information which discusses this prophecy from

this meeting and also various other messages that have been posted on

online services. I also heard that the Tibetan Buddhists also have a similar

prophecy, which was discussed when the Dali Lama met with the Hopi Elders

a few years ago.

DESCRIPTION OF HOPI PROPHECY IMAGE

The figure of a large person on the left represents the Great Spirit who

appears to be pointing at this prophecy. The two horizontal lines represent:

The Top Line represents the path of Technology without any spirituality to

balance it;

The Bottom Line represents a spiritual path.

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There are three vertical lines, the first line is the beginning time of the

prophecy; the second vertical line shows a time when mankind decides which

path to follow, materialism or spiritualism. I think I heard that the two circles on

the bottom line represented the first and second World Wars. The heavy dark

vertical line, at the end, is the decision time, which path to follow, which is

today. If the material path is followed, as represented by the top horizontal

line, the result is a very jagged line that will result in destruction. If the lower

spiritual path is followed, the result will be peace and harmony.

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NOTES FROM BIG MOUNTAIN MEETING

(June 26th, 1981, Los Angeles )

The purpose of this meeting was to educate people about the situation in

Big Mountain. In a nut shell, there were large companies interested in land in

the Big Mountain area, the northeast part of Arizona, where the Hopi and

Navajo (Dine) people live. In the course of discussing this situation, the

presenters, including Thomas Banacyca, a Hopi Elder who has traveled all

over the world sharing the Hopi Prophecy inscribed on a large rock in Oraibi,

AZ - one of the oldest Indian villages known. The Indians said at this meeting

that the Hopi Prophecy warns about disrupting the Mother Earth in this region,

to strip-mine for minerals. Next is information shared during this meeting about

the prophecy.

THE MEETING WAS DEDICATED TO ALL PEOPLE,

ALL RACES (RED, WHITE, BLACK, YELLOW)

On the chalk board in the room appeared:

PEACE AMONG ALL PEOPLES AND HARMONY WITH NATURE

TOGETHER WITH ALL PEOPLE WE PROTECT

ALL LANDS AND LIVES AND HOLD

THE WORLD IN BALANCE

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39

SCIENCE AFFIRMS HOPI PROPHECY FOR SACRED LANDS.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

According to a Hopi prophecy, dating back to that nation's origin as the first

inhabitants of the North American continent, almost all life will stop on this, our

planet, unless men come to know that everyone must learn to live in peace

and harmony with Nature, the Mother of us all. Today, as many of the Hopi

prophecies of destruction and desecration have already come to pass, these

prophecies take on a profound meaning: the very survival of humanity and

Planet Earth. For the Hopis live in a sacred place in the Southwest known to

40

them as the spiritual center of our continent — and now known to scientists as

a key center of electromagnetic force-fields that are essential to the health and

well-being of all life.

According to Hopi legend, passed on from generation to generation, it is that

nation's central responsibility to protect Mother Earth by preserving the Four

Corners (centered in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) and to remain

custodians of that mineral-rich reserve while war still stalks the world.

Yet as of this minute, even as science is recognizing the Four Corners to be

one of the few key focal centers in the world where the energy currents must

be kept in balance to maintain a life-giving biosphere, over 6,000 Hopis and

Navajos are being forcibly removed to a barren, uninhabitable area through

the wanton passage of Public Law 93-531. While science is discovering that

radioactive minerals and rushing underground streams, along with solar

radiation (all present at the Four Corners), are the main sources of positive

and negative ions in the atmosphere, which are essential to humanity for

physical and mental health, a newly erected barbed wire fence is cruelly

separating these Native Americans from their homeland and their trust.

Unthinkably, these sacred lands are being mined to remove the valuable

radioactive minerals, the water table is drastically being reduced through

wasteful strip-mining (at 1,110 gallons per minute), and the area is being

contaminated by radioactive wastes.

Because of the Hopis' deep spiritual qualities and sensitivity to nature, they

know that the essential electromagnetic balance of life forces is maintained not

only through nature's gifts of minerals, water, and sunlight and by the

atmospheric currents and charged ion fields, but also by their sacred rituals

and ceremonial dances. Their very presence in Hopi land, their demeanor and

their reverence for life, is a protection for the people of the earth, for all are

bound together in a global grid pattern of energy. Despite their warnings, a

41

resource-hungry civilization is unwittingly and unknowingly moving in upon

itself, to destroy the very life's breath of the planet that embraces it and alter

the earth's delicate bio-electric balance. And fear for all of humanity, as well as

for their own people and the Navajos, grips the Hopis.

The Traditional Hopi Elders tell us: “Everything depends upon the proper

balance being maintained. They realize that if the mining and strip-mining

continue unabated, that if technology becomes a mind-less god to this great

country and remembers not the heart of the Earth Mother, that not only the

Hopi will die, “...but all will disintegrate to nothing ... time is very short.” Time is

very short indeed. Perhaps ironically, perhaps cosmically, the planetary

conjunction forecast for the year 1982 coincides with the deadline set for the

final Hopi and Navajo eviction. Is it possible that the sacrifice of the Hopi

“place of power,” this vital electromagnetic source point, could affect the

earth's ability to withstand the pull of the planetary alignment, resulting in an

instability that could spin it out of control?

TO WHOM IS IT HAPPENING?

A polar shift has been predicted by many respected individuals, yet,

according to John White, author of Pole Shift, a shift of the earth's axis is not

inevitable. He claims, “The predictions and prophecies say that human

consciousness itself will be the critical factor.” It is human consciousness,

then, that must awaken to the danger and demand the safety and protection of

the Four Corners area and its people, currently the most vulnerable to

annihilation in the entire world. Perhaps the imminent loss and destruction of

the “heart of the Earth Mother” is our early warning system that it is a united

“we” who must preserve the earth's stability to sustain the delicate balance of

42

power in the planetary grid structure. For it is a united “we” who form human

consciousness.

Thus, if human consciousness is to be alerted, we of the human race must

become instantly . aware not only of what is happening but also to whom. For:

It is happening to the Hopis and the Navajos who, stripped of their pride as

independent nations, will no longer have a home that will sustain life, and

many of whom are already dying from radioactive poisoning,

It is happening to all sensitive and compassionate individuals who feel their

pain, and a responsibility for the ill-treatment of all Indian nations since North

America first knew a United States.

It is happening to the integrity and honor of a great nation which broke 371

treaties with Indian nations, and to respect once held for those corporations

that have allowed human greed to violate their ethics.

It is happening to a planet, which, already polluted and suffering from

irreverent use of its rich natural resources, cannot withstand the final injury to

delicate atmospheric and energy balances.

But, above all, it is happening to us, to all countries and all people, to our

children, and our children's children, and to all life. For, if the earth shall

perish, personal self-interest and acquisition, and even our injustices to one

another, will be as nothing. If we are to have a planet on which to live, and live

abundantly, this is a time to fully forgive one another for all past grievances

and errors of ignorance and together take full responsibility for restoring our

earth to its Divinely ordainned state. How are we to do this? Through personal

action NOW.

Quail Littlefield

People Concerned for Mother Earth

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415 Spring Street, Apt. 3

Nevada City, CA 95959

(916) 265-9522

HOPI MESSAGE VIA RUDI SCHULTHESISS

This message was copied from Compuserve about the Hopi Prophecy and

their attempt to share the message they received from the Great Spirit with the

United Nations.

Date: Sunday, August 07, 1994 1:08:05 PM

IT IS NOW THE TIME FOR ALL OF US TO COME FORWARD WITH OUR

SUPPORT.

e are entering the last days. The Hopi Spiritual Leaders have spoken their W

44

urgent warning and message to the United Nations and around the world, yet

there has been no response.

The sacred lands of the Hopi are being desecrated by water and power

lines. The bulldozers are on the land. Soon the Hopi will be unable to conduct

their ceremonies. Listen to their words. Then respond. The leaders say it is our

turn to act.

The Government of the United States only recognizes the illegally elected

tribunal council - These are not our leaders, this is not our way. We must be

left alone and allowed to follow our original instructions without the

interference of western ways. We must protect these sacred lands, these

sacred ways. If these instructions are not followed, the Purification will begin.

Already the signs of the days of Purification are beginning: For the sake of

Mother earth and her children, for the sake of all your children and your

children’s children action is needed now.

Hopis' Ancient Knowledge and Prophecies are warning through many signs,

that we have entered a dangerous period in our lives. Mankind must return to

Peaceful ways, and halt the Destruction of Mother Earth, or are we going to

destroy ourselves. All the Stages of Hopi prophecy have come to pass, except

for the last, the purification. The intensity of this purification will depend of how

humanity collaborates with Creation.

We must Correct and Changes our ways, go back to the Spiritual ways, and

take care of Mother Earth. If we do not, we are going to face terrible

destruction by Nature, wars will come like powerful winds, bringing Purification

or Destruction. The more we turn away from the Instructions of the Great

Spirit, the more signs we see in the form of earthquakes, floods, drought, fires,

tornados; along with wars and corruption.

45

If we do not Correct and Change these things, we are all going to suffer,

there is no way we will be able to help each other after this. The World

problems, and the Destruction of Mother Earth will be so terrible, there may be

nothing left on this Earth. We do not want to see this happen.

We hope that by bringing these Warnings to the attention of the people of

this land, and around the World, that we will understand the Seriousness of

this moment, that we may be able to help one another, and to help bring about

a better way of Life.

Hopi Traditional Leaders included: Dan Evehama, Martin Gashweseoma,

Manuel Hoyangowa; assisted by spokesman Thomas Banyacya.

JOIN US IN ACTION TO SUPPORT THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS OF THE

HOPI NATION.

As Brothers and Sisters from the Four Directions, we share the Concern for

the Healing of Mother Earth, and of all her people. Visions, Prophecies,

Wanings, Teachings of the Traditional Leaders from the Four Directions point

to the same Message, spoken in beautiful variations.

They all speak of the Knowledge of these times; of the urgent need for each

of us, as individuals, to search our hearts, to recognize and upon our serious

responsibility to protect Mother Earth. We need to heal, to awaken to the

danger of these times.

We need to take action and sacrifice to protect our Grandchildren and all

living beings. The Elders have had final signs from Mother Nature and from

the Great Spirit, declaring this time to be our last and final chance to help one

another, heal and work together.

—-> It is urgent and essential that we respond in every way we can.

46

—-> Please search your hearts, your talents and your resources to find what

you can do.

Find ways you can contribute to this urgent call. Organizational actions,

liaison work, media awareness and communication strategies are critically

needed. Network this communication to your networks.

Write to your leaders, your legislators, congressman, and Senators now.

Write to your president, the Department of the Interior, Secretary Bruce

Babbitt, Att. General Janet Reno, the Department of Justice. Tell them that

you demand an immediate cessation of the disruption of Hopi sacred land and

ancient spiritual practices.

Write to your Ambassadors and Human Rights Representatives to the

United Nations. Tell them that you support the preservation of Hopi traditional

sacred practices, lands, and ceremonies, and that you hold them accountable

for following up on this action.

It is the time to also contact your press and media contacts and tell them

that this is the last opportunity to get this message out.

If the sacred lands are allowed to be disrupted, there will be no more

chance to put things right. The bulldozers are on the land now, the workmen

are ready to act.

In the Name of the Creator, in the name of freedom of religion, in the name

of our love for the Earth and for all our children, we must act now.

TOMORROW IT IS TOO LATE.

The United States government must know that the world is watching, that

we care about the spiritual practices of the Hopi Traditional Leaders.

WE HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US - WITH COMMITMENT, SUPPORT AND

ACTION - IN THIS VISION. IN THE RESPONSE TO THE MESSAGE FROM

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OUR HOPI BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE CRY OF THE MOTHER

EARTH, THE CRIES OF OUR GRANDCHILDREN, FOR ALL OUR

RELATIONS.

48

HOPI PROPHECY CLARIFICATION

by Robert Coody

From: [email protected]

Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 08:36:31 -0700 (MST)

Subject: HOPI Prophecies

To: [email protected]

49

Sir

In reading through the paraphrased information stated by Thomas

Banacyca presented by Rudi in Switzerland there are some errors in

interpretation of the Hopi symbolism. The circular shield device which is

divided into four elements represents the four worlds of the Hopi and not the

“four corners region,” which is a phenomena of the United States surveys of

the west in the 19th century. The circular device will have various

interpretations depending on which village you talk to and which Kikmonqwi

you communicate with.

One interpretation of the device from a Hopi perspective is that it represents

the four worlds of the Hopi and that it was the shield symbol of Masau, the

earth god from whom they obtained permission to settle in their present

region. The device was often painted on Hopi shields and carried by various

societies whose responsibility it was to protect the Hopi lands. Currently the

Hopi are in the fourth world and not the fifth as is stated in the narrative. I

would suggest contacting the Hopi Cultural Center for verification of traditional

information, otherwise we will see further closure of villages to outsiders and a

further division of the Hopi people themselves.

Thank you for your time in reading this item,

Robert Coody

Prophecy Rock Glyph

50

MEDITATIONS WITH THE HOPI by Robert Boissiere.

LONG BEFORE PAHANA, THE WHITE MAN,

EVER SET FOOT IN THE AMERICAS,

LONG BEFORE THE HEGEMONY OF THE RED RACE

HAD BEEN CHALLENGED BY LIGHT-SKINNED PEOPLE

AS THE PROPHECIES TOLD US IT WOULD,

A SPOT IN THE IMMENSITY OF THE DESERT,

A CENTER OF SPIRITUAL POWER,

WAS HOPI.

THE LAND OF THE PEACEFUL ONES.

THE CONTINENT WAS DIFFERENT THEN -

MUCH SPACE, FEW TO OCCUPY IT.

BUT THE ENERGY COMING FROM HOPI

IS IN REALMS WHERE COMMUNICATIONS

ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD;

IN DIMENSIONS SET BY TAIOWA

AND EXPRESSED BY MASSOUA.

HOPI IS THE THREAD,

THE BRIDGE,

THE PLACE OF PEACE

AND BALANCE.

IF PERHAPS THERE IS A NAME,

A WORD,

THAT CAN SHOW THE WORLD

WHAT HOPI PEACE IS -

IT IS BALANCE.

THE WORLD MUST GROW,

EXPAND,

BUT IT MUST DO IT

IN BALANCE.

OTHERWISE, NATURE,

THE GREAT REGULATOR,

WILL TAKE OVER,

AS IT IS NOW,

WITH FLOODS,

ERUPTIONS,

FAMINE,

EARTHQUAKES.

THIS IS NATURE AT WAR,

NATURE THAT WILL CONVINCE HUMANKIND

OF THE NEED FOR BALANCE,

TO SET IN MOTION

POSITIVE ENERGIES

TO REESTABLISH A WORLD

IN BALANCE.

IN THE BEGINNING, WE ARE TOLD,

TAIOWA, THE CREATOR,

GAVE US HIS LIFE PLAN,

51

AS IT IS WRITTEN ON THE ROCK OF ORAIBI

WHICH WE CALL THE PROPHECY.

IF WE HOLD FAST

TO THE SACRED WAY

AS HE DEVISED IT FOR US,

WHAT WE HAVE GAINED,

WE WILL NEVER LOSE.

BUT STILL,

WE HAVE TO CHOOSE

BETWEEN THE TWO WAYS.

THIS IS THE BALANCE

OF TAIOWA'S WAY.

FOR HE WILL ALWAYS MEET US HALFWAY.

THAT IS WHY ON THE SACRED PETROGLYPH

HE IS PORTRAYED HOLDING IN HIS HAND

THE THREAD

OF THE SACRED WAY.

IN THE OTHER HAND IS THE BOW,

FOR IT WAS THE BOW CLAN

WHICH LED US

OUT OF THE UNDERWORLD

AT THE BEGINNING

OF THE HOPI WAY.

THAT IS WHAT THE ARROW

SHOT FROM THE BOW

MEANS ON THE ROCK.

THE DIAGRAM SHOWS TWO LINES:

THE LOWER LINE IS THE PATH

OF THE GREAT SPIRIT,

FOR IN ITS LAST END,

A MAN IS BENDING

ON THE CANE THE OLD ONES USE,

POINTING TO THE CORN,

WHICH IS THE SACRED FOOD

THAT NOURISHED US FROM THE START.

THE OLD ONE SHOWS

HE WAS THE FIRST

AND HE WILL BE THE LAST.

AND SO WILL WE

IF WE HOLD FAST

TO HIS PATHWAY.

BUT NEXT TO HIM,

BEWARE OF THE OTHER WAY,

THE WAY OF LIFE

OF THOSE WHO DO NOT PRAY.

IT IS EASY ENOUGH TO SEE

THAT THEIR HEADS

52

ARE NOT FASTENED ON THEIR BODY,

AS IT HAPPENS WITH PEOPLE

WHO USE THEIR MIND,

INSTEAD OF THEIR FAITH

IN THE SPIRIT WAY.

AS TAIOWA'S LIFE PLAN SHOWS,

THEIR LINE ENDS

IN A ZIG-ZAG WAY,

IN THE VOID OF THE MIND

OF THE FAITHLESS LIFE

AND THE FRUITLESS.

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER LINE

ON THE SACRED MAP DRAWN ON THE ROCK -

A VERTICAL LINE

THAT CONNECTS THE TWO WAYS.

IT IS LIKE A LADDER

THAT SOME MIGHT USE

TO CHANGE WAYS,

TO GO FROM THE WAY

OF PEACE AND BALANCE -

TAIOWA'S WAY -

TO A PATH THAT SEEMS

TO MANY A MUCH EASIER ONE.

FINALLY SEEING

THAT THE HOPI WAY OF BALANCE

IS THE ONLY CHANCE,

MANY WILL CHOOSE TO CLIMB DOWN THE LADDER,

TO GO THROUGH THE GREAT SPIRIT GATEWAY.

THIS TIME OF CONFUSION,

IN WHICH MANY WILL CHOOSE EITHER PATH,

IS CALLED A TIME OF PURIFICATION.

THE PROPHECY SAYS THE EARTH

WILL SHAKE THREE TIMES:

FIRST THE GREAT WAR,

THEN THE SECOND ONE,

WHEN THE SWASTIKA ROSE

ABOVE THE BATTLEFIELD OF EUROPE

TO END IN THE RISING SUN

SINKING IN A SEA OF BLOOD.

THE END OF AN EMPIRE ....

OR PERHAPS THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER?

NOW WHAT WOULD THE THIRD ONE BE?

THIS, THE PROPHECY DOES NOT SAY.

FOR IT DEPENDS

ON WHICH PATH HUMANKIND WILL WALK:

THE GREED,

53

THE COMFORT,

AND THE PROFIT,

OR THE PATH OF LOVE,

STRENGTH,

AND BALANCE.

WHEN STRONG-HEARTED PEOPLE

KEEP ON SINGING THE SONG OF CREATION,

THEY WILL FIND THE TRUE PATH,

FORGOTTEN BY MANY,

SO GRANDPA DAVID SAYS.

WHEN PRAYER AND MEDITATION

ARE USED RATHER THAN RELYING ON NEW

INVENTIONS

TO CREATE MORE IMBALANCE,

THEY WILL ALSO FIND THE TRUE PATH.

MOTHER NATURE TELLS US WHICH IS THE RIGHT

WAY.

WHEN EARTHQUAKES,

FLOODS,

HAILSTORMS,

DROUGHT,

AND FAMINE

WILL BE THE LIFE OF EVERY DAY,

THE TIME WILL HAVE THEN COME

FOR THE RETURN TO THE TRUE PATH,

OR GOING THE ZIG-ZAG WAY.

LONG AGO, MASSOUA TOLD US,

“REMEMBER THE PAHANA, THE WHITE BROTHER.

HE HAS THE OTHER STONE TABLET,

BUT HE HAS NOT RETURNED IT,

YET.

HE WILL BE SENT

SO THE PEOPLE WHO HELD FAST

TO THE HOPI WAY

CAN BE SPARED FROM DESTRUCTION.

HE IS THE PURIFIER,

FOR PEOPLE TO GO ON

WITH THE GREAT SPIRIT LIFE PLAN.

IT WILL THEN OPEN

OUR HEARTS AND MINDS

WHEN A NEW AGE IS ABOUT TO BE,

WITH PEOPLE RENEWED

AND PURIFIED THROUGH FIRE.

IT WILL BE LIKE

THE PURE GOLD

OF A NEW DAY.

BUT FIRE IS RED,

54

AND WHEN IT TAKES COMMAND,

IT WILL SET THE FORCES OF NATURE

IN MOTION.

WE WILL KNOW WHEN PURIFICATION DAY HAS COME.

WE ALL ARE THE CARETAKERS OF LIFE.

THE BALANCE OF NATURE DEPENDS ON US.

THE WORLD WILL BE WHAT WE WANT IT TO BE

.

55

MESSAGES FROM ELDERS

From the Beginning of Life to the Day of Purification

Teachings, History & Prophecies of the Hopi People

INTRODUCTION TO SUN CLAN LEADER

Dan Katchongva, the late Sun Clan leader of Hotevilla, spent more than a

century in this life, in the course of which he was privileged to witness the

battle between the ancient world and the modern world, in which he saw

many old prophecies fulfilled. He experienced the whole spectrum, from

peaceful village life to the most forceful interference the Hopi have known

since the end of the previous world.

56

In a talk recorded on January 29, 1970, Dan told the story of the People

of Peace, from the dawn of time to the attacks which led to the founding of

Hotvela in 1906, the school, money and police systems which threaten to

end the Hopi Way within this generation, and the consequences for

America and the world.

The thought of publishing his talk grew from the recognition that those

causing this tragedy, and the millions who support them, could not persist,

had they but a glimpse of the purpose behind Hopi resistance to foreign

control.

Dan agreed to the publication of this booklet on condition that it never be

sold, insisting that to sell Hopi teachings would be like selling his own

mother.

He selected the portions to be published, and the accuracy of the

translation was carefully established through his interpreter,

Danaqyumptewa, with emphasis given to the original wording.

In addition to the prophecies fulfilled during his lifetime, Dan was told by

his father that he would live to see the beginning of the final event of this

era, the Great Day of Purification. Dan Katchongva died in 1972.

Thomas Francis:

“All I have is my planting stick and my corn. If you are willing to live as I

do, you may live here with me.”

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE

Somewhere down in the underworld we were created by the Great Spirit,

the Creator. We were created first one, then two, then three. We were

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created equal, of oneness, living in a spiritual way, where the life is

everlasting. We were happy and at peace with our fellow men. All things

were plentiful, provided by our Mother Earth upon which we were placed.

We did not need to plant or work to get food. Illness and troubles were

unknown. For many years we lived happily and increased to great

numbers.

When the Great Spirit created us, he also gave us instructions or laws to

live by. We promised to live by his laws so that we would remain peaceful,

using them as a guideline for living happily upon that land where he created

and placed us. But from the beginning he warned us that we must not be

tempted by certain things by which we might lose this perfect way of life.

Of course we had advantage of many good things in this life, so by and

by we broke the Creator's command by doing what he told us not to do. So

he punished us by making us as we are now, with both soul and body. He

said, “From now on you will have to go on your own. You will get sick, and

the length of your life will be limited.”

He made our bodies of two principles, good and evil. The left side is

good for it contains the heart. The right side is evil for it has no heart. The

left side is awkward but wise. The right side is clever and strong, but it

lacks wisdom. There would be a constant struggle between the two sides,

and by our actions we would have to decide which was stronger, the evil or

the good.

We lived in good ways for many years, but eventually evil proved to be

stronger. Some of the people forgot or ignored the Great spirit's laws and

once again began to do things that went against his instructions. They

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became materialistic, inventing many things for their own gain, and not

sharing things as they had in the past. This resulted in a great division, for

some still wanted to follow the original instructions and live simply.

The inventive ones, clever but lacking wisdom, made many destructive

things by which their lives were disrupted, and which threatened to destroy

all the people. Many of the things we see today are known to have existed

at that time. Finally, immorality flourished. The life of the people became

corrupted with social and sexual license which swiftly involved the

Kikmongwi's (chief's) wife and daughters, who rarely came home to take

care of their household duties. Not only the Kikmongwi but also the high

religious leaders were having the same problem. Soon the leaders and

others with good hearts were worried that the life of the people was getting

out of control.

The Kikmongwi gathered the high priests. They smoked and prayed for

guidance toward a way to solve the corruption. Many times they gathered,

until finally someone suggested that they move, find a new place, and start

a new life.

EMERGENCE INTO THE PRESENT WORLD

Now they had often heard certain thumping sounds coming from above,

so they knew that someone might be living there. It was decided that this

must be investigated. I will describe this briefly, for the whole story would

take much space.

Being gifted with wisdom, they created birds for this purpose. I will name

three. Two which are known for their strength and swiftness are the kisa

(hawk) and the pavowkaya (swallow) The third was a moochnee (related to

59

the mockingbird). His flight is awkward, but he is known to be wise. They

were each created at separate times by magic songs, tobacco smoke and

prayers, from dirt and saliva, which was covered by a white cap (ova). Each

was welcomed respectfully and given instructions for his mission, should he

succeed. The first two failed to reach the top side of the sky, but the third

one, moochnee, came through the opening into this world.

The new world was beautiful. The earth was green and in bloom. The

bird observed all his instructions. His sense of wisdom guided him to the

being he was instructed to seek. When he found him it was high noon, for

the being, Maasau'u, the Great Spirit, was preparing his noon day meal.

Ears of corn lay beside the fire. He flew down and landed on top of his kisi

(shady house) and sounded his arrival.

Maasau'u was not surprised by the visitor, for by his wisdom and sense

of smell he already knew someone was coming. Respectfully he welcomed

him and invited him to sit down. The interview was brief and to the point.

“Why are you here? Could it be important?” “Yes,” said Moochnee, “I was

sent here by the underworld people. They wish to come to your land and

live with you, for their ways have become corrupted. With your permission

they wish to move here with you and start a new life. This is why I have

come.” Maasau'u replied bluntly, but with respect, “They may come.”

With this message the bird returned to the underworld. While he was

gone the Kikmongwi and the leaders had continued to pray and wait for his

successful return. Upon his return with the good news of the new world and

Maasau'u's permission for them to come, they were overjoyed.

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Now the question was how they were to get to the top, so again they

smoked and prayed for guidance. At last they agreed to plant a tree that

would grow to the top and serve as a pathway. They planted the seed of a

shalavee (spruce tree), then they prayed and sang magic songs. The tree

grew and grew until it reached the sky, but its branches were so soft and so

many that it bent under the heavy earth pressure from the top, so it did not

pierce the sky. They planted another seed, this one to be a lougu (pine). It

grew as they sang their magic songs. This tree was stout and strong.

“Surely this one will get through,” they thought. But it was unsuccessful, for

its branches also bent upon contact with the solid object. Again they

planted a seed. This time it was a pakave (reed). Since it had a pointed end

it pierced the sky up into the new world.

Meanwhile all of this had been kept secret. Only proper, righteous, and

one-hearted people were informed of the plans to leave the corrupt world.

They were prepared to move out, so as soon as they knew it was

successful they started to come up on the inside of the plant, resting

between the joints as they worked their way up to the opening.

When they got to this world, everything was beautiful and peaceful. The

land was virgin, unmolested. They were very happy. They sang and

danced with joy, but their joy was short-lived, for that night the chief's

daughter died suddenly. Everyone was sad and worried. People looked at

one another suspiciously. An evil spell had been enacted. This caused

great concern that a witch or two-hearted person might be among them.

Now the Kikmongwi had great power which he must use to settle the

concern of his people. He made a small ball out of cornmeal which he

tossed up above the group of people. The one upon whose head it landed

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would be the guilty one. It landed upon the head of a girl. A quick decision

was made to throw her back through the opening into the underworld. The

wickedness must be gotten rid of, for they wished to live peacefully in this

new land. But the witch girl cried out for mercy, telling them that on their

long journey they would face many obstacles and dangers of every

description, and that her services would become useful, for she had power

to fight evil. She invited the Kikmongwi to look back down into the

underworld. He looked and saw his child playing happily with the other

children in the underworld, where upon death we will all return. She was

spared, but they left her there alone, perhaps hoping that she would perish

by some unknown cause.

THE FIRST MEETING WITH THE GREAT SPIRIT IN THIS WORLD

It was here that the Great Spirit first appeared to them on this earth, to

give them the instructions by which they were to live and travel. They

divided into groups, each with its selected leader. Before them he laid ears

of corn of various lengths. They were each instructed to pick one ear of

corn to take with them on their journey, for their subsistence and their

livelihood. One by one they greedily picked out the longest and most

perfect-looking ears until only the shortest was left. They did not realize that

this was a test of wisdom. The shortest ear was picked by the humblest

leader. Then the Great Spirit gave them their names and the languages by

which they would be recognized. The last picker of short corn was named

HOPI.

HOPI means not only to be peaceful, but to obey and have faith in the

instructions of the Great Spirit, and not to distort any of his teachings for

62

influence or power, or in any way to corrupt the Hopi way of life. Otherwise,

the name will be taken away.

He than gave them instructions according to which they were to migrate

for a certain purpose to the four corners of the new land, leaving many

footprints, rock writings and ruins, for in time many would forget that they

were all one, united by a single purpose in coming up through the reed.

Now that we were on top, we were each to follow our own leaders, but so

long as we did not forget the instructions of the Great Spirit we would be

able to survive. We were now bound by a vow to live by these instructions

and to complete our pattern of migration. Maasau'u told us that whoever

would be the first to find him would be the leader of those who were to

follow, then he disappeared.

AN ACT OF PROPHETIC CONSEQUENCE

We migrated for many years to every corner of this continent, marking

our claim as we travelled, as these markings clearly testify up to the

present day. On our way we stopped for rest near the great river now

known as the Colorado. We had travelled far and gained a great deal of

knowledge, not forgetting our instructions. The group leader was of the

Bow Clan, a great chief with wisdom. But it was here that this great chief

disappeared into the dark night. After putting his family to sleep he left in

search of the Earth Center, where clever, ingenious people from all nations

meet to plan the future. By some means he found the place, and was

welcomed with respect. It was a beautiful place with all manner of good

things. Good food was laid before him by most beautiful girls. It was all very

tempting.

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Until today we did not know the significance of this action. It had to do

with the future. By this action he caused a change to occur in the pattern of

life as we near the end of the life cycle of this world, such that many of us

would seek the materialistic world, trying to enjoy all the good things it has

to offer before destroying ourselves.

Those gifted with the knowledge of the sacred instructions will then live

cautiously, for they will remember and have faith in these instructions, and

it will be on their shoulders that the fate of the world will rest. The people

will corrupt the good ways of life, bringing about the same life as that from

which we fled in the underworld. The sacred body of the female will no

longer be hidden, for the shield of protection will be uplifted, an act of

temptation toward sexual license, which will also be enjoyed. Most of us will

be lost in all the confusion. An awareness that something extraordinary is

happening will develop in most of the people, for even their leaders will be

confused into polluting themselves. It will be difficult to decide whom to

follow.

The Hopi knew all this would come about. All these aspects of today's life

pattern were planned. So today we must stand firmly on our belief in order

to survive. The only course is to follow the instructions of the Great Spirit

himself.

THE MISSION OF THE TWO BROTHERS

This Bow Clan chief had two grown sons. When they learned of their

father's misdeed they were very sad. Their knowledge of the teachings

which they had received from him was all in order. Now they were left alone

to lead their people, for the very next day their father died.

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They asked their mother to permit them to carry out the order of their

instructions for an event of this nature. She replied that it was up to them,

for their knowledge was complete. Upon agreement, the younger brother

was to continue in search of Maasau'u, and to settle where he found him.

There he would await the return of this older brother, who was to travel

eastward toward the rising sun, where he would rest briefly. While resting,

he must listen for the voice of his younger brother, who would expect him to

come to his aid, for the change in the life pattern will have disrupted the

way of life of his people. Under the pressure of a new ruler they will surely

be wiped off the face of the earth unless he comes.

So today we are still standing firmly on the Great Spirit's instructions. We

will continue to look and pray toward the East for his prompt return.

The younger brother warned the elder that the land and the people would

change. “But do not let your heart be troubled,” he said, “for you will find us.

Many will turn away from the life plan of Maasau'u, but a few of us who are

true to his teachings will remain in our dwellings. The ancient character of

our heads, the shape of our houses, the layout of our villages, and the type

of land upon which our village stands, and our way of life. All will be in

order, by which you will find us.”

Before the first people had begun their migrations the people named

Hopi were given a set of stone tablets. Into these tablets the Great Spirit

inscribed the laws by which the Hopi were to travel and live the good way

of life, the peaceful way. They also contain a warning that the Hopi must

beware, for in time they would be influenced by wicked people to forsake

the life plan of Maasau'u. It would not be easy to stand up against this, for it

would involve many good things that would tempt many good people to

65

forsake these laws. The Hopi would be led into a most difficult position. The

stones contain instructions to be followed in such a case.

The older brother was to take one of the stone tablets with him to the

rising sun, and bring it back with him when he hears the desperate call for

aid. His brother will be in a state of hopelessness and despair. His people

may have forsaken the teachings, no longer respecting their elders, and

even turning upon their elders to destroy their way of life. The stone tablets

will be the final acknowledgment of their true identity and brotherhood.

Their mother is Sun Clan. They are the children of the sun.

So it must be a Hopi who travelled from here to the rising sun and is

waiting someplace. Therefore it is only the Hopi that still have this world

rotating properly, and it is the Hopi who must be purified if this world is to

be saved. No other person anyplace will accomplish this.

The older brother had to travel fast on his journey for there was not much

time, so the horse was created for him. The younger brother and his people

continued on in search of Maasau'u.

On their way they came to a land that looked fertile and warm. Here they

marked their clan symbols on the rock to claim the land. This was done by

the Fire Clan, the Spider Clan, and the Snake Clank. This place is know

called Moencopi. They did not settle there at that time.

While the people were migrating, Maasau'u was waiting for the first ones

to arrive. In those days he used to take walks near the place where he

lived, carrying a bunch of violet flowers (du-kyam-see) in his belt. One day

he lost them along the way. When he went to look for them he found that

they had been picked up by the Hornytoad Woman. When he asked her for

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the flowers she refused to give them back, but instead gave him her

promise that she would help him in time of need. “I too have a metal

helmet,” she told him, (possibly meaning that certain people with metal

helmets would help the Hopi when they get into difficulty).

Often Maasau'u would walk about a half mile north of his du-pa-cha ( a

type of temporary house) to a place where there lay a long rock which

formed a natural shelter, which he must have picked as the place where he

and the first people would find each other. While waiting there he would

amuse himself by playing a game to test his skill, the name of which (Nadu-

won-pi-kya), was to play an important part later on in the life of the Hopi, for

it was here that the knowledge and wisdom of the first people was to be

tested. Until recent times children used to play a similar game there,

something like “hide-and-seek.” One person would hide, then signal by

tapping on the rock, which would transmit the sound in a peculiar way so

that the others could not tell exactly where the tapping was coming from.

(Some years ago this rock was destroyed by government road builders.) It

was here that they found Maasau'u waiting.

THE MEETING WITH MAASAU'U NEAR ORAIBI

Before the migrations began Maasau'u had let it be known, though

perhaps not by direct instructions, that whoever would find him first would

be the leader there. Later it became clear that this was a procedure by

which their true character would be specified.

When they found him, the people gathered and sat down with him to talk.

The first thing they wanted to know was where he lived. He replied that he

lived just north of there at a place called Oraibi. For a certain reason he did

67

not name it fully. The full name is Sip-Oraibi, meaning something that has

been solidified, referring to the fact that this is the place where the earth

was made solid.

They asked permission to live there with him. He did not answer directly,

for within them he saw evil. “It is up to you,” he said. “I have nothing here.

My life is simple. All I have is my planting stick and my corn. If you are

willing to live as I do, and follow my instructions, the life plan which I shall

give you, you may live here with me, and take care of the land. Then you

may have a long, happy, fruitful life.”

Then they asked him whether he would be their leader, thinking that thus

they would be assured a peaceful life. “No,” he replied, “the one who led

you here will be the leader until you fulfill your pattern of life,” (for he saw

into their hearts and knew that they still had many selfish desires). “After

that I will be the leader, but not before, for I am the first and I shall be the

last.” Having left all the instructions with them, he disappeared.

THE FOUNDING OF ORAIBI VILLAGE

The village of Oraibi was settled and built in accordance with the

instructions of the Great Spirit. The Bow Clan chief was the father of the

ceremonial order. They remained under the leadership of the Bow Clan for

some time, perhaps until corruptions set in. As you recall, the Bow Clan

chief of the past had contaminated his standing by taking part in the

changing of the life pattern.

Later the Bear Clan took over. This might have been because the bear is

strong and mighty. There may have been other reasons too, such as a

prophecy which told that a bear, sleeping somewhere in the northern part

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of what is now called Europe, would awaken at a certain time where he

would wait. This group is called Bear Clan because they came across a

dead bear at the place of the shield symbol. Most of the important people

claimed to be of the Bear Clan, including the Bluebird and Spider Clan

people.

The vow which we made with the Great Spirit obligated us to follow His

way of life. He gave the land to us to use and care for through our

ceremonial duties. He instructed us and showed us the road plan by which

we must govern our lives. We wrote this pattern on a rock so that we would

always be reminded to follow the straight road. The Hopi must not drift

away from this road or He will take this land away from us. This is the

warning given to us by Maasau'u.

Oraibi village was settled firmly. Migrating people were now gathering

there and asking to be admitted into the village. The Kikmongwi and the

high priests would always consider their request and base their judgment

upon their character and wisdom. Those who showed signs of boastfulness

were turned away and told to go to the south mesas where their kind of

people lived. Only good people, humble and sincere in their prayers, were

admitted.

One of these groups was the Coyote Clan, They were coming from Sh-

got-kee (Si-aht-ki), close to Walpi. There were several reasons they were

pointed out as bad people, but they were clever in a way. At first they were

not allowed to join the village. But when they made their fourth request they

were accepted according to the custom, and they were admitted with the

agreement that they act as a protection, and that in time of troubles they

had to support and help the spokesman. But they were warned to be

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cautious. Although, the devout never torture to the end. And that is the way

we had it with all the clans, because on the way most of us want to cheat or

deceive the leaders to get glory or fame; which leads us to the point of

polluting our way and to shake our beliefs.

The last group that was admitted to Oraibi was the Grey Eagle Clan. As

they finished their migration, they first settled in what today is called New

Mexico. Because they were people who like to make wars, and trouble

makers they were, they were chased away by the Pueblo Indians there. As

they came to this area, they settled at Mishongovi on Second Mesa, with

the condition that they would not start a quarrel or conflict. If they break this

promise, they should leave without resistance. So, they started another

conflict and they left as promised. After that they came to Oraibi and asked

to be admitted there. After several attempts they were allowed to come in

under the same promise that they had to give to the other village, that they

would move voluntarily if they started restlessness or broke their promise.

In accordance with this agreement, the leader of the Village Mishongovi

would consider re-accepting them on Second Mesa, or to send them back

to New Mexico where the Pueblo Indians could do with them what they

think is right.

Later, as we were forced to leave the Village Oraibi, and we started to

settle in Hotvela, they came with us, with the same agreement. That is still

in effect today. Again they started restlessness and they are now obligated

to leave. They are the seed of all the destruction in our village. They

betrayed the Hopi Nation because they bow before the ones that come with

nice words, and through that they get benefits and advantages. For them,

there are just two ways: the way of the Great Spirit or the way of Bahanna.

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They are obligated to go to Mishongovi as agreed. The people over there

wait for them, but they don't have the courage to do what they promised.

And they hide themselves cowardly behind the man-made law of Bahanna.

Among the ceremonies of each group the prayer for rain was important in

order for the crops to grow and produce an abundance of food. The people

depended on this for their livelihood. Boastful people were not admitted so

that the prayers would not be polluted.

Oraibi was now firmly established. The pattern of the religious order was

established. Cycle by cycle we paid respect to our Mother Earth, our Father

Sun, the Great Spirit, and all things through our ceremonies. We were

happy for we were united as one.

THE ARRIVAL OF ANOTHER RACE FORETOLD

Time passed on, people passed on, and the prophecies of things to

come were passed from mouth to mouth. The stone tablets and the rock

writing of the life plan were often reviewed by the elders. Fearfully they

waited as they retold the prophecy that one day another race of people

would appear in their midst and claim our land as his own. He would try to

change our pattern of life.

He would have a “sweet tongue” or a “fork tongue,” and many good

things by which we would be tempted. He would use force in an attempt to

trap us into using weapons, but we must not fall for this trick, for then we

ourselves would be brought to our knees, from which we might not be able

to rise. Nor must we ever raise our hand against any nation. We now call

these people Bahanna.

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THE FORCES OF PURIFICATION

We have teachings and prophecies informing us that we must be alert

for the signs and omens which will come about to give us courage and

strength to stand on our beliefs. Blood will flow. Our hair and our clothing

will be scattered upon the earth.

Nature will speak to us with its mighty breath of wind. There will be

earthquakes, floods, and strange fires in different places causing great

disasters, changes in the seasons, and in the weather, disappearance of

wildlife, and famine in different forms. There will be gradual corruption and

confusion among the leaders and the people all over the world, and wars

will come about like powerful winds. All of this has been planned from the

beginning of creation.

We will have three people standing behind us, ready to fulfill our

prophecies when we get into hopeless difficulties: the Meha Symbol (which

refers to a plant that has a long root, milky sap, grows back when cut off,

and has a flower shaped like a swastika, symbolizing the four great forces

of nature in motion), the Sun Symbol, and the Red Symbol. Bahanna's

intrusion into the Hopi way of life will set the Meha Symbol in motion, so

that certain people will work for the four great forces of nature (the four

directions, the controlling forces, the original force) which will rock the world

into war. When this happens we will know that our prophecies are coming

true. We will gather strength and stand firm.

This great movement will fall, but because its subsistence is milk, and

because it is controlled by the four forces of nature, it will rise again to put

the world in motion, creating another war, in which both the Meha and the

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Sun Symbol will be at work. Then it will rest in order to rise a third time. Our

prophecy foretells that the third event will be the decisive one. Our road

plan foretells the outcome.

This sacred writing speaks the word of the Great Spirit. It could mean the

mysterious life seed with two principles of tomorrow, indicating one, inside

of which is two. The third and last, which will it bring forth, purification or

destruction?

This third event will depend upon the Red Symbol, which will take

command, setting the four forces of nature (Meha) in motion for the benefit

of the Sun. When he sets these forces in motion the whole world will shake

and turn red and turn against the people who are hindering the Hopi

cultural life. To all these people Purification Day will come. Humble people

will run to him in search of a new world, and the equality that has been

denied them. He will come unmercifully. His people will cover the Earth like

red ants. We must not go outside to watch. We must stay in our houses. He

will come and gather the wicked people who are hindering the red people

who were here first. He will be looking for someone whom he will recognize

by his way of life, or by his head (the special Hopi haircut), or by the shape

of his village and his dwellings. He is the only one who will purify us.

The Purifier, commanded by the Red Symbol, with the help of the Sun

and the Meha, will weed out the wicked who have disturbed the way of life

of the Hopi, the true way of life on Earth. The wicked will be beheaded and

will speak no more. This will be the Purification for all righteous people, the

Earth, and all living things on the Earth. The ills of the Earth will be cured.

Mother Earth will bloom again and all people will unite into peace and

harmony for a long time to come.

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But if this does not materialize, the Hopi traditional identity will vanish

due to pressure from Bahanna. Through the white man's influence, his

religions, and the disappearance of our sacred land, the Hopi will be

doomed. This is the Universal Plan, speaking through the Great Spirit since

the dawn of time.

With this in mind, I as a Hopi do not make wars against any country,

because if I do, the Purifier will find out and punish me for fighting. And

since I am Hopi, I am not sending my children across the ocean to fight. If

they want to that's up to them, but they will no longer be Hopi if they do.

Since I am Sun Clan, and the Sun is the father of all living things, I love

my children. If they realize what I am talking about they must help me save

this world.

The Hopi have been placed on this side of the Earth to take care of the

land through their ceremonial duties, just as other races of people have

been placed elsewhere around the Earth to take care of Her in their own

ways. Together we hold the world in balance, revolving properly. If the Hopi

nation vanishes the motion of the Earth will become eccentric, the water

will swallow the land, the people will perish, and the ants will inherit the

earth. Only a brother and a sister may be left to start a new life.

THE FAITHFUL HOPI MEET THEIR TEST

Bahanna came with great ambition and generosity, eagerly offering his

hand to help “improve” our way of life, establishing schools to teach us the

“better ways” of his life. He offered us his medicine and health practices,

saying that this would help us live longer. He offered to help us mark our

boundary, claiming that in that way we would have more land. In all the

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villages we rejected his offer. He tried many ways to induce us, but failed to

make us submit to his wishes, for we were all one unity at that time,

believers in the instructions of Maasau'u.

His next attempt was fear. He formed a police force consisting partly of

certain people who had been tempted by his offers and given weapons. He

threatened to arrest us and put us in prison, but we still stood firm. The

threats of arrest and imprisonment were put into action. Villages panicked

and weaker people began to submit. In Oraibi, our village leadership fell

when Loloma (Bear Clan) made an agreement with the United States

government.

We who still had faith in Maasau'u, including the main priests of the

religious orders, gathered together, rejecting the Kikmongwi's request to

submit. We sat down together and smoked and prayed that we would be

brave enough to take our stand. We took out our stone tablet and studied it

in every detail. We carefully reviewed the road plan written on the rock near

our village. This is the plan we must always follow, for it is in order and

complete. We recognized that the Fire Clan (meaning my father, Yukiuma)

must lead, for his symbol, Maasau'u, stands to the right of the reed as he

faces out.

We also interpreted that since our way of life had been corrupted we

must move to a new place where we would be able to follow the road

without interference and continue our ceremonial duties for all beings.

We smoked and prayed again and reconsidered that this village, Oraibi,

is our mother village. All our sacred shrines are rooted here and must not

be left unattended. We knew that the road would be hard with many

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obstacles. We knew that we would still be troubled by the newcomer, and

that we must still face all the tests of weakness, so we agreed to stay.

The trouble commenced its course. The government wanted all of the

Hopi children to be put into schools. They said it would do us good, but we

knew that this “good” would only be on the surface, and that what was

under it would destroy the Hopi cultural life. Maybe they thought that with

an education the children might be able to help the old people, but we knew

this would not be so, because they would learn to think as white men, so

they would never help the old people. Instead they would be indoctrinated

and encouraged to turn against us, as they are actually doing today. So in

order to be good according to the Great Spirit's instructions we refused to

put our children into the schools.

So almost every week they would send policemen, many of them. They

would surround the village and hunt for the children of school age. We

could not be happy because we were expecting trouble every day. Fathers

who refused to cooperate were arrested and imprisoned. Inhuman acts

were imposed upon us, starvation, insults and humiliation, to force us into

submission. Still, over half of the clan leaders and religious society leaders

refused to accept anything from the government. Because of this we were

mocked and treated as outcasts by those who had already submitted.

Finally they decided to do something about us because we were keeping

them from getting certain favors from the government.

This was when Loloma's successor, Tewaquaptewa, became chief of

Oraibi. It was under his leadership that the sad event, the eviction of the

faithful Hopi from Oraibi, was touched off. Since we “Hostiles,” as we were

called by the missionaries and government workers refused to follow his

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wishes and accept the white man's way of life, he decided to evict us

bodily. He figured that without our interference he would be able to take

advantage of the good things offered by Bahanna.

THE FAITHFUL HOPI EVICTED FROM ORAIBI

On September 7th, 1906, his followers, commanded by chief

Tewaquaptewa himself, entered the house where we were discussing

prophesies and threw us out. We did not resist until rifles and other

weapons were shown and they began beating us. Then we resisted only to

the extent of defending ourselves from injury. I was “killed,” and bleeding,

my blood flowed into Mother Earth, a prophetic sign that the Purifier was

coming in seven days and that we should move out of Oraibi. When I came

back to life, all my people were gathered to go. My father, Yukiuma, was

selected to be the leader. The women and children, with a few belongings

on their backs, a little food, and no shoes, were prepared to leave. Some

tried to go back to their houses to get their valuables and some extra food,

but they were turned back. (In Book of the Hopi, it is said we were allowed

to go back and get some belongings, but this is not true. That book is not

accurate.) After we had left, we learned that our houses had been looted

and that horses had been turned loose in our fields and had eaten our

crops, which were just ready for harvest.

Thus we had to migrate once again to find a new home, leaving behind a

corrupt world of confusion. We sought to start a new life, carry on our

ceremonial cycles, and preserve our way of life without interference, but

now we know that this was a dead dream, for the interference has

continued right up to the present day.

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THE FOUNDING OF HOTVELA VILLAGE

The village of Hotvela was settled for one purpose, to stand firmly on

the Great Spirit's instructions and fulfill the prophecies to the end. It was

established by good people, one-hearted people who were actually living

these instructions. Water was plentiful, and so was wood, from which we

built temporary shelters in which we were to survive the cold winter with

very few blankets. Food was scarce, but we managed to live from the land

by hunting game and picking greens. We were united into oneness, but it

would again be split into two due to extreme pressure from the outside.

RENEWED ATTACKS

Hardly had our footprints faded away in Oraibi, when early one morning

we found ourselves surrounded by government troops. All the people,

including the children, were ordered to march six miles to a place below

Oraibi. From there all the men were marched over forty miles to the U.S.

government agency at Keams Canyon, where they were imprisoned for

about a year and a half for not accepting the generous offer of education

for our children, among other things.

The first thing they ordered us to do was to sign papers. We refused.

Then they locked us inside a building without food and with very little water

for several days until we were very hungry. Again they tried to induce us to

sign papers, promising to feed us and let us go, but again we refused. They

tried other tricks to make us sign, but each time we refused. Finally they

took us to a blacksmith shop, where they riveted chains to our legs with

loops and hooks, and fastened us together in pairs. In this way we were

forced to work on a road gang for long hours everyday, working

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dangerously with dynamite on the steep rocky cliffs near the agency. That

road is now the foundation of a highway still in use today.

At night we were fastened together in groups of six by means of long

chains. To add to our torture, soap was added to our food, which made us

very sick. When one man had to go the outhouse, all six had to go. All this

time the possibility of signing certain papers was left open to those who

might weaken. During this period my father, Yukiuma, was being held

somewhere else so I was acting as leader.

While we were in prison, only the women and children, and maybe a few

old men, were left out here. They had very little food, but as if by a miracle,

there happened to be a lot of rabbits and other wild game that winter, so on

that meat diet they were able to survive the hard weather. It was very hard

while the men were away. The old people used to talk about it. The women

had to gather the wood themselves. My mother used to tell me how they

would form hunting parties and get the dogs to help. We had a small flock

of sheep which they tended while we were away. During the growing

season they planted the crops, took care of the fields, and did all the work

that the men would normally do, in order to survive.

THE DISRUPTION CONTINUES TODAY

During this period a group under the leadership of Kawonumptewa (Sand

Clan), fearing even worse pressure from the government, returned to Oraibi

to follow Tewaquaptewa and accept the white man's way, but they were

rejected and driven out. They settled about two miles from Hotvela, where

they founded the village of Bacobi. Unable to make out independently, they

asked the government agency for help. The agency happily obliged with

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such things as housing materials. Now they almost entirely accept the

white man's way, along with his religion. According to the Great Spirit's law

they are now landless. Their only assets are their dwellings. But it is

through them that the agency obtained token permission to build a school

on Hotvela land, and with the agency's backing they have committed land

grabs against the Hotvela people. It is also through them that the

government has built a water tower on Hotvela land, which supplies

running water to the school and to Bacobi village, while depleting the

natural water supply of the Hotvela people. Most of the people in Hotvela

refuse to use the water from this tower. Much of the trouble caused by the

Bacobi people still exists today. I can recall much more that I hope will

come to light.

At the present time we face the danger that we might lose our land

entirely. Through the influence of the United States government, some

people of Hopi ancestry have organized what they call the Hopi Tribal

Council, patterned according to a plan devised by the government, for the

purpose of negotiating directly with the government and with private

businesses. They claim to act in the interests of the Hopi people, despite

the fact that they ignore the existing traditional leaders, and represent only

a small minority of the people of Hopi blood. Large areas of our land have

been leased, and this group is now accepting compensation from the

Indian Claims Commission for the use of 44,000,000 acres of Hopi land.

We have protested all these moves, but to no avail.

Now this Tribal Council was formed illegally, even according to white

man's laws. We traditional leaders have disapproved and protested form

the start. In spite of this they have been organized and recognized by the

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United States government for the purpose of disguising its wrongdoings to

the outside world. We do not have representatives in this organization, nor

are we legally subject to their regulations and programs. We Hopi are an

independent sovereign nation, by the law of the Great Spirit, but the United

States government does not want to recognize the aboriginal leaders of this

land. Instead, he recognizes only what he himself has created out of

today's children in order to carry out his scheme to claim all of our land.

Because of this, we now face the greatest threat of all, the actual loss of

our cornfields and gardens, our animals and wild game, and our natural

water supply, which would put an end to the Hopi way of life. At the urging

of the Department of the Interior of the United States, the Tribal Council

has signed several leases with an outside private enterprise, the Peabody

Coal Company, allowing them to explore our land for coal deposits, and to

strip-mine the sacred mesas, selling the coal to several large power plants.

This is part of a project intended to bring heavy industry into our area

against our wishes. We know that this will pollute the fields and grazing

lands and drive out the wildlife. Great quantities of water will be pumped

from beneath our desert land and used to push coal through a pipe to a

power plant in another state (Nevada). The loss of this water will affect our

farms as well as the grazing areas of the animals. It also threatens our

sacred springs, our only natural source of water, which we have depended

upon for centuries.

We Hopi knew all this would come about, because this is the Universal

Plan. It was planned by the Great Spirit and the Creator that when the

white man came he would offer us many things. If we were to accept those

offers from his government, that would be the doom of the Hopi nation.

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Hopi is the bloodline of this continent, as others are the bloodline of other

continents. So if Hopi is doomed, the whole world will be destroyed. This

we know, because this same thing happened in the other world. So if we

want to survive, we should go back to the way we lived in the beginning,

the peaceful way, and accept everything the Creator has provided for us to

follow.

White man's laws are many, but mine is one. White man's laws are all

stacked up. So many people have made the rules, and many of them are

made every day. But my law is only the Creator's, just one. And no man-

made law must I follow, because it is ever-changing, and will doom my

people.

We know that when the time comes, the Hopi will be reduced to maybe

one person, two person, three persons. If he can withstand the pressure

from the people who are against the tradition, the world might survive from

destruction We are at the stage where I must stand alone, free from impure

elements. I must continue to lead my people on the road the Great Spirit

made for us to travel. I do not disregard anyone. All who are faithful and

confident in the Great Spirit's way are at liberty to follow the same road. We

will meet many obstacles along the way. The peaceful way of life can be

accomplished only by people with strong courage, and by the purification of

all living things.

Mother Earth's ills must be cured.

As we say, the Hopi are the first people created. They must cure the ills

of their own bloodline so everything will become peaceful naturally, by the

will of the Creator. He will cure the world. But right now Hopi is being hurt.

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To us this is a sign that the world is in trouble. All over the world the

confused people have been fighting, and it will get worse. It is only

purification of the Hopi that will settle the problems here on this Earth. We

didn't suffer all this hardship and punishment for nothing. We live by these

prophecies and teachings, and no matter what happens, we will not buckle

down under any pressure from anybody.

We know certain people are commissioned to bring about the

Purification. It is the Universal Plan from the beginning of creation, and we

are looking up to them to bring purification to us. It is in the rock writings

throughout the world, on different continents. We will come together if

people all over the world know about it. So we urge you to spread this word

around so people will know about it, and the appointed ones will hurry up

with their task, to purify the Hopi and get rid of those who are hindering our

way of life.

I have spoken. I wish this message to travel to all corners of this land and

across the great waters, where people of understanding may consider

these words of wisdom and knowledge. This I want. For people may have

different opinions about some things, but because of the nature of the

beliefs upon which the Hopi life is based, I expect that at least one will

agree, maybe even two. If three agree it will be worth many fold.

I am forever looking and praying eastward to the rising sun for my true

white brother to come and purify the Hopi. My father, Yukiuma, used to tell

me that I would be the one to take over as leader at this time, because I

belong to the Sun Clan, the father of all the people on the Earth. I was told

that I must not give in, because I am the first. The Sun is the father of all

living things from the first creation. And if I am done, the Sun Clan, then

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there will be no living thing left on the Earth. So I have stood fast. I hope

you will understand what I am trying to tell you.

I am the Sun, the father. With my warmth all things are created. You are

my children, and I am very concerned about you. I hold you to protect you

from harm, but my heart is sad to see you leaving my protecting arms and

destroying yourselves. From the breast of your mother, the Earth, you

receive your nourishment, but She is to dangerously ill to give you pure

food. What will it be? Will you lift your father's heart? Will you cure your

mother's ills? Or will you forsake us and leave us with sadness, to be

weathered away? I don't want this world to be destroyed. If this world is

saved, you all will be saved, and whoever has stood fast will complete this

plan with us, so that we will all be happy in the Peaceful Way.

People everywhere must give Hopi their most serious consideration, our

prophecies, our teachings, and our ceremonial duties, for if Hopi fails, it will

trigger the destruction of the world and all mankind. I have spoken through

the mouth of the Creator. May the Great Spirit guide you on the right path.

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THE KEEPER OF THE HOPI FIRE CLAN TABLETS

MARTIN GASHWESEOMA

I am the keeper of the sacred Fire Clan tablets of the Hopi at the village

of Hotevilla. These tablets represent our ancient title to this land, which

existed long before the arrival of Columbus, and has never been

relinquished. They have been entrusted to me under the highest authority,

to be held until the last stage of our prophecies has been completed. The

signs that we have entered that final stage are now clear.

In fulfillment of my spiritual instructions I have come to Santa Fe, the

oldest European capital on our land, to offer the people of the United States

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of America, and all humanity, a final opportunity to collaborate with the

forces of creation to purify our lives, and restore peace to the world.

The root cause of the problems that threaten life on earth is the concept

of land title acquired and maintained by force. Since modern civilization is

based on this concept, it does not hold the key to peace.

Our original Hopi land title is based on permission. We received that

permission from Maasaw, the guardian of all land and life, who holds it in

trust for the creator. Thus it is implemented by the forces that create this

universe.

Regardless of differences in culture and tradition, true aboriginal title

throughout the world is based on a similar relationship. To usurp aboriginal

title by deception and force, then build an empire upon that basis, is to

oppose the forces of life, and ensure the eventual destruction of that

empire. The United States of America has become such an empire.

Before the White Man arrived from Europe, everything was in order. Our

life was beautiful and clean. The land was green and there were plenty of

flowers, animals, birds and trees, rain and clouds. We lived in great

happiness because we followed the simple life taught to us by Maasaw.

Maasaw is both a real person and a manifestation of the Creator. We

met him in person near the place where we built our mother village of

Oraibi, after a long migration to claim the land in his name. At that point he

gave us permission to live here as caretakers, as well as the spiritual

knowledge by which to keep the forces of life in balance. This knowledge is

implanted in our sacred stone tablets.

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But when the Europeans came they forced their religion, culture and

language upon our children, which brought great division among our

people. As a result, today our young people are turning away from this

basic law. They no longer understand it. They only understand the White

Man's law.

Because they were forced into this situation, there is now hardly anyone

fulfilling the sacred instructions and correctly performing the ceremonies

essential to the Hopi way of life. There are still leaders from various clans

who know of these instructions, which reveal their true purpose in life, but

more and more they are turning away. This intrusion by outside forces, and

the harmful effect on our function as caretakers of life, is the reason life on

Earth is now so disturbed.

Like the Hopi, original native peoples were placed across this continent,

and given special instructions by a higher being. Each had special

functions by which to hold life in balance, which they were still carrying out

when the Europeans arrived. We know these foreigners once had similar

spiritual means for promoting life, with which they were supposed to bless

the native peoples. But they had apparently misused their power. Most of

the native peoples were forcibly stripped of their culture, language and

religious ceremonies, depriving them of their function as caretakers. Those

that remain face imminent cultural extinction. Clearly these foreigners are

not here to help, but to destroy everything the original people have left, and

in doing so, destroy this world. The only hope for humanity lies in restoring

true land title, which is inseparable from our function as caretakers of life.

For this reason we bring our sacred stone tablets to the New Mexico

State Capital in Santa Fe. Because it is the first foreign capital on this land,

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there must be documents here that confirm the rights of the original native

peoples, and possibly information reguarding stone tablets such as those

we brought with us. We want to see whether someone will search for such

documents, proving whether the original title of the native peoples,

including the Hopi, is still binding according to existing modern laws.

The Spanish people must have documented something concerning the

Hopi title. When the Mexican government took over, it must have left similar

documents, and the same holds true for the United States. There must be a

whole stack of such documents. If the entire stack were turned over the

search should not take long. The first few should prove that the native

peoples hold the true title to this land, and the knowledge by which it should

be protected.

The role the foreigners were to play in protecting this land should also be

revealed. Documents must exist that show where the United States turned

against this original law. What document does the United States have that

says it is supposed to protect this area?

The Spanish, the Mexican, and the United States governments have all

fought over someone else's land without consulting the original native

peoples living on it, then created some kind of document. But what of the

rights of the original native peoples? Who has the ability to look into this,

and see that the basic rights of the Hopi and other native peoples are

restored?

This is the key to the problem that threatens all life on earth. If someone

can uncover this information and bring it before the world, it might be

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possible to reverse the destruction of the native cultures that lies at the root

of the devastation that now threatens our entire world.

The great powers of the modern world need to realize that if they are to

escape the punishment that lies ahead, what they are doing to native

peoples around the world must be corrected. Those who accumulate power

at the expense of the native peoples think they have a God-given right, but

in doing so they are increasing the threat to all life. And although they now

recognize that threat, they are powerless to reverse it by any means unless

they stop preying upon the native peoples.

We came here to plant the seed of this realization, which could turn the

course of all humanity away from disaster. An investigation within the the

area of the present Hopi villages would benefit all indigenous peoples.

Moreover, those who now live at the expense of the native land title would

thus be given the chance to correct their mistake, and avert the terrible

consequences foreseen long ago by the Hopi, which are already in

evidence today. Either way, this would benefit all humanity.

Because our true original land title is essential to our role in holding this

land and life in balance, we have never compromised that title by signing a

treaty with the United States Government. We have never given it authority

to destroy our culture and take our land, nor have the other original native

peoples. Yet this is being done here and throughout the world.

Today the Hopi are forced to live under laws that come from Washington

DC, such as those that created the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the so-

called 'Hopi Tribal Council' without consent from the real traditional people.

In violation of our spiritual teachings, these agencies have been promoting

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paved roads, water lines, sewers and government-financed housing. They

have even forced such things into Hotevilla, the village we founded in 1906

in order to protect the Hopi Way from such intrusions.

They are cutting our land into small allotments, confiscating our livestock,

and allowing the land to be stripped of its mineral resources. Underground

water is being depleted and the land is drying up. Open pit uranium mines

are polluting the area with radioactivity, causing the birth of many deformed

babies. This shows what is happening to indigenous people around the

world.

Those who perpetrate such abuse, and the countless modern people

who thrive from it, truly have no land title. They build their power through

resources taken by force, then use those resources to gain power to take

even more. Since they consider the true aboriginal title of indigenous

peoples to be worthless, they treat us like animals to be kicked around.

But as the Purification foretold in our tradition materializes, they too will

get kicked around. They will find themselves disrespected everywhere, just

as they have disrespected others, and their power will collapse. Soon they

will see how little power and authority they really have.

We hope they will heed our warning for their own sake, and for the sake

of the native peoples who want nothing more than to rule themselves

peacefully without being dictated to by anyone else. Part of the commission

we received from the Creator through Maasaw is to sound this warning to

the world.

We Hopi know our true white brother is to come and help us. He has a

stone tablet representing his own title and power within the Creator's plan.

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By placing it together with our Fire Clan tablet, he may call upon the natural

forces to purify the world. If the task of purification is left to these natural

forces, we may all be wiped out. So it is up to all people to purify

themselves voluntarily.

We have also known that if the wrong white brother should arrive, one

who has lost his spiritual path and thus has no title, he would bring misery

and destruction. But when the world problem becomes great enough this

false white brother will find his survival threatened. Where will he turn?

He proposes to save the world by converting everyone to what he calls

'democracy,' but can he even use it to save himself? We hear that

democracy means rule by the people. Yet he has reached the point where

only three people, the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary

of Defense, can start a war against any nation that doesn't submit to their

wishes, regardless of the will of the people, Congress, or existing laws.

We Hopi don't know what the word 'democracy' means. The 'Hopi Tribal

Council' established by the United States is supposed to be a democracy,

but in fact it is only an instrument through which our people are forced to

submit to programs conceived in Washington. Offers of money, jobs, a

better life, and so forth, really mean signing away control over their land

and their life.

Such false democracy is being extended throughout the world. In the

name of democracy the US Government is taking control of native lands,

exploiting the mineral resources to produce great wealth, then using that

wealth to bribe native peoples elsewhere into accepting contracts to

deforest their land.

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The deployment of armies to protect the freedom of native peoples

abroad is causing the loss of that very freedom. It is the task of the Hopi to

warn everyone concerned that even in the name of freedom, this will

unquestionably lead to a third world war much worse than the first two,

which may leave hardly any life on earth. This is why our religion forbids us

to join the army, even if we are drafted.

Today the American people are being taught how it feels to be held

hostage. That is how we have felt, having been held hostage up to the

present day. In truth, everyone in that army is held hostage by the

Government. Young people who want to live a long life are forced to suffer

in the Arabian desert. We know that they are about to be burnt up in a war

if they don't stop. It's up to the President to recall the troops he has sent to

the Middle East. They must all be allowed to refuse this fate and return

home. It is especially urgent that all native people who have become

involved come home right away.

Current education of the Hopi into modern ways is a continuation of the

policy of forced acculturation that began when our children were first

kidnapped and forced into schools. The attempt to convert the schools so

as to promote Hopi culture damages Hopi culture even further. Instead of

dancing at the right time of year in the plaza, the Hopi children are taught to

do their dances in school, outside the natural cycle, ignorant of their

significance, and without the traditional preparation by the whole family.

This disturbs the very harmony these dances meant to maintain. Prior to

such interference, our community life was held together by the relationship

between the religious societies, each composed of a careful balance of the

special qualities of each clan, dancing together with the cycles of nature.

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The disruption of this pattern accounts for the epidemic of delinquency and

crime we witness today.

We know the Government would like to wash its hands of the schools,

but instead of closing them it tries to put them into the hands of

'progressive' Hopis who have already lost their tradition. They should

simply close the schools and let us return to our original methods of

educating the young, which were already very advanced - the real

education from which we were torn away. We have no need to learn from

books. We have better methods by which children can learn how to live in

peace, identify plants and animal tracks, and ultimately learn to keep the

world in balance.

If the schools are closed, then those families who want their children to

learn the English language would have to move out, earn money, and pay

for that education themselves. This is what Yukiuma was standing for when

he brought the sacred stone tablets of the Fire Clan with him in 1906, and

led the founding of our village at Hotevilla.

There is a document by the Mennonite missionary, H.R. Voth, which

testifies to the superior quality of education he witnessed among the

Hotevilla children after the new village became established. They learn not

only how to read the animal tracks, but many songs, dances, ceremonies

and painting, all of which contribute to a very good memory, as well a solid

understanding of the Way of Peace.

The proof that this education really works is in the fact that we never

needed jails, courts, police, hospitals, or complicated systems of

administration to keep things in check. There was hardly any sickness

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because we lived only from the food we grew organically, without

chemicals. Any sickness that did occur could be healed with ceremonies

and herbs. Even today there are old people so strong that when you try to

follow them up a hill you can't catch up with them.

Now, as our land is being gradually cut up by the government, this

beautiful life is disappearing. The recent division of our land with the

Navajos, which the United States enforces through its courts and police, is

clearly a means to seize total control, even of that land supposedly granted

to the Hopi. Those Hopis who are relocated onto new areas are only

allowed to lease that land from the 'Hopi Tribal Council.'

Only a few centuries ago there were no Navajos here. We were

protected by the Paiute people to the north, who learned many words from

our language. Later the Navajos arrived. Since they often survived by

raiding, they became a problem to the Spanish and later to the American

settlers. The Americans responded by rounding up all the Navajos under

Kit Carson and putting them in prisons. Later they gave them a portion of

the Hopi homeland through the 1868 treaty. After it was learned that the

land given to the Navajos contained valuable resources, instead of

enforcing the treaty restriction that they remain there, the United States just

let them wander off, then created another reservation for them on land

belonging to the Paiutes, and moved the Paiutes out. When the Navajos

expanded onto the Hopi area, rather than force them back onto the Paiute

land the Government made still another reservation for them on the Hopi

land.

With the discovery of mineral resources in that area came the passage of

Public Law 93-531, which was not requested by the true Hopi leaders, but

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promoted by lawyers through the 'Hopi Tribal Council,' creating the illusion

before the world that the Hopi have traded certain areas of their land over

to the Government, or approved mineral leases.

Public law 93-351 divides our land still further, by requiring both Hopi and

Navajo families to be forcibly relocated, and the artificial Hopi-Navajo

border fenced with barbed wire. Our elders have long warned of the time

when a line might be drawn around our feet, granting us no more land than

that, which really means we would have no land at all. This time is not far

off.

We want everyone to know that the Navajos are not the ones taking our

land, but the United States. The Hopi and the Navajo made peace long

ago, and sealed their agreement spiritually with a medicine bundle. It is

through the puppet governments, the 'Tribal Councils' forced upon both

nations by the United States, that the illusion of a conflict has been created

on the basis of the false modern concept of land title.

This short history shows how our land has been taken away. Why is this

happening? It is done through younger Hopis, robbed of their tradition

through compulsory foreign education, and arbitrarily empowered to speak

for their whole nation through the 'Hopi Tribal Council,' yet never consult

with their original leaders. Would you allow your children to sign away your

family possessions without even letting you know? That's exactly what the

'Hopi Tribal Council' is doing.

Land title based on such deceit and coercion is theft from the very forces

that gave us life. Since most of modern civilization is based on such false

entitlement, it can only destroy itself. The severe problems that face not

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only humanity, but every form of life on Earth, serve to warn that the time of

destruction is at hand.

We can no longer escape. We must trace this situation to its root cause.

This is why I act now to call world attention to the true nature of aboriginal

land title, which alone holds the key to world peace. Hopi land title is based

on our agreement with the Creator, the true owner of the land, through our

meeting with Maasaw, to serve as its caretakers. This requires genuine

knowledge of the pattern through which people can live together in peace

without relying on the use of force. This way of life can continue forever.

So for the sake of the indigenous nations that remain with us today, and

all people who are moved to correct their ways and restore that harmony

which can enable life in this world to continue, I have come to Santa Fe, the

first European capital established on our land, to urge that those

documents that might reveal the true nature of our title to this land be

investigated and revealed, and to place our knowledge of the Way of

Peace at your service.

We hope that what we are asking will be brought about soon, and that

those who sincerely wish to resolve this great crisis will make use of our

knowledge.

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HOPI DECLARATION OF PEACE

by Thomas Banyacya Interpreter for the Traditional Hopi People

It is in the power of the true Hopi to unify the minds and spirits of all true

peace seeking peoples of the earth.

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'Hopi' means 'peaceful people,' and the truest and greatest power, the

strength of peace, is the will of the Great Spirit.

Do not think that just because the true Hopi have been told by the Great

Spirit never to take up arms, that the true Hopi will not fight, even die for

what we know to be the right way of life.

The true Hopi know how to fight without killing or hurting.

The true Hopi know how to fight with Truth and Positive Force in the light

of the Great Spirit.

The true Hopi know how to show to all the world's children the true way

of life by example, by working and communicating in ways that reach the

minds and hearts of all people who are truly seeking the way of a simple

and spiritual life, which is the only life that will survive.

The true Hopi preserves the sacred knowledge about the way of the

earth, because the true Hopi knows that the earth is a living and growing

person, and all things on it are her children.

The true Hopi know how to show the right way of life to all the world's

people who have ears to listen, who have eyes to see, and who have

hearts to understand these things.

The true Hopi know how to generate enough power to link up the forces

of the minds and spirits of all the true Children of the earth, and to unify

them with the Positive Force and the Great Spirit, so that they may put an

end to affliction and persecution in all afflicted places of this world.

The true Hopi declare that Hopi power be a force which will bring about

world change.

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We believe that all things are alive, and that they hear and understand

us.

The Hopi live on a barren land, but we believe that we were led there by

the spirit “Maasauu”. Our role is to preserve certain knowledge for all

mankind - the knowledge necessary for the understanding and preservation

of all Nations.

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4. MORE NATIVE AMERICAN PROPHECIES

NAVAJO PROPHECY OF THE WHIRLING RAINBOW

“When the Time of the White Buffalo approaches, the third generation of

the White Eyes’ children will grow their hair and speak of love as the healer

of the Children of the Earth. These children will seek new ways of

understanding themselves and others. They will wear feathers and beads

and paint their faces. They will seek the Elders of the Red Race and drink

of their wisdom. These white-eyed children will be a sign that the Ancestors

are returning in white bodies, but they are Red on the inside. They will learn

to walk the Earth Mother in balance again and reform the idea of the white

chiefs. These children will be tested as they were when they were Red

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ancestors by unnatural substances like firewater to see if they can remain

on the Sacred Path.

“There will come a day when people of all races, colors, and creeds will

put aside their differences. They will come together in love, joining hands in

unification, to heal the Earth and all Her children. They will move over the

Earth like a great Whirling Rainbow, bringing peace, understanding and

healing everywhere they go. Many creatures thought to be extinct or

mythical will resurface at this time; the great trees that perished will return

almost overnight. All living things will flourish, drawing sustenance from the

breast of our Mother, the Earth.

“The great spiritual Teachers who walked the Earth and taught the basics

of the truths of the Whirling Rainbow Prophecy will return and walk

amongst us once more, sharing their power and understanding with all. We

will learn how to see and hear in a sacred manner. Men and women will be

equals in the way Creator intended them to be; all children will be safe

anywhere they want to go. Elders will be respected and valued for their

contributions to life. Their wisdom will be sought out. The whole Human

race will be called The People and there will be no more war, sickness or

hunger forever.”

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LAKOTA SIOUX PROPHECY OF THE WHITE BUFFALO

The white buffalo calf holds special significance to American Indians-

especially the Oceti Sakowin (The People of the Seven Council Fires, also

known as the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota, or the ‘Sioux’). As it is a crucial

part of the teachings and prophecy of White Buffalo Calf Woman, the white

buffalo calf is considered a sacred omen of change.

According to legend, the White Buffalo Calf Woman was a holy entity that

visited the Oceti Sakowin over a four-day period about 2000 years ago.

White Buffalo Woman, or Ptesan-Wi, as she is called in the Lakota

language, taught them sacred ceremonies, songs, and dances. She gifted

the people with a sacred bundle containing the White Buffalo Calf Pipe,

which still exists to this day and is kept by Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

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Two young men went out to hunt. Along the way, the two men met a

beautiful young woman dressed in white who floated as she walked. One

man had bad desires for the woman and tried to touch her, but was

consumed by a cloud and turned into a pile of bones.

The woman spoke to the second young man and said, “Return to your

people and tell them I am coming.” This holy woman brought a wrapped

bundle to the people. She unwrapped the bundle giving to the people a

sacred pipe and teaching them how to use it to pray. “With this holy pipe,

you will walk like a living prayer,” she said. The holy woman told the Sioux

about the value of the buffalo, the women and the children. “You are from

Mother Earth,” she told the women, “What you are doing is as great as the

warriors do.”

White Buffalo Woman promised to return to restore the Earth to harmony

if the necessary preparations were made.

She said she would send a sign her return was near in the form of four

unusual buffalo, which would be born white, then during their lifetime, they

would cycle through the four colors of the medicine wheel which, among

other things, represent the races of the world: red, yellow, black, and white.

Some people say the prophesy said they would do this in reverse order

from the way she took her leave from the Earth as she traced her way back

to our spiritual realm.

White Buffalo Woman warned that several other white buffalo would be

born around this time, who would not live to complete the full color change

cycle, before the true sacred buffalo were all born. She said when all four

sacred white buffalo had returned, the people would be at a crossroads and

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if they took the right path, there would be a renewal of the Earth. If they

chose the wrong path, the Earth would be destroyed, and there would be

no hope of restoring harmony beyond that point.

If these sacred white buffalo signs were recognized and heeded, a period

of peace and harmony in the world would be restored before her return,

when the Mother Earth would heal herself and men would live in harmony

with each other, nature, and the natural world, but only if the right choices

were chosen. If the wrong choices were made in these days, and man

chose to ignore these signs, the Earth would be destroyed.

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PAWNEE PROPHECY

Tirawa Atius is the lord of all things and it is he alone who determines

fate. At the beginning of the world, he set a large bull buffalo in the sky to

the far northwest. With the passage of each year, the bull loses one hair;

when all these hairs are gone, the world will end. As that hair falls, there

will be widespread meteor showers, and the sun and moon will become

dim.

In the beginning, Tirawa Atius appointed the North Star and the South

Star to control fate. The North Star once spoke directly to the Pawnee and

told them that the South Star moved just a little bit to the north with each

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passing year. When the South Star catches up with the North Star, then

the world will end.

The command for the final destruction of the world is in the hands of the

four gods of the directions. The West will issue the command that the

world be destroyed and the East will obey. Then the stars in heaven will

fall to the new earth and become people. The people left in this world at

the time of destruction will fly high into the sky and become stars

themselves.

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OJIBWE (CHIPPEWA) PROPHECY OF THE FIRES

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Seven prophets came to the Anishinabe. They came at a time when the

people were living a full and peaceful life on the North Eastern coast of

North America. These prophets left the people with seven predictions of

what the future would bring. Each of the prophecies was called a fire and

each fire referred to a particular era of time that would come in the future.

Thus, the teachings of the seven prophets are now called the "Seven

Fires."

The first prophet said to the people, "In the time of the First Fire, the

Anishinabe nation will rise up and follow the sacred shell of the Midewiwin

Lodge. The Midewiwin Lodge will serve as a rallying point for the people

and its traditional ways will be the source of much strength. The Sacred

Megis will lead the way to the chosen ground of the Anishinabe. You are to

look for a turtle shaped island that is linked to the purification of the earth.

You will find such an island at the beginning and at the end of your journey.

There will be seven stopping places along the way. You will know the

chosen ground has been reached when you come to a land where food

grows on water. If you do not move you will be destroyed."

The second prophet told the people, "You will know the Second Fire

because at this time the nation will be camped by a large body of water. In

this time the direction of the Sacred Shell will be lost. The Midewiwin will

diminish in strength, a boy will be born to point the way back to the

traditional ways. He will show the direction to the stepping stones to the

future of the Anishinabe people.

The third prophet said to the people. "In the Third Fire, the Anishinabe

will find the path to their chosen ground, a land in the west to which they

must move their families. This will be the land where food grows on water.

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The Fourth Fire was originally given to the people by two prophets. They

come as one. They told of the coming of the Light Skinned race.

One of the prophets said, "You will know the future of our people by the

face the Light Skinned race wears. If they come wearing the face of

brotherhood then there will come a time of wonderful change for

generations to come. They will bring new knowledge and articles that can

be joined with the nowledge of this country, in this way, two nations will join

to make a mighty nation.

This new nation will be joined by two more so that four will form the

mightiest nation of all. You will know the face of the brotherhood if the light

skinned race comes carrying no weapons. If they come bearing only their

knowledge and a hand shake."

The other prophet said," Beware if the Light Skinned race comes wearing

the face of death. You must be careful because the face of brotherhood

and the face of death look very much alike. If they come carrying a

weapon...beware. If they come in suffering... They could fool you. Their

hearts may be filled with greed for the riches of this land. If they are indeed

your brothers, let them prove it. Do not accept them in total trust. You shall

know that the face they wear is one of death if the rivers run with poison

and the fish become unfit to eat. You shall know them by these many

things.

The Fifth Prophet said, "In the time of the Fifth Fire there will come a time

of great struggle that will grip the lives of all Native people. At the warning

of this Fire there will come among the people one who holds a promise of

great joy and salvation. If the people accept this promise of a new way and

abandon the old teachings, then the struggle of the Fifth Fire will be with

the people for many generations. The promise that comes will prove to be a

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false promise. All those who accept this promise will cause the near

destruction of the people."

The prophet of the Sixth Fire said, "In the time of the Sixth Fire it will be

evident that the promise of the Fifth Fire came in a false way. Those

deceived by this promise will take their children away from the teachings of

the ELDERS, grandsons and grand-daughters will turn against the

ELDERS. In this way, the ELDERS will lose their reason for living... they

will lose their purpose in life. At this time a new sickness will come among

the people. The balance of many people will be disturbed. The cup of life

will almost be spilled. The cup of life will almost become the cup of grief."

At the time of these predictions, many people scoffed at the prophets.

They then had medicines to keep away sickness. They were then healthy

and happy as a people. These were the people who chose to stay behind

in the great migration of the Anishinabe. These people were the first to

have contact with the Light Skinned race. They would suffer the most.

When the Fifth Fire came to pass, a great struggle did indeed grip the

lives of all Native people. The Light Skinned race launched a military attack

on the Indian people throughout the country, at the Anishinaed in taking

away their land and their independence as a free and sovereign people. It

is now felt that the false promise that came at the end of the Fifth Fire was

the materials and riches embodied in the way of life of the light skinned

race. Those who abandoned the ancient ways and accepted this new

promise were a big factor in causing the near destruction of the Native

people of this land.

When the Sixth Fire came to be, the words of the prophet rang true as the

children were taken away from the teachings of the ELDERS. The boarding

school era of "civilizing" Indian Children had begun. The Indian language

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and religion were taken from the children. The people started dying at an

early age... they had lost their will to live and their purpose in living.

In the confusing times of the Sixth Fire, it is said that a group of

visionaries came among the Anishinabe. They gathered all the priests of

the Midewiwin Lodge. They told the priests that the Midewiwin Way was in

danger of being destroyed. They gathered all the sacred bundles. They

gathered all the scrolls that recorded the ceremonies. All these things were

placed in a hollowed out log from the ironwood tree. Men were lowered

over a cliff by long ropes. They dug a hole in the cliff and buried the log

where no one could find it. Thus the teachings of the ELDERS were hidden

out of sight but not out of memory. It was said that when the time came that

the Indian people could practice their religion without fear that a little boy

would dream where the Ironwood log, full of the Sacred Bundles and

Scrolls were buried. He would lead his people to the place.

The Seventh Prophet that came to the people long ago was said to be

different from the other prophets. He was young and had a strange light in

his eyes. He said, "In the time of the Seventh Fire, New People will

emerge. They will retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. Their

steps will take them to the ELDERS who they will ask to guide them on

their journey. But many of the ELDERS will have fallen asleep. They will

awaken to this new time with nothing to offer. Some of the ELDERS will be

silent out of fear. Some of the ELDERS will be silent because no one will

ask anything of them. The New People will have to be careful in how they

approach the ELDERS. The task of the New People will not be easy.

If the New People will remain strong in their Quest, the Water Drum of the

Midewiwin Lodge will again sound its voice. There will be a Rebirth of the

Anishinabe Nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will

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again be lit.

It is at this time that the Light Skinned race will be given a choice

between two roads. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will

light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal Fire of peace, love, brotherhood

and sisterhood. If the light skinned race makes the wrong choice of roads,

the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will

come back at them and cause much suffering and death to all the Earth's

people.

Traditional Mide people from other Nations have interpreted the two roads

that face the Light Skinned race as the road to technology and the other to

spiritualism. They feel that the road to technology represents a continuation

of Head-Long rush to technological development. This is the road that has

lead to modern society, to a damaged and seared Earth. Could it be that

the road to technology represents a rush to destruction? The road to

Spirituality represents the slower path that traditional Native People have

traveled and are now seeking again. The Earth is not scorched on this trail.

The grass is still growing there.

The prophet of the Fourth Fire spoke of a time when "two Nations will join

to make a Mighty Nation". He was speaking of the coming of the Light

Skinned race and the face of brotherhood that the Light Skinned Brother

could be wearing. It is obvious from the history of this country that this was

not the face worn by the Light Skinned race as a whole. That the Mighty

Nation spoken of in the Fourth Fire has never been formed.

If the Natural People of the Earth could just wear the face of brotherhood,

we might be able to deliver our society from the road to destruction. Could

we make the two roads that today represents two clashing world views

come together to form a mighty Nation? Could a Nation be formed that is

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guided by respect for all living things? Are we the New People of the

Seventh Fire?

If the New People will remain strong in their quest, if enough people of all

colors and faiths choose a path of respect, wisdom and spirituality, then

the Water Drum of the Midewiwim Lodge will again sound its voice. There

will then be a rebirth of the Anishinabe Nation and a rekindling of old

flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit and it will be an Eternal Fire of

Peace, and an era of spiritual illumination will unfold all over the world.

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IROQUOIS PROPHECY

It's prophesied in our Instructions that the end of the world will be near

when the trees start dying from the tops down. That's what the maples are

doing today. Our Instructions say the time will come when there will be no

corn, when nothing will grow in the garden, when water will be filthy and

unfit to drink.

Then a great monster will rise up from the water and destroy mankind.

One of the names of that monster is “the sickness that eats you up inside”

like diabetes or cancer or AIDS. Maybe AIDS is the monster. It's coming.

It's already here.

Our prophet Handsome Lake told of it in the 1700s. He saw Four Beings,

like four angels, coming from the Four Directions. They told him what would

happen, how there would be diseases we'd never heard of before. You will

see many tears in this country. Then a great wind will come, a wind that will

make a hurricane seem like a whisper. It will cleanse the earth and return it

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to its original state. That will be the punishment for what we've done to the

Creation. (Leon Shenandoah)

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APACHE PROPHECY: NIGHT OF THE RED SKY

A number of people can predict the future. But few get the timing correct.

Stalking Wolf, also called “Grandfather,” was an Apache wise man and

scout who grew up outside the influence of the white man. His many

predictions not only came true in the MANNER he predicted, but also

WHEN he predicted.

Tom Brown learned extensively from Grandfather for 20 years, from their

first meeting when Tom was 7 years old. The following tells of

Grandfather's predictions for the whole of mankind.

The following is an excerpt from the book “The Quest” by Tom Brown Jr.,

first published 1991.

(“The Quest” can be ordered from Stephanie's website:

http://www.Relfe.com - “Health, Wealth & Happiness”)

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Looking back, I can clearly see that Grandfather's prophecies, unlike

anything else, had the greatest influence on my life. At the time they had

little more effect than to frighten me and cause me to sit up and take notice.

It wasn't until after his prophecies began to come true that their haunting

impact began to affect me in a very profound way.

More than any other person-prophet, religious leader or psychic I have

ever met, Grandfather's prophecies, on both a major and a minor scale,

came true exactly at the time he prophesied and exactly as he prophesied.

With that record, I could not help but feel the impact of these prophecies on

my life.

Grandfather could foretell the future with tremendous accuracy. Not only

could he precisely tell us what would happen in the next moment, day,

week or year, but with the same accuracy he could predict the possible

futures for ten years and more away. It was not long before I began to keep

detailed records of his predictions, along with other notes I kept on survival

skills, tracking, awareness and things of the Spirit. I received from

Grandfather hundreds of personal, minor predictions, and well over half

have since come true. Along with the minor personal prophecies was a list

of 103 major predictions, of which, to date, over 65 have become

absolutely true, not only in time and place but also in the exact order in

which they were predicted to happen.

Grandfather said that there was not future, only possible futures. The

'now' was like the palm of a hand, with each finger being the possible

future, and, as always, one of the futures was always the most powerful,

the way that the main course of events would surely take us. Thus his

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predictions were of the possible future, which meant that he always left a

choice.

“If a man could make the right choices,” he said, “then he could

significantly alter the course of the possible future. No man, then, should

feel insignificant, for it only takes one man to alter the consciousness of

mankind through the Spirit-that-moves-in-all-things. In essence, one

thought influences another, then another, until the thought is made

manifest throughout all of Creation. It is the same thought, the same force,

that causes an entire flock of birds to change course, as the flock then has

one mind.”

Out of all the personal and major prophecies that Grandfather foretold,

there are four that stand out above all the rest. It is these four that mark the

destruction of man and life on Earth, as we know it to exist now. Yet

Grandfather said that we could still change things, even after the first two

prophecies came true, but that there could be no turning back after the

third.

Now that we have gone well past the second prophecy, danger and

destruction are very apparent, and our only recourse is to work harder to

change what has possibly become the inevitable. The urgency that I feel

now,—more than ever—is a direct result of the second, impossible

prophecy coming true. It is the reason that I teach, sometimes with a

certain desperation, and constantly with the sense that we are quickly

running out of time.

I should have worked harder and with that same desperation at a much

earlier date, but, like the rest of mankind, it took a strong message to get

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me motivated. I should have known that these things he prophesied would

someday come true, because his personal, minor predictions were coming

true daily.

He so accurately foretold of Rick's death on a white horse, that I would

someday teach, that I would have a son — and that taking him into the

Pine Barrens for the first time would forever change my life. He predicted

the formation of my school, my books, my family, and even the horrible

mistakes I would make as I tried to live within society.

Yet with all of this coming true on a daily basis, I simply would not believe

or accept that the major prophecy of man's destruction would come true,

and its reality hit me hard. It was then that the urgency made itself known.

I remember so vividly the “night of the four prophecies”—as I have

become accustomed to calling that night when Grandfather first made us

aware of their possibility. We had been with Grandfather for five years at

the time and were accustomed to his prophecies and their accuracy.

Our ability to understand the things of the Spirit world were as sure as

our ability to survive and track. Very little of what society calls “the

paranormal” shocked us anymore, because miracles were part of our

everyday existence. Grandfather was a living miracle, and so many of the

things that he did on a daily basis, sometimes unconsciously, would be

considered miraculous by most. Yet as savvy as we were spiritually, the

night of the four prophecies shocked us like nothing we had ever

experienced before.

We had been hiking all day without much of a break, making our way to a

place where we were going to camp, atop a small hill that I now call

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Prophecy Hill. It was a typical midsummer hike: hot, humid and dusty, with

no water available along our entire travel route. As usual, we still took time

to stop frequently or take side trips to explore various areas along our

route. The adventure and exploration kept us fresh and eager, making the

fatigue, heat and thirst hardly factors.

Many times along the way, Grandfather would stop and teach us—not

physical lessons of survival, tracking or awareness, but lessons dealing

with the awareness of Spirit. Very often he would discuss the future and,

almost as frequently, the past - the distant past.

At one point we stopped along the deer trail we were traveling and

followed Grandfather through some heavy brush. The trees and shrubs

were far different than those throughout the rest of the Pine Barrens, and I

immediately knew this place as an old homestead or town of some sort.

Even though the buildings had long since rotted away, the plants and trees

still marked the spot where civilization had once stood. Passing through

several very thick areas, we finally entered a grove of very tall, old

sycamore trees. From their branches and up their trunks ran huge vines,

the kind one might imagine finding in a jungle. In fact, the whole place

looked like a jungle—so out of place from the pine, oak and blueberry that

is typical in the Pine Barrens. As we sat down, a deeper spiritual sense of

awareness came over me, and it was then that I noticed the gravestones.

This was the place of a very old and probably long-forgotten cemetery,

possibly belonging to the town that had once been here. The stones were

old; some lay flat on the ground and others stood upright, though none was

straight. Plants and bushes had overrun many of the stones, and I could

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barely make out the markings on the stones. The weathering process had

worn away many of the names and dates, making them barely readable.

At once we were in awe, humbled and reverent in this place of death; at

the same time, we were amazed that Grandfather had found it so easily. To

my knowledge, none of us had been there before, nor had Grandfather

ever spoken of this graveyard. Yet for some reason he seemed to be drawn

to it, knowing that it was there on some unseen spiritual level, at least

unseen to us. I suspect now, as I look back, that he knew that it would

become a teaching lesson for us.

He walked over to a gravestone that was partially hidden by foxgrape

vines and gently pulled them away. After a long moment, he motioned us to

come over. We could barely make out the name on the grave or the dates,

but at the bottom was carved clearly: “12 years old”.

Grandfather then spoke. “Who are these people; who is this boy? What

did they work for and what were their hopes, dreams and visions? Did they

just work physically or did they work for the things beyond the flesh, for a

grander purpose? Certainly they affected the Spirit-that-moves-in-all-things,

but did they really work to the best of their ability to make things better for

the future of their grandchildren, or did they do nothing other than to

perpetuate the myth of society? Were they happy, joyous and filled with

spiritual rapture, or did they just lead lives of labor and mediocrity? And did

this boy live close to the Earth and the Creator, or did he just give up his

youth, his sense of adventure, to toil, as did his parents and their parents

before them? This boy was exactly your age, and I suspect he had hopes

and dreams much like yours. But this is his legacy, lying in a forgotten

grave.”

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“But, Grandfather,” I said, “isn't it enough just to be happy and live your

life fully?”

After a long moment of silence, Grandfather answered. “It is not enough

that man be just happy in the flesh, but he must also be happy and joyous

in spirit. For without spiritual happiness and rapture, life is shallow. Without

seeking the things of the Spirit, life is half lived and empty. And by

spiritual life I do not mean just setting aside one hour of one day of one

week for worship, but to seek the things of the spirit every moment of every

day. I ask you, then: What did these people do to seek spiritual

enlightenment and rapture? Did they just give in to a life that was little more

than work? They were given a choice every day of their lives—as you will

be given a choice to seek the rapture of the Spirit or to resign yourselves to

a life of meaningless work. The end result is always the same: forgotten

graves and forgotten dreams of forgotten people. It is not important that

anyone notice or remember, but that you work to touch God and affect in a

positive way the consciousness of the Spirit-that-moves-in-all-things, thus

bringing the consciousness of man closer to the Creator.”

We left the graveyard without a word and headed up to the campsite on

the hill. By the time we reached the camp, it had cooled off and the Sun

had long since set. As we built shelters and a fire and gathered food, time

seemed to fly by unnoticed, as my mind was thoroughly engrossed in

thoughts of the lessons in the graveyard. I wondered how much I might be

like that nameless dead boy in that forgotten grave. Was I just seeking the

flesh and not working hard enough in the things of the Spirit?

It was then that I realized the deeper lessons of what Grandfather was

trying to teach me. I realized then that I should live life as if I were to die

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tomorrow, for that is what happened to that young boy. No one can be

assured of another day, but we must live each day fully, in flesh and most

of all in Spirit. It isn't important that anyone remember who we were, but

that we made a positive change in the consciousness of the Spirit-that-

moves-in-all-things, the life force of the Earth, and, in doing so, find spiritual

rapture and touch the Creator.

I sat by the fire after the work was done, relaxing, still deep in thought

about the boy in the graveyard.

Grandfather sat at the far end of the fire, his eyes closed, but I suspected

that he was not sleeping. In the firelight, his features appeared more that of

a spirit than of flesh. Quietly he leaned forward and answered the many

questions I had on my mind. At times, his ability to know what was on my

mind was unnerving, sometimes making me angry to think that he could

know my thoughts.

“Did you ever watch a flock of sandpipers on the beach, how they ebb

and flow with the tides, becoming at times not a gathering of individual

animals but one organism, moving as a unit together along the surf? When

they burst into flight, their cohesiveness is even more startling and

wondrous. At once they all will be flying in a certain direction, and then in

an instant the entire flock will turn simultaneously and take a new direction.”

“Studied closely, there is no one bird that makes the decision to turn, but

it seems to be a Spirit, a collective consciousness, that runs through the

flock instantly. When viewed from afar, the flock appears to be one animal,

one organism, one consciousness, governed by the collective force and

spirit of all the individuals. It is this same consciousness that runs through

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man, Nature and the Earth—that which we call the 'Spirit-that-moves-in-all-

things', or the 'life force'.”

“I suspect,” he continued, “that it is but one bird that creates the thought

that turns the flock, and the one thought becomes immediately manifested

in all the others. The individual then transcends self and becomes one with

the whole. Thus, at once, the bird moves within the flock and the flock

moves within the bird. So, then, do not ask what you can do to affect the

life force in a positive way, for the same Spirit that moves within the birds

also moves within you. One person, one idea, one thought can turn the

flock of society away from the destructive path of modern times. It is not a

question as to whether we make a difference, for we all make a difference,

each of us in our own way. It is the difference we make that is important.”

“So if we live a life that is close to the Spirit, seek the spiritual rapture of

oneness, that will affect the outcome of life,” I said. My statement was more

a question than a declaration.

“It is not enough,” Grandfather said, “just to seek the things of the Spirit

on a personal level. To do so is selfish, and those who just seek the

spiritual realms for themselves are not working to change the Spirit that

moves through the consciousness of man. Instead they are running away,

hiding from their responsibility and using their wisdom for their own

glorification. Spiritual man must then work for a principle, a cause, a Quest

far greater than the glorification of self, in order to affect the spirit that can

change the course of man's destruction.”

I sat for a long time in the quietude of the night, trying desperately to

understand what Grandfather had told me. In essence, it was not enough to

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work for spiritual enlightenment for self, but to work for the spiritual

enlightenment of all of mankind. To work only for self, to cloister oneself in

the seeking of spiritual rapture, is to run from this responsibility. What

Grandfather was saying is that a spiritual person must take the wisdom and

philosophy of the Earth and bring it back into modern society.

Grandfather spoke again. “Trying to live a spiritual life in modern society

is the most difficult path one can walk. It is a path of pain, of isolation and of

shaken faith, but that is the only way that our Vision can become reality.

Thus the true Quest in life is to live the philosophy of the Earth within the

confines of man. There is no church or temple we need to seek peace, for

ours are the temples of the wilderness. There are no spiritual leaders, for

our hearts and the Creator are our only leaders. Our numbers are

scattered; few speak our language or understand the things that we live.

Thus we walk this path alone, for each Vision, each Quest, is unique unto

the individual. But we must walk within society or our Vision dies, for a man

not living his Vision is living death.”

For a long time there was no other conversation. I retired into my own

thoughts and doubts. I did not want to live within society, for the wilderness

was my home, my love, my life and my spiritual rapture. I could not see

why a man could not live his Vision in the purity of wilderness, away from

the distractions of society. I could feel no urgency or see any reason why I

should take what I have learned back to society.

Grandfather's voice shattered my thoughts. “The Earth is dying. The

destruction of man is close, so very close, and we must all work to change

that path of destruction. We must pay for the sins of our grandfathers and

grandmothers, for we have long been a society that kills its grandchildren to

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feed its children. There can be no rest, and we cannot run away; far too

many in the past have run away. It is very easy to live a spiritual life away

from man, but the truth of Vision in spiritual life can only be tested and

become a reality when lived near society.”

“How do I know that we are so close to that destruction?” I asked.

“I had a Vision,” Grandfather said. “It was a Vision of the destruction of

man. But man was given four warnings to that destruction, two of which

gave man a chance to change his ways and two of which would give the

children of the Earth time to escape the Creator's wrath.”

“How will I know these warnings, these signs?” I asked.

Grandfather continued. “They will be obvious to you and those who have

learned to listen to the Spirit of the Earth; but to those who live within the

flesh and know only flesh, there is no knowing or understanding. When

these signs, these warnings and prophecies, are made manifest, then you

will understand the urgency of what I speak. Then you will understand why

people must not just work for their own spiritual rapture but to bring that

rapture to the consciousness of modern man.”

The Four Signs

Grandfather had been wandering for several years and was well into his

forties when the Vision of the four signs was given to him. He had just

finished his third Vision Quest at the Eternal Cave when the Vision made

itself known. He had been seated at the mouth of the cave, awaiting the

rising Sun, when the spirit of the warrior appeared to him. He felt as if he

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were in a state somewhere between dream and reality, sleep and

wakefulness, until the spirit finally spoke and he knew that it was not his

imagination.

The spirit called Grandfather's name and beckoned him to follow.

As Grandfather stood, he was suddenly transported to another world.

Again, he thought that he was dreaming, but his flesh could feel the reality

of this place; his senses knew that this was a state of abject reality, but in

another time and place.

The spirit warrior spoke to Grandfather. “These are the things yet to

come that will mark the destruction of man. These things you may never

see, but you must work to stop them and pass these warnings on to your

grandchildren. They are the possible futures of what will come if man does

not come back to the Earth and begin to obey the laws of Creation and the

Creator. There are four signs, four warnings, that only the children of the

Earth will understand. Each warning marks the beginning of a possible

future, and as each warning becomes reality, so too does the future it

marks.”

With that, the spirit warrior was gone and Grandfather was left alone in

this strange, new world.

THE FIRST SIGN

The world he was in was like nothing he had ever known. It was a dry

place with little vegetation. In the distance he saw a village, yet it was made

out of tents and cloth rather than from the materials of the Earth. As he

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drew closer to the village, the stench of death overwhelmed him and he

grew sick. He could hear children crying, the moaning of elders and the

sounds of sickness and despair. Piles of bodies lay in open pits awaiting

burial, their contorted faces and frail frames telling of death from starvation.

The bodies appeared more like skeletons than flesh, and children, adults

and elders all looked the same, their once dark-brown complexions now

ash-grey. As Grandfather entered the village, the horror of living starvation

struck him deeper. Children could barely walk, elders lay dying, and

everywhere were the cries of pain and fear. The stench of death and the

sense of hopelessness overwhelmed Grandfather, threatening to drive him

from the village.

It was then that an elder appeared to Grandfather, at first speaking in a

language that he could not understand. Grandfather realized, as the elder

spoke, that he was the spirit of a man—a man no longer of flesh, but a man

who had once walked a spiritual path, possibly a shaman of this tribe. It

was then that he understood what the old one was trying to tell him.

The elder spoke softly. “Welcome to what will be called the 'land of

starvation'. The world will one day look upon all of this with horror and will

blame the famine on the weather and the Earth. This will be the first

warning to the world that man cannot live beyond the laws of Creation, nor

can he fight Nature.

If the world sees that it is to blame for this famine, this senseless

starvation, then a great lesson will be learned. But I am afraid that the world

will not blame itself, but that the blame will be placed on Nature. The world

will not see that it created this place of death by forcing these people to

have larger families. When the natural laws of the land were broken, the

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people starved, as Nature starves the deer in winter when their numbers

are too many for the land to bear.”

The old one continued. “These people should have been left alone. They

once understood how to live with the Earth, and their wealth was measured

in happiness, love and peace. But all of that was taken from them when the

world saw theirs as a primitive society. It was then that the world showed

them how to farm and live in a less primitive way. It was the world that

forced them to live outside the laws of Creation and, as a result, is now

forcing them to die.”

The old man slowly began to walk away, back to the death and despair.

He turned one last time to Grandfather, and said: “This will be the first sign.

There will come starvation before and after this starvation, but none will

capture the attention of the world with such impact as does this one. The

children of the Earth will know the lessons that are held in all of this pain

and death, but the world will only see it as drought and famine, blaming

Nature instead of itself.”

With that, the old one disappeared, and Grandfather found himself back

at the mouth of the Eternal Cave.

(Author's note: This is the great African famine that inspired the Bob

Geldof “We are the World” Live Aid relief effort.)

Grandfather lay back on the ground, thinking about what he had

witnessed. He knew that it had been a Vision of the possible future and that

the spirit of the warrior had brought him to it to teach him what could

happen. Grandfather knew that people all over the Earth were now

starving—but why was this starvation so critical, so much more important

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than all the rest, even more important than the starvation that was taking

place now?

It was then that Grandfather recalled that the tribal elder had said that the

entire world would take notice, but that the world would not learn the

lessons of what the death and famine were trying to teach. The children

would die in vain.

Grandfather looked out across the barren land that surrounded the

Eternal Cave to try to re-establish the reality of his 'now'. He said that it was

still hard to discern between waking reality and the world of Vision, but he

felt that he was back into his time and place.

He told me that the Eternal Cave was always a place to find Visions of

the possible and probable futures, and it was not uncommon for the

searcher to have a Vision at the mouth of the cave, not just inside.

In a state of physical and emotional exhaustion, Grandfather fell into a

deep sleep, but it was in this sleep that the warrior spirit appeared to him

again and brought the remainder of the first sign to completion.

In his dream, the spirit spoke to Grandfather. “It is during the years of the

famine, the first sign, that man will be plagued by a disease, a disease that

will sweep the land and terrorize the masses. The white coats

[doctors/scientists] will have no answers for the people, and a great cry will

arise across the land.

The disease will be born of monkeys, drugs and sex. It will destroy man

from inside, making common sickness a killing disease. Mankind will bring

this disease upon himself as a result of his life, his worship of sex and

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drugs, and a life away from Nature. This, too, is a part of the first warning;

but, again, man will not heed this warning and he will continue to worship

the false gods of sex and the unconscious spirit of drugs.” (Author's note:

This is presumably a reference to AIDS.)

The spirit continued. “The drugs will produce wars in the cities of man,

and the nations will arise against those wars, arise against that killing

disease. But the nations will fight in the wrong way, lashing out at the effect

rather than the cause. It will never win these wars until the nation, until

society, changes its values and stops chasing the gods of sex and drugs. It

is then, in the years of the first sign, that man can change the course of the

probable future. It is then that he may understand the greater lessons of the

famine and the disease. It is then that there can still be hope. But once the

second sign of destruction appears, the Earth can no longer be healed on a

physical level. Only a spiritual healing can then change the course of the

probable futures of mankind.”

With that, the warrior spirit let Grandfather fall into a deep and dreamless

sleep, allowing him to rest fully before any more Vision was wrought upon

him.

THE SECOND SIGN

Grandfather awoke at the entrance of the cave once again, the memory

of the warrior spirit still vivid in his mind, the spirit's words becoming part of

his soul.

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When Grandfather looked out across the landscape, all had changed.

The landscape appeared drier; there was no vegetation to be seen, and

animals lay dying. A great stench of death arose from the land, and the

dust was thick and choking, the intense heat oppressive. Looking skyward,

the Sun seemed to be larger and more intense; no birds or clouds could be

seen, and the air seemed thicker still. It was then that the sky seemed to

surge and huge holes began to appear. The holes tore with a resounding,

thunderous sound, and the very Earth, rocks and soil shook.

The skin of the sky seemed to be torn open like a series of gaping

wounds, and through these wounds seeped a liquid that seemed like the

oozing of an infection, a great sea of floating garbage, oil and dead fish. It

was through one of these wounds that Grandfather saw the floating bodies

of dolphins, accompanied by tremendous upheavals of the Earth and

violent storms. As he held fast to the trembling Earth, his eyes fell from the

sky, and all about him, all at once, was disaster. Piles of garbage reached

to the skies, forests lay cut and dying, coastlines were flooded and storms

grew more violent and thunderous. With each passing moment, the Earth

shook with greater intensity, threatening to tear apart and swallow

Grandfather.

Suddenly the Earth stopped shaking and the sky cleared. Out of the

dusty air walked the warrior spirit, who stopped a short distance from

Grandfather. As Grandfather looked into the face of the spirit, he could see

that there were great tears flowing from his eyes, and each tear fell to the

Earth with a searing sound.

The spirit looked at Grandfather for a long moment, then finally spoke:

“Holes in the sky.”

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Grandfather thought for a moment, then, in a questioning, disbelieving

manner, said, “Holes in the sky?”

And the spirit answered. “They will become the second sign of the

destruction of man. The holes in the sky and all that you have seen could

become man's reality. It is here, at the beginning of this second sign, that

man can no longer heal the Earth with physical action. It is here that man

must heed the warning and work harder to change the future at hand. But

man must not only work physically, he must also work spiritually, through

prayer, for only through prayer can man now hope to heal the Earth and

himself.”

There was a long pause as Grandfather thought about the impossibility

of holes in the sky. Surely Grandfather knew that there could be a spiritual

hole, but a hole that the societies of the Earth could notice would hardly

seem likely.

The spirit drew closer and spoke again, almost in a whisper. “These

holes are a direct result of man's life, his travel, and of the sins of his

grandfathers and grandmothers. These holes, the second sign, will mark

the killing of his grandchildren and will become a legacy to man's life away

from Nature. It is the time of these holes that will mark a great transition in

mankind's thinking. They will then be faced with a choice—a choice to

continue following the path of destruction, or a choice to move back to the

philosophy of the Earth and a simpler existence. It is here that the decision

must be made, or all will be lost.”

The largest Antarctic ozone hole ever recorded (September 2006)

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Without another word, the spirit turned and walked

back into the dust.

(Editor’s note: Apparently, the Second Sign is also

fulfilled! The ozone holes over the Earth's Polar Regions

are fact.)

THE THIRD SIGN

Grandfather spent the next four days at the cave entrance, though for

those four days nothing spoke to him, not even the Earth. He said that it

was a time of great sorrow, of aloneness, and a time to digest all that had

taken place.

He knew that these things would not appear in his lifetime, but they had

to be passed down to the people of the future with the same urgency and

power with which they had been delivered to him. But he did not know how

he would explain these unlikely events to anyone. Surely the elders and

shamans of the tribes would understand, but not society, and certainly not

anyone who was removed from the Earth and Spirit.

He sat for the full four days, unmoving, as if made of stone, and his heart

felt heavy with the burden he now carried.

It was at the end of the fourth day that the third Vision came to him. As

he gazed out onto the landscape towards the setting Sun, the sky suddenly

turned to a liquid and then turned blood-red. As far as his eyes could see,

the sky was solid red, with no variation in shadow, texture or light. The

whole of Creation seemed to have grown still, as if awaiting some unseen

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command. Time, place and destiny seemed to be in limbo, stilled by the

bleeding sky. He gazed for a long time at the sky, in a state of awe and

terror, for the red colour of the sky was like nothing he had ever seen in any

sunset or sunrise. The colour was that of man, not of Nature, and it had a

vile stench and texture. It seemed to burn the Earth wherever it touched. As

sunset drifted to night, the stars shone bright red, the colour never leaving

the sky, and everywhere the cries of fear and pain were heard.

Again, the warrior spirit appeared to Grandfather, but this time as a voice

from the sky. Like thunder, the voice shook the landscape. “This, then, is

the third sign, the night of the bleeding stars. It will become known

throughout the world, for the sky in all lands will be red with the blood of

the sky, day and night. It is then, with this sign of the third probable future,

that there is no longer hope. Life on the Earth as man has lived it will come

to an end, and there can be no turning back, physically or spiritually. It is

then, if things are not changed during the second sign, that man will surely

know the destruction of the Earth is at hand. It is then that the children of

the Earth must run to the wild places and hide. For when the sky bleeds

fire, there will be no safety in the world of man.”

Grandfather sat in shocked horror as the voice continued.

“From this time, when the stars bleed, to the fourth and final sign, will be

four seasons of peace [that is, one year]. It is in these four seasons that the

children of the Earth must live deep in the wild places and find a new home,

close to the Earth and the Creator. It is only the children of the Earth that

will survive, and they must live the philosophy of the Earth, never returning

to the thinking of man. And survival will not be enough, for the children of

the Earth must also live close to the Spirit. So tell them not to hesitate if

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and when this third sign becomes manifest in the stars, for there are but

four seasons to escape.”

Grandfather said that the voice and red sky lingered for a week, and then

were gone as quickly as they were manifest.

THE FOURTH SIGN

He did not remember how many days he'd spent at the mouth of the

cave, nor did it make a difference, for he had received the Vision he had

come for.

It was in his final night at the Eternal Cave that the fourth Vision came to

Grandfather, this time carried by the voice of a young child.

The child said, “The fourth and final sign will appear through the next ten

winters [that is, ten years] following the night that the stars will bleed.

During this time, the Earth will heal itself and man will die. For those ten

years, the children of the Earth must remain hidden in the wild places,

make no permanent camps, and wander to avoid contact with the last

remaining forces of man. They must remain hidden, like the ancient scouts,

and fight the urge to go back to the destruction of man. Curiosity could kill

many.”

There was a long silence, until Grandfather spoke to the child spirit,

asking, “And what will happen to the worlds of man?”

There was another period of silence until finally the child spoke again.

“There will be a great famine throughout the world, like man cannot

imagine. Waters will run vile, the poisons of man's sins running strong in

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the waters of the soils, lakes and rivers. Crops will fail, the animals of man

will die, and disease will kill the masses. The grandchildren will feed upon

the remains of the dead, and all about will be the cries of pain and anguish.

Roving bands of men will hunt and kill other men for food, and water will

always be scarce, getting scarcer with each passing year. The land, the

water, the sky will all be poisoned, and man will live in the wrath of the

Creator. Man will hide at first in the cities, but there he will die. A few will

run to the wilderness, but the wilderness will destroy them, for they had

long ago been given a choice. Man will be destroyed, his cities in ruin, and

it is then that the grandchildren will pay for the sins of their grandfathers

and grandmothers.”

“Is there then no hope?” Grandfather asked.

The child spoke again. “There is only hope during the time of the first and

second signs. Upon the third sign, the night of the bleeding, there is no

longer hope, for only the children of the Earth will survive. Man will be given

these warnings; if unheeded, there can be no hope, for only the children of

the Earth will purge themselves of the cancers of mankind, of mankind's

destructive thinking. It will be the children of the Earth who will bring a new

hope to the new society, living closer to the Earth and Spirit.”

Then all was silent, the landscape cleared and returned to normal, and

Grandfather stepped from the Vision. Shaken, he said that he had

wandered for the next season, trying to understand all that had been given

to him, trying to understand why he had been chosen.

Grandfather had related the story to me in great detail during that night of

the four prophecies. I don't think that any event had been left out, and his

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emotions and thoughts were such that he actually relived it for us. Thus the

power of his Vision became part of our spirit, our driving force, and a big

part of our fears.

I sat for a long time up on the hill. The fire had gone out, and all had

retired to sleep for the night. Creation seemed to be at a standstill, awaiting

this darkest part of the night to pass by. I felt alone and vulnerable, as if all

of Creation were scrutinizing my every thought.

Grandfather had this Vision sometime in the 1920s.

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LUMMI TRIBE PROPHECIES

If the Lummi people had a church, it would be the ancient cedar,

hemlock, and Douglas fir forest of Arlecho Creek near Mt. Baker,

Washington. Members of seyown, the Lummi Spirit Dancing Society, have

worshiped here for millennia, fasting, taking purifying dips in the ice-cold

creek, and bringing back special songs to sing for the rest of their lives.

Over the years, much of the surrounding forest has been clearcut, leaving

672 acres of unprotected old growth. Should that remainder be cut as well,

the Lummi believe that their songs would no longer be valid because they

would lose their connection to specific animals of the forest.

According to one Lummi ancient prophesy, "When the trees are gone the

sky will fall and we and the salmon will be no more."

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After decades of struggle, the destruction of Arlecho Creek ended with

the sale of the 2,265-acre basin to the Lummi Nation.

The Lummi social structure was family centered and village oriented,

marked by complex interrelationships. Leaders earned their status by their

wits and demonstrated ability. Marriages were often arranged to facilitate

trade relationships. The Lummi were accomplished artisans in the crafting

of boats, seine nets, houses and numerous other artifacts, and they were

part of a sophisticated regional political network.

The Lummi believe an unborn Lummi Indian hears what his future

relatives are saying and knows what they are thinking; if they have evil

thoughts in their mind he leaves them before his birth.

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MAYAN PROPHECY OF THE HARMONIC CONVERGENCE

The Harmonic Convergence was a ceremonial event that began on Aug.

16th, 1987. Through the research of Dr. Jose Arguellas into the Mayan /

Toltec Calenders, this date of prophetic importance became the stimulus

for many people to gather at sacred sites around the world. The Mayan

calender prophecy pointed to a time of rennaisance and planetary

quickening linked to the completion of our sun's 26,000 year orbital cycle

around the Pleiades star system and the alignment of our winter solstice

with the Galactic Center / Hunab Ku. The alignment with the Galactic

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Center is said to be complete by Dec. 21, 2012 A.D. This transitional time

period is also reflected in the shift of Astrological Ages from the star

constellation Pisces into Aquarius, the Water Bearer which may not be

complete until the first star of the Aquarian constellation is rising with the

spring equinox in 2050.

According to Native American oral traditions there are four cycles of

aproximately 26,000 years in which the Indigenous peoples trace their

heritage from the Pleiades Star system. Each period is considered as a

World Cycle. These 26,000 year cycles were divided into 5 subperiods or

SUNS by the Mayas. We are now completing the 4th WORLD / 5th

SUN. Each subperiod / SUN consisited of 5,2000 years of 360 days

each. Or 5,125 years of 365.25 days.

The beginning point of this 5125 year Great Cycle began in the year

3113 B.C. If you add 5125 years to this beginning date you get 2012 A.D.

and the alignment of the winter solstice marking the end of the 5th SUN

and the 4th WORLD. From here we potentially shift into the transitional

phase leading into the 5th WORLD. This is a most important date with

many people becoming aware of its potential significance and leading to

much speculation as to what it entails.

Interestly enough the sacred Tzolkin Calender which consisted of a cycle

of 260 days (13 day week and 20 astrological signs 13x20=260) when

cross correlated with the 365+ day solar year cycle corresponds with a 52

year period. That is to say that if the two calenders began on the same

day, the one of shorter duration would end first and then begin again, and

the longer would end 105 days later and then begin again until they arrived

at their original starting point. They would not repeat that same starting

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point until 52 years later. Each day within the 52 year cycle would have its

own unique astrological overlay. And from one's birth date with its

corresponding overlay of astrological signs and number significance one's

name would be derived.

If you divide the year by 7 days you get 52 weeks in a year. If you divide

the circle of 360 degrees by 7 you get 51 degrees 25 minutes which

happens to be the angle of measurement for the sides of the Great

Pyramid in Egypt. So we have 52 years as a harmonic of 5,200 years and

51 deg. 25 min. as a harmonic of the 5,125 year cycle of a SUN period. It

is said that in Native traditions that at the age of 52 one can become

recognized as a Spiritual Elder. 7 cycles of 7 years gives 49 years. 7 is

the number of spiritual perfection in many esoteric traditions. The three

years from 49 to 52 contains within it the orbital period of the minor planet

Chiron, and the rotation of the binary star system Sirius. In myth, Chiron

was the wounded healer - wisdom teacher, and shows this time to be

potentially one of culmination and spiritual initiation.

So 52 years is a harmonic of 5200 years. 52 years is a very important

time cycle. There were two prominent Avantars born in Meso-America

during the first millenium. They were Pacal Votan born A.D. 790 and Ce

Acatl Quetzalcoatl, born A.D. 947. Both lived a life span of 52 years.

It is said that as a God, Quetzalcoatl was the one who in a distant past

time taught the Sarcred Calender and all the Higher Learning. His

influence flourished throughout Meso-America. He was known as

Kukulcan by the Mayas. In his name was the symbology of the Plumed

Serpent which as a symbol adorns many of the pyramids and

temples. Various rulers were said to take on the title of Quetzalcoatl to

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acknowledge the authority of the Toltec wisdom keeper and be linked to the

ancient traditions of Teotihucan and Tula.

And so the story goes that Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl prophesized about the

future fall of the magnificent Aztec dynasty. In a time before the founding

of the Aztec empire there was a struggle for power in the Toltec center

known as Tula that was surreptitiously taking place. The priesthood had

become corrupted as powerful sorcerors infiltrated the social order. They

sought to overthrow Quetzalcoatl's benevolent rulership so they conjured

Quetzalcoatl and his party with intoxicating drink that drugged him and

caused him to lose the clarity of his Intent. Under the spell of its

intoxication he found himself in a taboo sexual experience with his

priestess sister that shamed the purity of the ascetic priest / king.

The God Quetzalcoatl's arch-enemy, the dark Lord Tezcatlipoca was the

instigator of this sorcery that brought an end to the inspirational rule of the

Toltec lord and to the eventual destruction of Tula. After his fall from grace

Ce Acatl repented with purification rituals and then departed the city

traveling to the land in the south known as Chichen Itza, there teaching and

influencing the people. From there he continued his travels and teachings,

all the while being followed and persecuted by the agents of

Tezcatlipoca. Finally he arrive at the eastern coast and the time came for

him to sacrifice his life. He was guided to build a ceremonial fire where he

gave himself to the fire. Out of the ashes it is said that his heart rose into

the sky and became the planet VENUS. After his death his spirit

descended into the underworld for four days to liberate souls. And then he

traveled four more days into the upper regions to replenish himself with

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lightning. Four years later he returned to the amazement of his follows

now as the embodiement of the God Quetzalcoatl.

As he came amongst his disciples teaching and giving counsel, he

prepared them to continue on in his stead. And finally before departing to

the east on a serpent raft he gave his prophecy. His propechy stated that

there would be '13 Heavens of Decreasing Choice, followed by 9 Hells of

Increasing Doom'. Each Heaven and Hell period consisted of a 52 year

cycle of duration. With the departure of the Lord Quetzalcoatl, the

corrupted priesthood influenced by Tezcatlipoca spread their influence of

human sacrifice as a way to sustain the Sun and keep the world from

cataclysm. And with this distortion came the dominance of the War god's

influence and the darkening of the 13 Heavens which began with the

founding of Tula and ended with the fall of Tenochitlan, the Aztec capitol.

At the end of the 13th Heaven Quetzacoatl prophecied that he would

return . It was the year 1519 which also happened to be the birth year of

Ce Acatl in the Sacred Calender. The volcano was erupting and other

strange omens were happening. Then Cortez and the Spaniards arrived

with their ships bearing the Cross of the 4 directions which was the symbol

of Quetzalcoatl's teaching, and subsequently intoduced Christ as

Quetzalcoatl. This marked the fall of the Aztec Dynasty as subjugated

Indian nations joined with the Spanish to overthrow the Aztecs rule. The

Aztec nation had attained the greatest heights of material splendor in the

Native American world.

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The first Hell cycle commenced as the Spanish began the brutal

subjugation of the Indigenous people. The 9th Hell began in 1935 as Hitler

was rising to power in Germany which led to the Second World War. Hitler

and his inner circle were known to be into black magic rituals. With him we

can see the influence of Tezcatlipoca as he sacrified many Jewish people

in the Holocaust as a way to purify the nation. The 9 Hells of Increasing

Doom ended and a new cycle began on Aug. 16th, 1987, with the

Harmonic Concergence.

This marks the beginning of a transitional period of 26 years referred to

as 'The time of Flowering' which culminates with the alignment of our winter

solstice with the Galactic Center as stated by the Mayan Calender. If we

divide this 26 year period in half we get 13. 13 years from 1987 brings us

to the year 2000 and to some very potent astrological configurations. This

aproximately correlated with the ending of the Aztec Calender and the

cycle of time referred to as Naui Ollin which means EARTHQUAKE or

MOVEMENT. The Aztec Calender culminated during the solar eclipse of

August 1999. So we have past the critical mid-point of this 26 year period

and have entered into a new millenium.

Overall, this 26 year period provides an opportunity for planetary healing

and awakening. How the people of the world handle it will be of extreme

importance if we wish to move positively into a new world cycle. The

Harmonic Convergence is the dance of duality, of light and dark, male and

female, enlightenment and ignorance. I am sure that it will test humanity

for the strength of our spiritual resolve. It marks a period of initiation for

planetary consciousness... and potentially the birth into the 6th Sun of the

Aztec prophecy; Sun of Flowers, Xochitl Tonatiuh; and the 5th WORLD of

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Mayan and Hopi cosmology. It potentially ushers in the return of CHRIST /

QUETZALCOATL and our relatives from the stars.

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THE INCA PROPHECY

The Inca prophecies say that now, in this age, when the eagle of the

North and the condor of the South fly together, the Earth will awaken. The

eagles of the North cannot be free without the condors of the South.

Now it’s happening. Now is the time. The Aquarian Age is an era of light,

an age of awakening, an age of returning to natural ways. Our generation is

here to help begin this age, to prepare through different schools to

understand the message of the heart, intuition, and nature. Native people

speak with the Earth. When consciousness awakens, we can fly high like

the eagle, or like the condor…

Ultimately, you know, we are all native, because the word native comes

from nature, and we are all parts of Mother nature. She is inside us, and we

are inside her. We depend totally on the Earth, the Sun, and the Water. We

belong to the evolution of nature in our physical bodies. But we also have a

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spiritual body that comes from the Sun, not the Sun you can see with two

eyes, but another Sun that lies in another dimension, a golden Sun burning

with the fire of spiritual light. The inner light of humans emanates from this

spiritual source. We came to Earth from this Sun to have experiences on

Earth, and eventually we will return to this Sun.

We are Children of the Sun

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CHEROKEE AND HOPI PROPHECIES

BY DR. LEE BROWN, CHEROKEE

There was the cycle of the mineral, the rock. There was the cycle of the

plant. And now we are in the cycle of the animal coming to the end of that

and beginning the cycle of the human being. When we get into the cycle of

the human being, the highest and greatest powers that we have will be

released to us. They will be released from that light or soul that we carry to

the mind. But right now we're coming to the end of the animal cycle and we

have investigated ourselves and learned what it is to be like an animal on

this earth.

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At the beginning of this cycle of time, long ago, the Great Spirit came

down and He made an appearance and He gathered the peoples of this

earth together they say on an island which is now beneath the water and

He said to the human beings, “I'm going to send you to four directions and

over time I'm going to change you to four colors, but I'm going to give you

some teachings and you will call these the Original Teachings and when

you come back together with each other you will share these so that you

can live and have peace on earth, and a great civilization will come about.”

And he said “During the cycle of time I'm going to give each of you two

stone tablets. When I give you those stone tablets, don't cast those upon

the ground. If any of the brothers and sisters of the four directions and the

four colors cast their tablets on the ground, not only, will human beings

have a hard time, but almost the earth itself will die.”

And so he gave each of us a responsibility and we call that the

Guardianship. To the Indian people, the red people, he gave the

Guardianship of the earth. We were to learn during this cycle of time the

teachings of the earth, the plants that grow from the earth, the foods that

you can eat, and the herbs that are healing so that when we came back

together with the other brothers and sisters we could share this knowledge

with them. Something good was to happen on the earth.

To the South, he gave the yellow race of people the Guardianship of the

wind. They were to learn about the sky and breathing and how to take that

within ourselves for spiritual advancement. They were to share that with is

at this time.

To the West He gave the black race of people the Guardianship of the

water. They were to learn the teachings of the water which is the chief of

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the elements, being the most humble and the most powerful. When I went

to the University of Washington and I learned that it was a black man that

discovered blood plasma, it didn't surprise me because blood is water and

the elders already told me the black people would bring the teachings of

the water.

To the North He gave the white race of people the Guardianship of the

fire. If you look at the center of many of the things they do you will find the

fire. They say a light bulb is the white man's fire. If you look at the center of

a car you will find a spark. If you look at the center of the airplane and the

train you will find the fire. The fire consumes, and also moves. This is why it

was the white brothers and sisters who began to move upon the face of the

earth and reunite us as a human family.

And so a long time passed, and the Great Spirit gave each of the four

races two stone tablets. Ours are kept at the Hopi Reservation in Arizona at

Four Corners Area on 3rd Mason.

I talked to people from the black race and their stone tablets are at the

foot of Mount Kenya. They are kept by the Kukuyu Tribe. I once had the

honor of presenting a sacred pipe at the Kukuyu Tribe carved from the red

pipe stone of Mount Kenya. I was at an Indian spiritual gathering about 15

years ago. A medicine man from South Dakota put a beaded medicine

wheel in the middle of the gathering. It had the four colors from the four

directions; He asked the people, “Where is this from?” They said, “Probably

Montana, or South Dakota, maybe Saskatchewan.” He said, “This is from

Kenya.” It was beaded just like ours, with the same color

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The stone tablets of the yellow race of people are kept by the Tibetans,

in Tibet. If you went straight through the Hopi Reservation to the other side

of the world, you would come out in Tibet. The Tibetan word for “sun” is the

Hopi word for “moon” and the Hopi word for “sun” is the Tibetan word for

“moon”.

The guardians of the traditions of the people of Europe are the Swiss. In

Switzerland, they still have a day when each family brings out its mask.

They still know the colors of the families, they still know the symbols, some

of them. I went to school with some people from Switzerland at the

University of Washington and they shared this with me.

Each of these four peoples happen to be people that live in the

mountains.

In 1976 America had its bicentennial celebrating 200 years of freedom.

Some of the Native people thought this was significant and they carried a

sacred pipe bundle from the West Coast to the East Coast of this land.

They said that the roads of this land should either go North-South or East-

West. If they went North-South we would come together as brothers and

sisters, but if they went East-West there would be destruction and almost

the earth itself would have a hard time. So you all know the roads went

East-West. They said then things would be lost from the East to the West

and from the South to the North and that they would come back again from

the West to the East and from the North to the South. So nine years ago in

1976 from the West to East Coast of this land, from San Francisco to

Washington, D.C. people carried a sacred pipe bundle by hand, on foot. My

aunt had dreamt 15 years ago that people that didn't like them would throw

rocks and bottles at that pipe bundle as they carried it across the land. And

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sure enough that came about. But, as was in my aunt's dream, the rocks

only came so close and then they dropped, and nothing touched it. When

they reached the top of the Rocky Mountains, they hit a hard storm. An

elderly man with long white hair said, “I will carry it now.” They had a van

that went alongside the people who were walking. He got out of the van

and carried the sacred pipe bundle clear through that storm. He was so

cold when he got back in the van that someone touched his hair and it fell.

His hair was frozen. You have to be pretty cold for your hair to freeze but

that old man carried it through that storm because they said if they carried

this bundle across the earth, the powers would begin to come back. They

said a spiritual fire would be lit in the North and would come down the

Northwest Coast of this land. When it gets to the Puget Sound, it would go

inland. I think this, nine years later, is the gathering in the North, myself.

That's why I came here. This is it. We have the capacity to start the-spiritual

fire now, here. The old people long ago saw it and foretold it and I'm going

to come to that.

So we went through this cycle of time and each of the four races went to

their directions and they learned their teachings. It was on Newsweek not

too long ago that eight out of ten foods that people eat on the earth are

developed here in the western hemisphere because that was our

Guardianship, to learn the teachings of the earth, and the things that grow

from the earth. We were given a sacred handshake to show when we came

back together as brothers and sisters that we still remembered the

teachings. It was indicated on the stone tablets that the Hopis had that the

first brothers and sisters that would come back to them would come as

turtles across the land. They would be human beings, but they would come

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as turtles. So when the time came close the Hopis were at a special village

to welcome the turtles that would come across the land and they got up in

the morning and looked out at the sunrise. They looked out across the

desert and they saw the Spanish Conquistadores coming, covered in

armour, like turtles across the land. So this was them. So they went out to

the Spanish man and they extended their hand hoping for the handshake

but into the hand the Spanish man dropped a trinket. And so word spread

throughout North America that there was going to be a hard time, that

maybe some of the brothers and sisters had forgotten the sacredness of all

things and all the human beings were going to suffer for this on the earth.

So tribes began to send people to the mounds to have missions to try to

figure out how they could survive. At that time there were 100,000 cities in

the Mississippi Valley alone, called the mound civilization: cities built on

great mounds. Those mounds are still there. If you ever go out to Ohio or

the Mississippi Valley, they're tourist attractions now. There was 100,000

cities of Native people and they were wondering how they could survive.

They began to try to learn to live off the land because they knew a hard

time was going to come. They began to send people to have visions to see

how we could survive this time. People came on the east coast and they

went across this land to the east and they were told in the prophecies that

we should try to remind all the people that would come here of the

sacredness of all things. If we could do that, then there would be peace on

earth. But if we did not do that, when the roads went clear from east to

west, and when the other races and colors of the Earth had walked clear

across this land, if by that time we had not come together as a human

family, the Great Spirit would grab the earth with his hand and shake it. And

so if you read the treaty negotiations from Red Jacket of the Six Nations on

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the east coast of this land clear to Chief Joseph and Chief Seattle on the

west coast of this land, they all said the same thing. Chief Joseph said, “I

accord you the right, and I hope you accord me the right, to live in this

land.” Always we were trying to live together. But instead of living together,

you all know there was separation, there was segregation. They separated

the races: they separated the Indians, and they separated the blacks. In the

state of Washington it was against the law for an Asian to marry a white

person up until not too long ago. There was separation.

So when they got to the west coast of this land the elders that were

made aware of these prophecies said they would then begin to build a

black ribbon. And on this black ribbon there would move a bug. And when

you begin to see this bug moving on the land, that was the sign for the First

Shaking of the Earth. The First Shaking of the Earth would be so violent

that this bug would be shaken off the earth into the air and it would begin to

move and fly in the air. And by the end of this shaking this bug will be in the

air around the world. Behind it would be a trail of dirt and eventually the

whole sky of the entire earth would become dirty from these trails of dirt,

and this would cause many diseases that would get more and more

complicated. So the bug moving on the land, of course I it's easy to see

now. In 1908 the Model-T Ford was mass produced for the first time. So

the elders knew the First Shaking of the Earth was about to come about

that's the First World War. In the First World War the airplane came into

wide usage for the first time. That was that bug moving into the sky. And so

they knew something very important would happen. There would be an

attempt to make peace on earth on the west coast of this land and so the

elders began to watch for this. They began to hear that there was going to

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be a League of Nations in San Francisco so the elders gathered in Arizona

around 1920 or so and they wrote a letter to Woodrow Wilson. They asked

if the Indian people could be included in the League of Nations. At that time

the United States Supreme Court had held that a reservation is a separate

and semi- sovereign nation, not a part of the United States but protected by

it. This became a concern because people didn't want the reservations to

become more and more separate. They didn't want them to be considered

nations. So they did not write back and the Native people were left out of

the League of Nations, so that circle was incomplete. In the League of

Nations circle there was a southern door, the yellow people; there was a

western door, the black people; there was a northern door, the white

people; but the eastern door was not attended. The elders knew that peace

would not come on the earth until the circle of humanity is complete, until

all the four colors sat in the circle and shared their teachings, then peace

would come on earth.

So they knew things would happen. Things would speed up a little bit.

There would be a cobweb built around the earth, and people would talk

across this cobweb. When this talking cobweb, the telephone, was built

around the earth, a sign of life would appear in the east, but it would tilt and

bring death. It would come with the sun. But the sun itself would rise one

day not in the east but in the west. So the elders said when you see the

sun rising in the east and you see the sign of life reversed and tilted in the

east, you know that the Great Death is to come upon the earth, and now

the Great Spirit will grab the earth again in His hand and shake it and this

shaking will be worse than the first. So the sign of life reversed and tilted,

we call that the Swastika, and the rising sun in the east was the rising sun

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of Japan. These two symbols are carved in stone in Arizona. When the

elders saw these two flags, these were the signs that the earth was to be

shaken again.

The worse misuse of the Guardianship of the fire is called the “gourd of

ashes”. They said the gourd of ashes will fall from the air. It will make the

people like blades of grass in the prairie fire and things will not grow for

many seasons. I saw on television not too long ago that they were talking

about the atomic bomb, the gourd of ashes. They said it was the best-kept

secret in the history of the United States., The elders wanted to speak

about it in 1920. They would have spoken of it and foretold it's coming if

they could have entered into the League of Nations. The elders tried to

contact President Roosevelt and ask him not to use the gourd of ashes

because it would have a great effect on the earth and eventually cause

even greater destruction and a the Third Shaking of the Earth, the Third

World War. I'll get to that in a few minutes.

So they knew after the Second Shaking of the Earth when they saw the

gourd of ashes fall from the sky then there would be an attempt to make

peace on the other side of this land. And because the peace attempt on the

west coast had failed, they would build a special house on the east coast of

this Turtle Island, and all the nations and peoples of the earth would come

to this house and it would be called the House of Mica and it would shine

like the mica on the desert shines. So the elders began to see they were

building the United Nations made out of glass that reflects like the mica on

the desert so they knew this was the House of mica and all the peoples of

the earth should go to it. So they met and talked about this. They said that

in the 1920's they had written and they had not been responded to, so they

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said this time we better go to the front door of the House of Mica because

things might get a lot worse. So elders representing a number of tribes I

believe drove to New York City. When the United Nations opened they

went to the front door of the house of Mica and they said these words:

“We represent the indigenous people of North America and we wish to

address the nations of the Earth. We're going to give you four days to

consider whether or not we will be allowed to speak.”

They retreated to one of the Six Nations Reserves in New York State.

The Six Nations Reserves are keepers of the Great Law of Peace of the

prophet that appeared here in North America, Dagonnorida. And this Law

of Peace is still recited, it takes four days between sunrise and noon. Each

year an Indian, by memory, must recite it about this time of year. Four days

later they came back and I believe the nations of the earth heard that the

Indians had come to the door. And they voted to let the Indians in. They

wanted to hear what they had to say. But the United States is one of five

nations of the United Nations with a veto power and still they were

concerned because this time the Native sovereignty was even stronger.

And I believe they vetoed the entrance of the Native people.

So then they knew other things would happen on the Earth, and the

United Nations would not bring peace on earth but there would be

continuing and deepening confusion. And that the little wars would get

worse. So they retreated to the Six Nations Reserve and they talked about

this and they said the time is really getting close now 1949. They said,

“We're going to divide the United States into four sections and each year

we're going to have a gathering. We're going to call these the 'White of

Peace Gatherings'.” They began to have these around 1950. And they

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authorized certain men to speak in English for the first time about these

prophecies.

One that I used to listen to many times, over and over, was Thomas

Benyaka. He is a Hopi man. I believe he is still living. He was authorized to

speak in English about what was on the stone tablets and he has dedicated

his lifetime to doing this. And they began to tell us at these gatherings, they

said “In your lifetime you're going to see things happen” It was strange

when they said it in the 1950's and 1960's but now it seems very clear. But

then it was unusual. They said, “You're going to see a time in your life

when men are going to become women. The Great Spirit is going to make

a man on the earth. He made him a man but this man is going to say, “I

know more than the Great Spirit. I'm going to change myself to be a

woman:” And they will even nurse children. The Great Spirit is going to

make the woman on the earth. She's going to say, “I know more than the

Great Spirit. I want to be a man. And she will be physically a man.” This

sounded strange. And maybe in a vision they saw Boy-George.

They said “You're going to see a time in your lifetime when the human

beings are going to find the blueprint that makes us.” They call that now,

DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid. They said, “They’re going to cut this blueprint.”

They call that now, genetic splicing. And they said, “They're going to make

new animals upon the earth, and they're going to think these are going to

help us. And it's going to seem like they do help us. But maybe the

grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to suffer.” I don't know if

you heard on the news last night in the United States now they have

genetically spliced a new germ, never before released in the environment.

They want to release this germ into the cotton fields of the south because

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they say it will rejuvenate and strengthen the cotton. They had scientists on

the CBS Evening News the other night talking about it. One scientist said

what the elders said in the 1950's, that this will not harm us. We've put it in

a lot of tests. And the other scientist said what the elders also said, no, this

has never before been in the environment. We have no idea what it will do.

The elders spoke of it long ago. They said it would see harmless, but it may

be able to hurt the great-grandchildren. The elders said long ago, “They will

release these things, they will use them.” This is going to be released not

too long from now. They are making new animals. The elders talked about

this. They said, “You will see new animals, and even the old animals will

come back, animals that people thought had disappeared. They will find

them here and there. They'll begin to reappear.”

They said (and I know many of you are from tribes that also have this

prophecy, “You're going to see a time when the eagle will fly its highest in

the night and it will land upon the moon.” Some tribes say the eagle will

circle the moon. Some tribes say the eagle will fly it's highest in the night.

“And at that time,” they say, “Many of the Native people will be sleeping,”

which symbolically means they have lost their teachings. There are some

tribes that say it will be as if they are frozen: they've been through the long

winter. But they say, “When the eagle flies it's highest in the night, that will

be the first light of a new day. That will be the first thawing of spring.” Of

course, at the first light of a new day, if you've stayed up all night, you

notice it's really dark. And the first light, you want to see it, but you can't. It

sneaks up on you. You want to see it change but it's dark and then pretty

soon it's getting light before you know it. We're at that time now. The Eagle

has landed on the moon, 1969. When that spaceship landed they sent back

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the message, “The Eagle has landed.” Traditionally, Native people from

clear up in the Inuit region, they have shared with us this prophecy, clear

down to the Quechuas in South America. They shared with us that they

have this prophecy. When they heard those first words, “The Eagle has

landed,” they knew that was the start of a new time and a new power for

Native people. There was absolutely nothing strong before us now. We

may do anything we wish. In 1776 when the United States Government

printed the dollar, in one claw [of the eagle], if you've ever noticed, there is

an olive branch in this claw. They said that represented peace. The Indian

elders shared with me in South Dakota that to them that represents the

enslavement of black people. In the prophecies of the Six Nations people

they say there will be two great uprisings by black people to free

themselves. We've seen one about 1964. There will be a second, more

violent one to come. I'll get back to what that means in a minute. In the

other claw is 13 arrows. The founding fathers of the United States said that

represents the 13 States. But the elders say that represents the

enslavement of the Native people. When the Eagle landed on the moon,

they decided to print a special silver dollar to commemorate that. I don't

know how many of you noticed it. The original design showed the

spaceship landing on the moon but at the last minute it was changed to an

actual eagle. And in the eagle's claws is the olive branch, but the arrows

are gone. The elders said, “That's our prophecy we have been released.”

There was one more uprising coming for the black race of people and then

they will be released and this is also going to have an effect on Native

people, a good effect. There's a whole new set of prophecies from the

Iroquois people about that and I won't have time to go into that this

morning.

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But we're in that time now. We're between the first light of a new day and

the sunrise. The sunrise is about to come and when it comes up everyone

is going to see it. But you know how it is in the village there's a few people

that get up early, and there are some that sleep until noon. I'm probably

one of those that sleeps until noon.

They said when that Eagle lands on the moon, the powers will begin to

come back to us. As an alcoholic person, I feel that one of our greatest

diseases is alcoholism. Within seven days of the time of the Eagle

landing on the moon, the first Native alcoholism program was started on an

Apache reservation in Arizona. Within seven days of the time the Eagle

landed on the moon, the Freedom of Indian Religion Act was introduced

into the United States Congress. Eventually it was passed in November of

1978, signed by President Carter, making the song that Kevin [Kevin

Locke, a famous Indian Baha'i who spends his time travelling around the

world sharing the North American Indian culture through dance and music]

sang legal to sing in every state of the United States. It was punishable at

one time to go to jail for 10 years and/or a $10,000 fine for singing a song

or doing a suat. This was changed in 1978 the legislation was introduced in

1969, less than seven days after the Eagle landed on the moon. These are

the physical manifestations of the spiritual prophecies that we have.

So he said at this time you're going to see that things will speed up, that

people on the earth will move faster and faster. Grandchildren will not have

time for grandparents. Parents will not have time for children. It will seem

like time is going faster and faster. The elders advised us that as things

speed up, you yourself should slow down. The faster things go, the slower

you go. Because there's going to come a time when the earth is going to be

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shaken a third time. The Great Spirit has been shaking the earth two times:

the First and Second World Wars to remind us that we are a human family,

to remind us that we should have greeted each other as brothers and

sisters. We had a chance after each shaking to come together in a circle

that would have brought peace on earth, but we missed that.

Tonight they were talking on the news about the sign for the Third

Shaking of the Earth. I heard it while sitting in the airport after I missed my

plane. They said they're going to build what the elders called the “house in

the sky”. In the 1950's they talked about this: they will build a house and

throw it in the sky. When you see people living in the sky on a permanent

basis, you will know the Great Spirit is about to grab the earth, this time not

with one hand, but with both hands. Many of you of Native background may

have heard “the spirits will warn you twice, but the third time you stand

alone.” We've had two warnings, the first two World Wars, but now we

stand alone in the third one. As it says in the Baha'i Writings, there will be

no-one protected. When this house is in the sky, the Great Spirit is going to

shake the Earth a third time and whoever dropped that gourd of ashes,

upon them it is going to drop.

They say at that time there will be villages in this land so great that when

you stand in the villages you will not be able to see out, and in the

prophecies these are called “villages of stone”, or “prairies of stone”. And

they said the stone will grow up from the ground and you will not be able to

see beyond the village. At the center of each and every one of these

villages will be Native people, and they will walk as “hollow” shells upon a

“prairie of stone”. They said “hollow shells” which means they will have lost

any of their traditional understandings; they will be empty within. They said

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after the Eagle lands on the moon some of these people will begin to leave

these “prairies of stone” and come home and take up some of the old ways

and begin to make themselves reborn, because it's a new day. But many

will not. And they said there's going to come a time when in the morning

the sun is going to rise and this village of stone will be there, and in the

evening there would just be steam coming from the ground. They will be as

steam. And in the center of many of those villages of stone when they turn

to steam, the Native people will turn to steam also because they never

woke up and left the village. And this used to bother me when I was a

young man. I used to ask the elders, “Isn't there anything we can do?” And

they said, well, it's just that way that if a person does not have the spiritual

eyes to see, it's very hard to show them. Or if they don't have the ears to

hear, it's very hard to speak with them. We wish that we could go get them

all but we can't. It's just that some are not going to wake up. But some will

wake up.

And so they say there's going to be the Third Shaking of the Earth. It's

not going to be a good thing to see but we will survive it. We will survive it.

And when we survive it, then there's going to be another attempt to make

a circle of the human beings on the earth. And this time the Native people

will not have to petition to join but will be invited to enter the circle because

they say the attitude towards us will have changed by then, and people will

let us into the circle and all the four colors of the four directions will share

their wisdom, and there will be a peace on earth. This is coming close. A lot

of times when I share this message of the prophecies, people say, “Can't

we change it? Could we stop it?” The answer is yes. The prophecies are

always “either/or”. We could have come together way back there in 1565,

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and we could have had a great civilization, but we didn't. Always along the

path of these prophecies, we could have come together. We still could. If

we could stop the racial and religious disharmony, we would not have to go

through this third shaking. The elders say the chance of that is pretty slim.

It seems to me like it's pretty slim, too. But they say what we can do is we

can “cushion” it. The word we use is “cushion”. We can cushion it so it

won't be quite as bad. How do we do this? We do this by sharing the

teaching that will reunite us. The Hopis in their prophecies say there will be

a religion that comes here. Maybe it will be true and bring unity, or maybe it

will not be true and not bring unity. If it does not bring unity, a second

religion will come, and the people of this religion are known in the Hopi

language as the Bahani, the people of Baha. Ni means “people of”. So I

was looking for the people of Baha. I wondered who the people of Baha

were. I was a Baha'i for quite a while before somebody told me that baha'i

means “people of Bah”. I thought, “O my God!” Here I was looking for it all

these years and I never even noticed it! And I found it! I was stubborn and

didn't want to become a “Baha'i but my grandfather who passed away, you

know he must have found out about it in the next realm because he came

back to me four times to tell me, “Hey, look at that again, look at that again.

Look one more time.” Bah, it means “light or glory”. Baha'i means “follower

of the light”, or the “people of Bah”. We've been waiting for these people for

a long time. They say they will bring a Teaching that will unite the earth. So

we need to share this Teaching. They say the fire will come from the North.

So here we are, in a circle, in the North, talking about the Bahnis, the

“people of Bah”, and the teachings of Baha'u'llah.

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When I heard about these [prophecies], none of them made any sense.

Now most of it has come to pass. Last I heard on the news, they said the

“house in the sky” will be put up in 1996. It was going to be put up sooner,

but it's been postponed for four years. Maybe it will be postponed again.

But in not too long it's going to go up. The earth as we know it is going to

change.

Each of us carry, I believe, a sacred drop of light. In the Indian

teachings, they say it takes nine ancestors to agree before conception can

occur. Nine ancestors of the husband and the wife have to come together

in the spiritual realm and say; “We will bring life,” before a woman can

become pregnant. At that time the soul is born.

I delivered my first daughter and a man from the Blood Reserve who

went to South Dakota and was the first Blood in 82 years. He came to my

house by coincidence four days before my wife went into labor. Each night

we had a ceremony, and on the morning after the fourth ceremony my wife

went into labor at sunrise. And that night, at sunset, my daughter was born.

And I took her out, and I cut the cord, and I noticed at the sundance that

what people do in South Dakota, they pass the pipe three times, and they

don't take it until the fourth time. And even in Washington I've heard the

coming of a child is like the coming of a new pipe. When I was delivering

my daughter I happened to notice that the skull came out three times, and

on the fourth time, her head came out like the coming of a pipe. First I put

her on the mother instantly and after a few minutes I cleaned her up and I

washed her up.

There was a circle of people just about like this around my wife and there

were people of different backgrounds and we looked up and through the

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ceiling came a small drop of blue light. When it got close to the child you

could not see it. That was her Soul; she will carry that light throughout

earth. In that is her special uniqueness as a being, a spiritual power. In that

are gifts.

After we go through and then we carry it back here and it radiates to the

mind but for some reason in this cycle we've been in the lower natures, the

animal thought. But now we're going into the human world. The mind is

going to be opened up to the radiance of our own soul and the cycle of the

human beings is going to come back, and something so good is going to

happen on the earth that it cannot even be described. The elders say it in

different ways. They say, there will be grass at that time when they make

that circle and bring the peace on earth. There will be blades of grass that

have not quite come through the earth. Even they will try to push

themselves up to be part of that day when the sun rises. The elders explain

it like this: out here, outside this building, long before there was a fair

ground here there were Native people. They say many of these Native

people in different tribes were aware of these things, and they told the

children. Their children grew up.

You know, one time the scientist came to the Hopis and they said, “We

want to take a piece of the stone tablets.” They said “We want to take the

stone tablets to a scientific laboratory to determine how old they are.” The

Hopis said, “We know how old they are”. Well, the scientists said, “We want

to confirm it.” Well, the Hopis let them take a little piece, and they did that

by the carbon dating method. They found these tablets were at least

10,000 years old, maybe 50,000. So when I say, “Thousands of years ago,

there were Native people that spoke of these things,” that's exactly what I

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mean. They told their children and thousands of years ago, their children

grew up and told their children, and then their children grew up and told

their children. And they spoke about the people that will live in this time.

And now it is us. We are the ones they spoke of long ago. They say to be

alive, to come into creation and to live upon the earth at this time is a great

honor. In the cycle of time, from the beginning to the end, this time we are

in now will change the purification of all things. They say this is the hardest

time to live, but it is also the greatest honor to be alive to live and see this.

In the state of Washington in 1855 they signed treaties and made 22

Indian reservations. They wanted to do it before there were problems. They

thought they were advanced at the time, they had learned from what had

happened elsewhere. They made 22 Indian reservations and the elders

spoke in 1855 and they said, “We're going to become weaker, and you are

going to become stronger, and if you wish to break these treaties, you may

do so.” They said, “But there's going to come a time when the earth itself

will rise up and purify itself and this will be announced. It will be announced

by the speaking of more than 16 Great Ones on the West Coast of this

land. And when the 16 Great Ones speak, the purification will have begun.

There was a new purification five years ago when Mt. Saint Helens, one of

the 16 great volcanoes on the West Coast of this land, “spoke”. The Seattle

Times did a special interest story. They went over to Watson Totus and

Woodrow Bill. It was Woodrow Bill's son that made this hoop that I brought

here today, my good brother Randolf Bill. They asked Watson Totus and

Woodrow Bill as spiritual people of the Yakuma nation, “What does this

mean?” What they said was so profound that they didn't put it on page 16,

they put it on the front page of the Seattle Times. They said, “This means

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that the races and nations of the earth should slow down and come

together and talk to each other.” That's exactly what it meant. And we had

four years and four days to do that.

Four years and four days later, Mt. Saint Helens erupted the second

time. That was last spring, just about this time. That was our grace period.

We could have still done something really good. But now things are going

to speed up. Now things are going to really happen fast. Time is going to

go so fast. The more we share the Message, the more we will cushion the

Third Shaking of the Earth, and the easier it will be on ourselves and

others.

A good friend of mine in Montana whose grandmother just passed away

last year, the last thing she said to him was “Make a place for yourself in

the mountains because the air will become so hot down here,” where they

were at on a reservation, that it would be hard to breath. And it won't be

long. That's the last thing she told her grandson when she was passing. Go

on the mountains and make a place for yourself. Put some things there that

you can survive with. People are going to run to the mountains to survive

and the Native people must be ready for this.

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3. NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUAL LEADERS

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THE PROPHECY OF DEGANAWIDA: THE TWO SERPENTS

DEGANAWIDA

Deganawida: You will face a time of great suffering. You will distrust

your leaders and the principles of peace and of the Great Peace. A great

white serpent will come upon you and will intermingle with you for a time

and will be accepted by the People who will treat the serpent as a

friend. This serpent will become so powerful that it will attempt to

destroy the People and the serpent will seem to choke the lifeblood out

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of you. At this point, all hope will seem to be lost and when things look

their darkest a red serpent will come from the north and approach the

white serpent which will be terrified and upon seeing the red serpent he

will release you and you will fall to the ground like a helpless child while

the white serpent will turn all his attention to the red serpent. The white

serpent will be stunned and take part of the red serpent and accept

him. Then shall they argue and fight. Then shall the People revive and

crawl toward the hilly country where you shall assemble the people

together and they shall renew their faith and the principles of the Great

Peace. Then will exist among you a great love and forgiveness for your

brother and in this gathering will come streams from all over—not only

for you, the Haudenosaunee, but for all the People and you will gather

together in the hilly country and renew your friendship. I say to you that

you must remain neutral in this fight between the white serpent and the

red serpent.

As you watch this struggle between the two serpents, a message will

come to you, which will make you humble. When you become humble,

you will be waiting for a leader, a youth from among the People who has

not yet attained manhood, who will be a choice seer. No one will know

who he is or where he comes from, but he will be given great power and

will be heard by many people. He will give you the guidance and hope

to refrain from going back to your land and he will be the accepted

leader.

You shall gather together in the hilly country under the branches of an

elm tree and burn tobacco and call upon me by name. You shall call

upon the name Deganawida in your darkest hour and I will return. The

choice seer shall speak to the People that number as the blades of grass

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and will be heard by all at the same time. As you are gathered watching

the struggle of the serpents, you will notice from the south a black

serpent approaching from the sea dripping with salt water. He will rest

for a time and collect his breath while looking north to the land where the

white and red serpents are fighting. They will begin slowly to fight, but

will increase in intensity until the violence of their struggle shall cause

the mountains to crack and the rivers will boil and the fish will turn up on

their bellies. There will be no leaves on the trees in the area where they

struggle. There will be no grass on the ground and strange bugs will

crawl from the ground and attack the white and red serpents, which will

become sickened when a great heat causes the stench of death to

overcome them.

As the boy seer watches this fight, the red serpent reaches around the

back of the white serpent and pulls from him a hair which is carried to

the south by a great wind into the waiting hands of the black serpent. As

the black serpent studies the hair, it changes into a woman, a white

woman who tells him things that he knows to be true but he wants to

hear them again. When she finishes talking, he takes her and places her

gently on a rock with great love and respect. Becoming exceedingly

angry at what she has told him, he proceeds in haste directly to the north

and enters the baffle between the white and red serpents with such

speed and anger that he defeats the two serpents that are already

battle-weary. Standing on the chest of the white serpent, the black

serpent begins to boast like a conqueror and looks about for another

serpent to conquer. Looking to the land of the hilly country, he sees the

People standing with arms folded and knows that this is not who he

should fight. Turning eastward, he will be momentarily blinded by a great

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light many times brighter than the sun. The light will come from east to

west across the water and the black serpent will become terrified and will

go directly into the sea swimming to the south and shall never again be

seen by the People.

The white serpent will revive and make a feeble attempt to go toward

that light. A portion of the white serpent will refuse to remain but will go

to the land of the hilly country to join the People with a great love like

that of a lost brother. The remnant of the white serpent will go into the

sea and disappear from sight for a time. Reappearing suddenly, the

white serpent will swim slowly toward the light and will never again be a

trouble to the People. The red serpent will revive and shiver with great

fear when he sees the light. He will crawl to the north leaving a bloody,

shaky trail northward never again to be seen by the People. I,

Deganawida, shall be that light and when I return to my people, you shall

be a greater nation than ever before.

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HIAWATHA (HAYENWENTHA)

GOING TO THE NATIONS

The Peacemaker now joined by Hayenwentha and the Jikohnsaseh,

began their journey to the nations to accomplish this mission of Peace. The

three taught the Good News of Peace and Power to the People.

The Peacemaker would explain his mission. “I carry the Mind of the

Master of Life and my message will end the wars between East and

West. The word that I bring is that all peoples shall love one another and

live together in Peace. This message has three parts: Peace, Power and

Righteousness. Peace means the people can travel anywhere without fear

of being killed as they no longer know war. Power means the Power of the

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Good Mind when all the people think the same way without arguments or

throwing ashes on one another. Righteousness means justice practiced

between men and between nations; it also means a desire to see

righteousness prevail.”

Hayenwentha eloquently debated all opinions until at last, the people of

the nations had been convinced of the prosperity they would have if they

joined the Confederacy of Peace. His tender and lofty wisdom, his wide

reaching benevolence, and his fervent appeals to the people’s better

sentiments, enforced by the eloquence of which he was master, caused the

people to regard him with affectionate reverence. The people’s hearts

yearned for a time of peace, without fear, and with only love. It meant

putting away very old hatreds. It meant putting away deceit and putting on

a new mind. But the people were ready.

Jikohnsaseh would teach the people to love one another.

And so the three and their delegates traveled to many nations. The

legends would be handed down through Ojibwa, Cherokee, Delaware,

Tuteloes, Saponies, Erie, Tuscaroras, Susquehanha, Chesapeake,

Shawnee, Ottawas, Mahicans, Nanticokes, Wendots, Miamis and many

nations to whom the three had traveled or sent delegates of Peace. Every

where they went, the people were instructed as to the Good Message for

the Good Mind. They were taught that the Creator desired Man to live in

Peace and love one another. All people who wanted to join were to be

taken into the Great Peace and sheltered by the boughs of the Great White

Pine of Peace. Those desiring the ways of peace were adopted into the

nations. The now extinct Tutelo were one nation and their beautiful

adoption ceremony is yet kept alive by the Cayugas. At the height of the

Confederacy seventy nations would be sheltered under the Tree of Peace.

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DELIVERING THE YAGOWANEH

The Peacemaker and Hayenwentha consulted with Jikohnsaseh on

every important detail. Without her approval of their plan, the integrity of the

principle of the confederacy of the five nations would have been in jeopardy.

Jikohnsaseh who was regarded as a descendant of the first woman

who was mother of all the first Onkwehoweh (real people) was sacred to

her people, for her word was law and her sanctions were necessary in all

political measures of inter-tribal importance.

Generations had fought in the old ways. Change was difficult for the

people. She used her position as Clan Mother to teach the warriors the way

of peace and to lay down their weapons of war. The young warriors heard

her words of peace. She exhorted her Corn Clan mothers that now there

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was a new duty to perform. They now had a responsibility to help achieve

Peace. They would still provide food and shelter for the warriors but when

ever opportunity availed itself the clan mothers should also speak of peace

while taking care of their responsibilities.

Jikohnsaseh worked so hard for it and believed in it so much, that many

of the people were swayed. Persuasive words kept peace between hostile

warriors who met there and laid aside their anger and their war clubs.

Disputes were so adjusted that the hunters and warriors who came there

with anger and war in their hearts, left her doors as brothers. Men sought

wise counsels in hours of doubt and danger. People came with hate in their

hearts and went away with love for each other, such was her ability and her

love for the people. To the sick and wounded she ministered with the best

medicinal herbs. It is said that Hayenwentha’s departed daughter came

often from the sky, borne by the great white bird to give the Jikohnsaseh

advice and guidance to help the people.

Often two feuding sides would be fed on separate sides of a partition and

from the same bowls. It is said that it was a custom of that time that when

eating from the same bowl that all were brothers. When the partition was

removed, the warriors would discover they had been eating with their bitter

enemy. Because of this ritual the enemy was now like their brother and the

Peace forbid the fighting with relatives. Some wars were averted from the

practice of this tradition.

Jikohnsaseh’s significance to the cause was considerable. The

Peacemaker would refuse to begin any council until she had arrived. Often

times she was late because off taking eluding action to avoid war parties.

There were tense moments while her delegates and the Peacemaker

awaited the arrival of the Great Peace Woman. Often a lookout would be

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posted to keep watch of the waterway, to see her canoe approaching.

There was great relief that swept through the assembled peace delegates

when at last they could see her canoe approaching around the bend of the

river. The Peacemaker would then paddle the river to pick her up and place

her safely at the council.

During this time there were many meetings, and long hours of spirited

conversations as the three discussed and re-discussed the idea of Peace,

and the Great Laws, and what it would mean for the People.

It would be in such meetings that Jikohnsaseh would inspire and narrate

the value of the woman and the advantages of women in creating the

balances and checks that the Great Laws would need if it were to truly

serve ALL the People. Her wisdom and verbal ability would give much

insight and weight to Peace. It is because of her great statesmanship that

the Great Laws were crafted into the first and only true democracy to be

established forever more. She would wear a cape covered with the fresh

water pearls, and these pearls would become a symbol of purity and of the

Peace.

A belt of shell beads was created. This belt became known as the

Hiawatha Wampum belt and signified the treaty between the nations. A

White Tree would symbolize truth purity, and the sheltering of the great

boughs to all who desired Peace. Many generations would past before our

present day generation would ask inquiringly “What is left of the Great

Laws for us?”

Then the Peacemaker uprooted the tallest pine tree and into the cavity

thereby made cast all the weapons of war, into the depths of the earth,

down into the deep undercurrents of water flowing to unknown regions we

cast all the weapons of strife. “We bury them from sight and we plant again

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the tree. Thus shall the Great peace be established and hostilities shall no

longer be known between the Five nations but Peace to the United People.”

THE GREAT COUNCIL

Hayenwentha stood before the Great Council in the village at the south

end of the Lake Onondaga. He took an arrow and he broke it. “This is your

Nation individually,” he said. Then he took five arrows, one for each of the

five Nations present, and tried to break them but they would not break.

“This is our Nations together”, he said. “Now we are One People. Five

arrows shall be bound together very strong and each arrow shall represent

one nation. As the five arrows are strongly bound this shall symbolize the

complete Union of the nations. Thus are the five Nations united and

completely and enfolded together, united into one head, one body and one

mind. Therefore they shall labor, legislate and council together for the

interest of future generations.”

The Peacemaker planted the Tree of the Great Peace in the territory of

the Onondaga who are the Fire Keepers. He said, “Roots have spread out

from the Tree of Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south

and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots

and their nature is Peace and Strength.”

“Hearken, that Peace may continue unto future days! Always listen to

the words of the Great Creator, for he has spoken. Unite people, let not evil

find lodging in your minds for the Great Creator has spoken and the cause

of Peace shall not become old. The cause of Peace shall not die if you

remember the Great Creator.”

The Peacemaker’s work was finished. He said. ”Let others have

successors, for the others can advise you like them. But I am the founder of

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your league, and no one else can do what I have done. I shall be there the

thickness of a leaf away. There I shall hear how men tend the Longhouse I

constructed for them here on earth. If men should ever become indifferent

to the League, he said, perhaps I am to stand here again among your

descendants. If the Great Peace should fail, call on my name in the bushes,

and I will return.”

MOTHER OF NATIONS

Over the years, Jikohnsaseh had arbitrated the disagreements and had

taught the people to make their decisions for the benefit of all. She taught

them patiently, to think with love and caring for everyone as all were

brothers and children of the Maker. She taught by example in her

unfaltering devotion to the people and to the cause she believed in so

fervently, The Great Laws and the ways of Peace. Even the final

negotiations were presided by her.

Jikohnsaseh had seen the young men grow to manhood. She had

mothered many in much the same way she had mothered the Laws of The

Great Peace. The Jikohnsaseh and her example had led the way into many

issues regarding the history and the governmental functions of the

Gantowisas or Clan Mothers of the League.

When the Great Laws were finished, the women were the proprietors of

the titles of office. These offices are of a political AND spiritual purpose

combined. If the men put in office were not doing right by the people and

by the Great Laws, it is the women who would remove them, and find a

more suitable leader. The wisdom in this decision comes from the women

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who bear and raise the children, and who better than these women to know

the hearts and abilities of those who would become leaders and sachems

Women would also hold the veto power over war. The young men,

always eager, would clammer for war. And men, whose nature it is to be

warriors, may not always see clearly the Path of Peace. But a woman—

who knows she must bury her loved ones, the children she has suckled—

she will see and know if the fight is worth it’s cost in lives and death.

Women owned the property. Again, there is great wisdom in this. The

woman raised the children. A need for a home and means to provide for

the children was of utmost importance. Men could always fend for

themselves, but for a woman with little ones to tend for, time would be

limited for replacing items needed.

Again, children belong to the lineage of the woman. The clans follow the

matrilineal lineage of the women. In this way, every child had a mother,

whereas the father may or may not always be there to offer nurturing. The

mother’s family took in the child, and the child had a place among the

People from the beginning of its journey here on this Earth.

Such were the contributions of Jikohnsaseh. Her wisdom, and her

unfailing devotion to the cause, made her an important part of every

proceeding of the Peace. The Laws of Great Peace would serve the People

well for 1000s of years.

Eventually, a new people, a white race from across the waters would

come to the People. The White Race would come with their hearts burning

with the desire for Freedom, a desire that would be further fueled by

contact with the Haudenosaunee and the democracy they had formed.

They would use the Laws of Great Peace as a format for their own form of

democracy to be set down in the Constitution of the United States of

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America. However, the White Race had no honor for women, even of

stature like Jikohnsaseh, and so the work she had done to help forge the

important document for the People was omitted in the White Man’s version.

It would take the new government until the 1920’s to begin to give women

the rights the Haudenosaunee women had enjoyed for thousands of years

and then it would be the Haudenosaunee women suffragettes who would

lead the way.

The Peacemaker recognized the Jikohnsaseh as his cosmic mother, and

quite literally, the mother of all Onkwehoweh. He thus gave to Jikohnsaseh

a new name. He gave to her “Mother of Nations.” Turtle Island has

become a refuge for the unwanted, the displaced, the hungry and those

desiring a better life. It has become a melting pot of nationalities, cultures,

and religions, all protected by a sacred document that was originally crafted

by three individuals seeking the Creator’s will. The Jikohnsaseh has

become the Mother of Nations as numerous as the stars.

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The years of effort, planning and spiritual guidance had finally profited

the people. At last, the much sought after peace was established. A life

time of commitment to the cause of peace, power and righteousness had

finally prevailed.

The work of the Creator was finished but the People would need to be

reminded of all that had transpired to bring this Peace about. The Great

Laws abound with encrypted symbols but the Jikohnsaseh and her Clan

Mothers, now instituted a new ceremony of thanksgiving and in

commemoration to remind the people. Jikohnsaseh and her Corn Camp

Clan mothers now established a festival to mark the victory of the

accomplishment. It was celebrated with a Green Corn Ceremony.

It was a ceremony to thank the Creator for the Great Peace. It was a

ceremony to bring the people together in brotherhood and remind them of

the sacredness of all life. It was a ceremony to bring amusement to the

Maker of all men that he should be pleased with his creation.

It was a ceremony to thank the Spiritual Forces on the Earth. It was a

ceremony to give thanks for our Mother Earth, the Waters, the Fish, the

Grasses, the Plants, our Sustenance, the Animals, the Trees, and the

Birds.

They gave thanks to the Mother Earth everyday for the water she

quenched their thirst with. They gave thanks to the waters for in winter it

replenished the lakes and during the year they purify the lakes. They gave

thanks to the fish that lived in the waters. When the wind turns warm a

green blanket appears, they gave thanks to the grasses and the flowers.

They gave thanks to the medicinal plants because they helped keep

them healthy. They gave thanks to the food plants. They gave thanks to the

animal creatures for their winter pelts that warmed the soul. They gave

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thanks to the animal creatures who they were glad reappeared in early

spring and had been their companions since ancient times.. They gave

thanks to the trees that sheltered the little animals and at one point became

a symbol of Peace.

They gave thanks to the animal creatures for their winter pelts that

warmed the soul. They gave thanks to the animal creatures who they were

glad reappeared in early spring and had been their companions since

ancient times.

They gave thanks to the birds for in times of danger they warned the

people. They gave thanks to the birds for in the summer they sing sweet

songs.

Then they gave thanks for the Spiritual Forces in the Sky which are the

Four Winds, our Grandfather Thunder, our Elder Brother Sun, our

Grandmother Moon, and the Stars. Throughout the seasons they refreshed

the air.

They gave thanks to the Four Winds In early summer because they bring

the falling rain drops. They gave thanks to our Grandfather Thunder Every

morning he brought light and warmth. They gave thanks to the Elder

Brother Sun for every night he watches over the arrival of children. They

give thanks to our Grandmother Moon for in the night her sparkle guides

them home. They gave thanks to the star.

Then they gave thanks for The Highest Spiritual Forces beyond the Sky

which are the Protectors, Dekaniwida, Hayenwentha, and the Creator. All

the time they remind the people how to live. They gave thanks that at one

point in time they brought back the words of the Creator. They gave thanks

for everyday they shared with one another all of these good things. They

gave thanks to the Creator for all these blessings.

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BLACK ELK'S VISIONS

EARLY BOYHOOD

I was four years old then, and I think it must have been the next summer

that I first heard the voices. It was a happy summer and nothing was afraid,

because in the Moon When the Ponies Shed (May) word came from the

Wasichus [the White Men] that there would be peace and that they would

not use the road any more and that all the soldiers would go away. The

soldiers did go away and their towns were torn down; and in the Moon of

Falling Leaves (November), they made a treaty with Red Cloud that said

our country would be ours as long as grass should grow and water flow.

You can see that it is not the grass and the water that have forgotten.

Maybe it was not this summer when I first heard the voices, but I think it

was, because I know it was before I played with bows and arrows or rode a

horse, and I was out playing alone when I heard them. It was like

somebody calling me, and I thought it was my mother, but there was

nobody there. This happened more than once, and always made me afraid,

so that I ran home.

It was when I was five years old that my Grandfather made me a bow

and some arrows. The grass was young and I was horseback. A thunder

storm was coming from where the sun goes down, and just as I was riding

into the woods along a creek, there was a kingbird sitting on a limb. This

was not a dream, it happened. And I was going to shoot at the kingbird with

the bow my Grandfather made, when the bird spoke and said: “The clouds

all over are one-sided.” Perhaps it meant that all the clouds were looking at

me. And then it said: “Listen! A voice is calling you!” Then I looked up at the

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clouds, and two men were coming there, headfirst like arrows slanting

down; and as they came, they sang a sacred song and the thunder was like

drumming. I will sing it for you. The song and the drumming were like this:

BEHOLD, A SACRED VOICE IS CALLING YOU;

ALL OVER THE SKY A SACRED VOICE IS CALLING.

I sat there gazing at them, and they were coming from the place where

the giant lives (north). But when they were very close to me, they wheeled

about toward where the sun goes down, and suddenly they were geese.

Then they were gone, and the rain came with a big wind and a roaring. I did

not tell this vision to any one. I liked to think about it, but I was afraid to tell

it.

THE GREAT VISION

What happened after that until the summer I was nine years old is not a

story. There were winters and summers, and they were good; for the

Wasichus had made their iron road along the Platte and traveled there.

This had cut the bison herd in two, but those that stayed in our country with

us were more than could be counted, and we wandered without trouble in

our land.

Now and then the voices would come back when I was out alone, like

someone calling me, but what they wanted me to do I did not know. This

did not happen very often, and when it did not happen, I forgot about it; for I

was growing taller and was riding horses now and could shoot prairie

chickens and rabbits with my bow. The boys of my people began very

young to learn the ways of men, and no one taught us; we just learned by

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doing what we saw, and we were warriors at a time when boys now are like

girls.

It was the summer when I was nine years old, and our people were

moving slowly towards the Rocky Mountains. We camped one evening in a

valley beside a little creek just before it ran into the Greasy Grass and there

was a man by the name of Man Hip who liked me and asked me to eat with

him in his tepee.

While I was eating, a voice came and said: “It is time; now they are

calling you.” The voice was so loud and clear that I believed it, and I

thought I would just go where it wanted me to go. So I got right up and

started. As I came out of the tepee, both my thighs began to hurt me, and

suddenly it was like waking from a dream, and there wasn't any voice. So I

went back into the tepee, but I didn't want to eat. Man Hip looked at me in a

strange way and asked me what was wrong. I told him that my legs were

hurting me.

The next morning the camp moved again, and I was riding with some

boys. We stopped to get a drink from a creek, and when I got off my horse,

my legs crumpled under me and I could not walk. So the boys helped me

up and put me on my horse; and when we camped again that evening, I

was sick. The next day the camp moved on to where the different bands of

our people were coming together, and I rode in a pony drag, for I was very

sick. Both my legs and both my arms were swollen badly and my face was

all puffed up.

When we had camped again, I was lying in our tepee and my mother and

father were sitting beside me. I could see out through the opening, and

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there two men were coming from the clouds, headfirst like arrows slanting

down, and I knew they were the same that I had seen before. Each now

carried a long spear, and from the points of these a jagged lightning

flashed. They came clear down to the ground this time and stood a little

way off and looked at me and said: “Hurry! Come! Your Grandfathers are

calling you!”

Then they turned and left the ground like arrows slanting upward from

the bow. When I got up to follow, my legs did not hurt me any more and I

was very light. I went outside the tepee, and yonder where the men with

flaming spears were going, a little cloud was coming very fast. It came and

stooped and took me and turned back to where it came from, flying fast.

And when I looked down I could see my mother and my father yonder, and

I felt sorry to be leaving them.

Then there was nothing but the air and the swiftness of the little cloud

that bore me and those two men still leading up to where white clouds were

piled like mountains on a wide blue plain, and in them thunder beings lived

and leaped and flashed. Now suddenly there was nothing but a world of

cloud, and we three were there alone in the middle of a great white plain

with snowy hills and mountains staring at us; and it was very still; but there

were whispers.

Then the two men spoke together and they said: “Behold him, the being

with four legs!”

I looked and saw a bay horse standing there, and he began to speak:

“Behold me!” he said. “My life history you shall see.” Then he wheeled

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about to where the sun goes down, and said: “Behold them! Their history

you shall know.”

I looked, and there were twelve black horses yonder all abreast with

necklaces of bison hoofs, and they were beautiful, but I was frightened,

because their manes were lightning and there was thunder in their nostrils.

Then the bay horse wheeled to where the great white giant lives (the

north) and said: “Behold!” And yonder there were twelve white horses all

abreast. Their manes were flowing like a blizzard wind and from their noses

came a roaring, and all about them white geese soared and circled.

Then the bay wheeled round to where the sun shines continually (the

east) and bade me look; and there twelve sorrel horses, with necklaces of

elk's teeth, stood abreast with eyes that glimmered like the daybreak star

and manes of morning light.

Then the bay wheeled once again to look upon the place where you are

always facing (the south), and yonder stood twelve buckskins all abreast

with horns upon their heads and manes that lived and grew like trees and

grasses.

And when I had seen all these, the bay horse said: “Your Grandfathers

are having a council. These shall take you; so have courage.”

Then all the horses went into formation, four abreast—the blacks, the

whites, the sorrels, and the buckskins—and stood behind the bay, who

turned now to the west and neighed; and yonder suddenly the sky was

terrible with a storm of plunging horses in all colors that shook the world

with thunder, neighing back.

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Now turning to the north the bay horse whinnied, and yonder all the sky

roared with a mighty wind of running horses in all colors, neighing back.

And when he whinnied to the east, there too the sky was filled with

glowing clouds of manes and tails of horses, in all colors singing back.

Then to the south he called, and it was crowded with many colored, happy

horses, nickering.

Then the bay horse spoke to me again and said: “See how your horses

all come dancing!” I looked, and there were horses, horses everywhere—a

whole skyful of horses dancing round me.

“Make haste!” the bay horse said; and we walked together side by side,

while the blacks, the whites, the sorrels, and the buckskins followed,

marching four by four.

I looked about me once again, and suddenly the dancing horses without

number changed into animals of every kind and into all the fowls that are,

and these fled back to the four quarters of the world from whence the

horses came, and vanished.

Then as we walked, there was a heaped up cloud ahead that changed

into a tepee, and a rainbow was the open door of it; and through the door I

saw six old men sitting in a row.

The two men with the spears now stood beside me, one on either hand,

and the horses took their places in their quarters, looking inward, four by

four. And the oldest of the Grandfathers spoke with a kind voice and said:

“Come right in and do not fear.” And as he spoke, all the horses of the four

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quarters neighed to cheer me. So I went in and stood before the six, and

they looked older than men can ever be—old like hills, like stars.

The oldest spoke again: “Your Grandfathers all over the world are having

a council, and they have called you here to teach you.” His voice was very

kind, but I shook all over with fear now, for I knew that these were not old

men, but the Powers of the World. And the first was the Power of the West;

the second, of the North; the third, of the East; the fourth, of the South; the

fifth, of the Sky; the sixth, of the Earth. I knew this, and was afraid, until the

first Grandfather spoke again: “Behold them yonder where the sun goes

down, the thunder beings! You shall see, and have from them my power;

and they shall take you to the high and lonely center of the earth that you

may see: even to the place where the sun continually shines, they shall

take you there to understand.”

And as he spoke of understanding, I looked up and saw the rainbow leap

with flames of many colors over me.

Now there was a wooden cup in his hand and it was full of water and in

the water was the sky.

“Take this,” he said. “It is the power to make live, and it is yours.”

Now he had a bow in his hands. “Take this,” he said. “It is the power to

destroy, and it is yours.”

Then he pointed to himself and said: “Look close at him who is your spirit

now, for you are his body and his name is Eagle Wing Stretches.”

And saying this, he got up very tall and started running toward where the

sun goes down; and suddenly he was a black horse that stopped and

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turned and looked at me, and the horse was very poor and sick; his ribs

stood out.

Then the second Grandfather, he of the North, arose with a herb of

power in his hand, and said: “Take this and hurry.” I took and held it toward

the black horse yonder. He fattened and was happy and came prancing to

his place again and was the first Grandfather sitting there.

The second Grandfather, he of the North, spoke again: “Take courage,

younger brother,” he said; “on earth a nation you shall make live, for yours

shall be the power of the white giant's wing, the cleansing wing.” Then he

got up very tall and started running toward the north; and when he turned

toward me, it was a white goose wheeling. I looked about me now, and the

horses in the west were thunders and the horses of the north were geese.

And the second Grandfather sang two songs that were like this:

THEY ARE APPEARING, MAY YOU BEHOLD!

THEY ARE APPEARING, MAY YOU BEHOLD!

THE THUNDER NATION IS APPEARING, BEHOLD!

THEY ARE APPEARING, MAY YOU BEHOLD!

THEY ARE APPEARING, MAY YOU BEHOLD!

THE WHITE GEESE NATION IS APPEARING,

BEHOLD!”

And now it was the third Grandfather who spoke, he of where the sun

shines continually. “Take courage, younger brother,” he said, “for across

the earth they shall take you!” Then he pointed to where the daybreak star

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was shining, and beneath the star two men were flying. “From them you

shall have power,” he said, “from them who have awakened all the beings

of the earth with roots and legs and wings.” And as he said this, he held in

his hand a peace pipe which had a spotted eagle outstretched upon the

stem; and this eagle seemed alive, for it was poised there, fluttering, and its

eyes were looking at me. “With this pipe,” the Grandfather said, “you shall

walk upon the earth, and whatever sickens there you shall make well.”

Then he pointed to a man who was bright red all over, the color of good

and of plenty, and as he pointed, the red man lay down and rolled and

changed into a bison that got up, and galloped toward the sorrel horses of

the east, and they too turned to bison, fat and many.

And now the fourth Grandfather spoke, he of the place where you are

always facing (the south), whence comes the power to grow. “Younger

brother,” he said, “with the powers of the four quarters you shall walk, a

relative. Behold, the living center of a nation I shall give you, and with it

many you shall save.” And I saw that he was holding in his hand a bright

red stick that was alive, and as I looked it sprouted at the top and sent forth

branches, and on the branches many leaves came out and murmured and

in the leaves the birds began to sing. And then for just a little while I

thought I saw beneath it in the shade the circled villages of people and

every living thing with roots or legs or wings, and all were happy. “It shall

stand in the center of the nation's circle,” said the Grandfather, “a cane to

walk with and a people's heart; and by your powers you shall make it

blossom.”

Then when he had been still a little while to hear the birds sing, he spoke

again: “Behold the earth!” So I looked down and saw it lying yonder like a

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hoop of peoples, and in the center bloomed the holy stick that was a tree,

and where it stood there crossed two roads, a red one and a black. “From

where the giant lives (the north) to where you always face (the south) the

red road goes, the road of good,” the Grandfather said, “and on it shall your

nation walk. The black road goes from where the thunder beings live (the

west) to where the sun continually shines (the east), a fearful road, a road

of troubles and of war. On this also you shall walk, and from it you shall

have the power to destroy a people's foes. In four ascents you shall walk

the earth with Power.”

I think he meant that I should see four generations, counting me, and

now I am seeing the third.

Then he rose very tall and started running toward the south, and was an

elk; and as he stood among the buckskins yonder, they too were elks.

Now the fifth Grandfather spoke, the oldest of them all, the Spirit of the

Sky. “My boy,” he said, “I have sent for you and you have come. My power

you shall see!” He stretched his arms and turned into a spotted eagle

hovering. “Behold,” he said, “all the wings of the air shall come to you, and

they and the winds and the stars shall be like relatives. You shall go across

the earth with my power.” Then the eagle soared above my head and

fluttered there; and suddenly the sky was full of friendly wings all coming

toward me.

Now I knew the sixth Grandfather was about to speak, he who was the

Spirit of the Earth, and I saw that he was very old, but more as men are old.

His hair was long and white, his face was all in wrinkles and his eyes were

deep and dim. I stared at him, for it seemed I knew him somehow; and as I

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stared, he slowly changed, for he was growing backwards into youth, and

when he had become a boy, I knew that he was myself with all the years

that would be mine at last. When he was old again, he said: “My boy, have

courage, for my power shall be yours, and you shall need it, for your nation

on the earth will have great troubles. Come.”

He rose and tottered out through the rainbow door, and as I followed I

was riding on the bay horse who had talked to me at first and led me to that

place.

Then the bay horse stopped and faced the black horses of the west, and

a voice said: “They have given you the cup of water to make live the

greening day, and also the bow and arrow to destroy.” The bay neighed,

and the twelve black horses came and stood behind me, four abreast.

The bay faced the sorrels of the east, and I saw that they had morning

stars upon their foreheads and they were very bright. And the voice said:

“They have given you the sacred pipe and the power that is peace, and the

good red day.” The bay neighed and the twelve sorrels stood behind me,

four abreast

My horse now faced the buckskins of the south and a voice said: “They

have given you the sacred stick and your nation's hoop, and the yellow day

and in the center of the hoop you shall set the stick and make it grow into a

shielding tree, and bloom.” The bay neighed, and the twelve buckskins

came and stood behind me, four abreast.

Then I knew that there were riders on all the horses there behind me,

and a voice said: “Now you shall walk the black road with these; and as you

walk, all the nations that have roots or legs or wings shall fear you.”

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So I started, riding toward the east down the fearful road, and behind me

came the horsebacks four abreast—the blacks, the whites, the sorrels, and

the buckskins—and far away above the fearful road the daybreak star was

rising very dim.

I looked below me where the earth was silent in a sick green light, and

saw the hills look up afraid and the grasses on the hills and all the animals;

and everywhere about me were the cries of frightened birds and sounds of

fleeing wings. I was the chief of all the heavens riding there, and when I

looked behind me, all the twelve black horses reared and plunged and

thundered and their manes and tails were whirling hail and their nostrils

snorted lightning. And when I looked below again, I saw the slant hail falling

and the long, sharp rain, and where we passed, the trees bowed low and

all the hills were dim.

Now the earth was bright again as we rode. I could see the hills and

valleys and the creeks and rivers passing under. We came above a place

where three streams made a big one—a source of mighty waters—and

something terrible was there. Flames were rising from the waters and in the

flames a blue man lived. The dust was floating all about him in the air, the

grass was short and withered, the trees were wilting, two-legged and four-

legged beings lay there thin and panting, and wings too weak to fly.

Then the black horse riders shouted “Hoka hey!” and charged down upon

the blue man, but were driven back. And the white troop shouted, charging,

and was beaten; then the red troop and the yellow.

And when each had failed. they all cried together: “Eagle Wing Stretches,

hurry!” And all the world was filled with voices of all kinds that cheered me,

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so I charged. I had the cup of water in one hand and in the other was the

bow that turned into a spear as the bay and I swooped down, and the

spear's head was sharp lightning. It stabbed the blue man's heart, and as it

struck I could hear the thunder rolling and many voices that cried “Un-hee!,”

meaning I had killed. The flames died. The trees and grasses were not

withered any more and murmured happily together, and every living being

cried in gladness with whatever voice it had. Then the four troops of horse

men charged down and struck the dead body of the blue man, counting

coup; and suddenly it was only a harmless turtle.

You see, I had been riding with the storm clouds, and had come to earth

as rain, and it was drought that I had killed with the power that the Six

Grandfathers gave me. So we were riding on the earth now down along the

river flowing full from the source of waters, and soon I saw ahead the

circled village of a people in the valley. And a Voice said: “Behold a nation;

it is yours. Make haste, Eagle Wing Stretches!”

I entered the village, riding, with the four horse troops behind me—the

blacks, the whites, the sorrels, and the buckskins; and the place was filled

with moaning and with mourning for the dead. The wind was blowing from

the south like fever, and when I looked around I saw that in nearly every

tepee the women and the children and the men lay dying with the dead.

So I rode around the circle of the village, looking in upon the sick and

dead, and I felt like crying as I rode. But when I looked behind me, all the

women and the children and the men were getting up and coming forth with

happy faces.

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And a Voice said: “Behold, they have given you the center of the nation's

hoop to make it live.”

So I rode to the center of the village, with the horse troops in their

quarters round about me, and there the people gathered. And the Voice

said: “Give them now the flowering stick that they may flourish, and the

sacred pipe that they may know the power that is peace, and the wing of

the white giant that they may have endurance and face all winds with

courage.”

So I took the bright red stick and at the center of the nation's hoop I

thrust it in the earth. As it touched the earth it leaped mightily in my hand

and was a waga chun, the rustling tree, very tall and full of leafy branches

and of all birds singing. And beneath it all the animals were mingling with

the people like relatives and making happy cries. The women raised their

tremolo of joy, and the men shouted all together: “Here we shall raise our

children and be as little chickens under the mother sheo's wing.”

Then I heard the white wind blowing gently through the tree and singing

there, and from the east the sacred pipe came flying on its eagle wings,

and stopped before me there beneath the tree, spreading deep peace

around it.

Then the daybreak star was rising, and a Voice said: “It shall be a

relative to them; and who shall see it, shall see much more, for thence

comes wisdom; and those who do not see it shall be dark.” And all the

people raised their faces to the east, and the star's light fell upon them, and

all the dogs barked loudly and the horses whinnied.

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Then when the many little voices ceased, the great Voice said: “Behold

the circle of the nation's hoop, for it is holy, being endless, and thus all

powers shall be one power in the people without end. Now they shall break

camp and go forth upon the red road, and your Grandfathers shall walk

with them.” So the people broke camp and took the good road with the

white wing on their faces, and the order of their going was like this:

First, the black horse riders with the cup of water; and the white horse

riders with the white wing and the sacred herb; and the sorrel riders with

the holy pipe: and the buckskins with the flowering stick. And after these

the little children and the youths and maidens followed in a band.

Second, came the tribe's four chieftains, and their band was all young

men and women.

Third, the nation's four advisers leading men and women neither young

nor old.

Fourth, the old men hobbling with their canes and looking to the earth.

Fifth, old women hobbling with their canes and looking to the earth.

Sixth, myself all alone upon the bay with the bow and arrows that the

First Grandfather gave me. But I was not the last; for when I looked behind

me there were ghosts of people like a trailing fog as far as I could see—

grandfathers of grandfathers and grandmothers of grandmothers without

number. And over these a great Voice—the Voice that was the South—

lived, and I could feel it silent.

And as we went the Voice behind me said: “Behold a good nation

walking in a sacred manner in a good land!”

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Then I looked up and saw that there were four ascents ahead, and these

were generations I should know. Now we were on the first ascent, and all

the land was green. And as the long line climbed, all the old men and

women raised their hands, palms forward, to the far sky yonder and began

to croon a song together, and the sky ahead was filled with clouds of baby

faces.

When we came to the end of the first ascent we camped in the sacred

circle as before, and in the center stood the holy tree, and still the land

about us was all green.

Then we started on the second ascent, marching as before, and still the

land was green, but it was getting steeper. And as I looked ahead, the

people changed into elks and bison and all four-footed beings and even

into fowls, all walking in a sacred manner on the good red road together.

And I myself was a spotted eagle soaring over them. But just before we

stopped to camp at the end of that ascent, all the marching animals grew

restless and afraid that they were not what they had been, and began

sending forth voices of trouble, calling to their chiefs. And when they

camped at the end of that ascent, I looked down and saw that leaves were

falling from the holy tree.

And the Voice said: “Behold your nation, and remember what your Six

Grandfathers gave you, for thenceforth your people walk in difficulties.”

Then the people broke camp again, and saw the black road before them

towards where the sun goes down, and black clouds coming yonder; and

they did not want to go but could not stay. And as they walked the third

ascent, all the animals and fowls that were the people ran here and there,

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for each one seemed to have his own little vision that he followed and his

own rules; and all over the universe I could hear the winds at war like wild

beasts fighting.

And when we reached the summit of the third ascent and camped, the

nation's hoop was broken like a ring of smoke that spreads and scatters

and the holy tree seemed dying and all its birds were gone. And when I

looked ahead I saw that the fourth ascent would be terrible.

Then when the people were getting ready to begin the fourth ascent, the

Voice spoke like some one weeping, and it said: “Look there upon your

nation.” And when I looked down, the people were all changed back to

human, and they were thin, their faces sharp, for they were starving. Their

ponies were only hide and bones, and the holy tree was gone.

And as I looked and wept, I saw that there stood on the north side of the

starving camp a sacred man who was painted red all over his body, and he

held a spear as he walked into the center of the people, and there he lay

down and rolled. And when he got up, it was a fat bison standing there, and

where the bison stood a sacred herb sprang up right where the tree had

been in the center of the nation's hoop. The herb grew and bore four

blossoms on a single stem while I was looking—a blue, a white, a scarlet,

and a yellow—and the bright rays of these flashed to the heavens.

I know now what this meant, that the bison were the gift of a good spirit

and were our strength, but we should lose them, and from the same good

spirit we must find another strength. For the people all seemed better when

the herb had grown and bloomed, and the horses raised their tails and

neighed and pranced around, and I could see a light breeze going from the

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north among the people like a ghost; and suddenly the flowering tree was

there again at the center of the nation's hoop where the four-rayed herb

had blossomed.

I was still the spotted eagle floating and I could see that I was already in

the fourth ascent and the people were camping yonder at the top of the

third long rise. It was dark and terrible about me, for all the winds of the

world were fighting. It was like rapid gunfire and like whirling smoke, and

like women and children wailing and like horses screaming all over the

world.

I could see my people yonder running about, setting the smokeflap poles

and fastening down their tepees against the wind, for the storm cloud was

coming on them very fast and black, and there were frightened swallows

without number fleeing before the cloud.

Then a song of power came to me and I sang it there in the midst of that

terrible place where I was. It went like this:

A GOOD NATION I WILL MAKE LIVE.

THIS THE NATION ABOVE HAS SAID.

THEY HAVE GIVEN ME THE POWER

TO MAKE OVER.

And when I had sung this, a Voice said: “To the four quarters you shall

run for help, and nothing shall be strong before you. Behold him!”

Now I was on my bay horse again, because the horse is of the earth, and

it was there my power would be used. And as I obeyed the Voice and

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looked, there was a horse all skin and bones yonder in the west, a faded

brownish black. And a Voice there said: “Take this and make him over; and

it was the four-rayed herb that I was holding in my hand. So I rode above

the poor horse in a circle, and as I did this I could hear the people yonder

calling for spirit power, “A-hey! a-hey! a-hey! a-hey!” Then the poor horse

neighed and rolled and got up, and he was a big, shiny, black stallion with

dapples all over him and his mane about him like a cloud. He was the chief

of all the horses; and when he snorted, it was a flash of lightning and his

eyes were like the sunset star. He dashed to the west and neighed, and the

west was filled with a dust of hoofs, and horses without number, shiny

black, came plunging from the dust. Then he dashed toward the north and

neighed, and to the east and to the south. and the dust clouds answered,

giving forth their plunging horses without number—whites and sorrels and

buckskins, fat, shiny, rejoicing in their fleetness and their strength. It was

beautiful, but it was also terrible.

Then they all stopped short, rearing, and were standing in a great hoop

about their black chief at the center, and were still. And as they stood, four

virgins, more beautiful than women of the earth can be, came through the

circle, dressed in scarlet, one from each of the four quarters, and stood

about the great black stallion in their places; and one held the wooden cup

of water, and one the white wing, and one the pipe, and one the nation's

hoop. All the universe was silent, listening; and then the great black stallion

raised his voice and sang. The song he sang was this:

MY HORSES, PRANCING THEY ARE COMING.

MY HORSES, NEIGHING THEY ARE COMING;

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PRANCING THEY ARE COMING.

ALL OVER THE UNIVERSE THEY COME.

THEY WILL DANCE; MAY YOU BEHOLD THEM.

(4 TIMES)

A HORSE NATION, THEY WILL DANCE.

MAY YOU BEHOLD THEM. (4 TIMES)

His voice was not loud, but it went all over the universe and filled it.

There was nothing that did not hear, and it was more beautiful than

anything can be. It was so beautiful that nothing anywhere could keep from

dancing. The virgins danced, and all the circled horses. The leaves on the

trees, the grasses on the hills and in the valleys, the water in the creeks

and in the rivers and the lakes, the four-legged and the two-legged and the

wings of the air—all danced together to the music of the stallion's song.

And when I looked down upon my people yonder, the cloud passed over,

blessing them with friendly rain, and stood in the east with a flaming

rainbow over it.

Then all the horses went singing back to their places beyond the summit

of the fourth ascent, and all thing sang along with them as they walked.

And a Voice said: “All over the universe they have finished a day of

happiness.” And looking down, I saw that the whole wide circle of the day

was beautiful and green, with all fruits growing and all things kind and

happy.

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Then a Voice said: “Behold this day, for it is yours to make. Now you

shall stand upon the center of the earth to see, for there they are taking

you.” I was still on my bay horse, and once more I felt the riders of the

west, the north, the east, the south, behind me in formation, as before, and

we were going east. I looked ahead and saw the mountains there with

rocks and forests on them, and from the mountains flashed all colors

upward to the heavens. Then I was standing on the highest mountain of

them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world.

And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more

than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in

the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one

being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many

hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the

center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one

mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy.

Then as I stood there, two men were coming from the east, head first like

arrows flying, and between them rose the daybreak star. They came and

gave a herb to me and said: “With this on earth you shall undertake

anything and do it.” It was the daybreak-star herb, the herb of

understanding, and they told me to drop it on the earth. I saw it falling far,

and when it struck the earth it rooted and grew and flowered, four blossoms

on one stem, a blue, a white, a scarlet, and a yellow; and the rays from

these streamed upward to the heavens so that all creatures saw it and in

no place was there darkness.

Then the Voice said: “Your Six Grandfathers—now you shall go back to

them.”

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I had not noticed how I was dressed until now, and I saw that I was

painted red all over, and my joints were painted black, with white stripes

between the joints. My bay had lightning stripes all over him, and his mane

was cloud. And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.

Now two men were leading me, head first like arrows slanting upward—

the two that brought me from the earth. And as I followed on the bay, they

turned into four flocks of geese that flew in circles, one above each quarter,

sending forth a sacred voice as they flew: Br-r-r-p, br-r-r-p, br-r-r-p, br-r-r-p!

Then I saw ahead the rainbow flaming above the tepee of the Six

Grandfathers, built and roofed with cloud and sewed with thongs of

lightning; and underneath it were all the wings of the air and under them the

animals and men. All these were rejoicing and thunder was like happy

laughter.

As I rode in through the rainbow door, there were cheering voices from

all over the universe, and I saw the Six Grandfathers sitting in a row, with

their arms held toward me and their hands, palms out; and behind them in

the cloud were faces thronging, without number, of the people yet to be.

“He has triumphed!” cried the six together, making thunder. And as I

passed before them there, each gave again the gift that he had given me

before—the cup of water and the bow and arrows, the power to make live

and to destroy; the white wing of cleansing and the healing herb; the

sacred pipe; the flowering stick. And each one spoke in turn from west to

south, explaining what he gave as he had done before, and as each one

spoke he melted down into the earth and rose again; and as each did this, I

felt nearer to the earth.

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Then the oldest of them all said: “Grandson, all over the universe you

have seen. Now you shall go back with power to the place from whence

you came, and it shall happen yonder that hundreds shall be sacred,

hundreds shall be flames! Behold!”

I looked below and saw my people there, and all were well and happy

except one, and he was lying like the dead—and that one was myself.

Then the oldest Grandfather sang, and his song was like this:

THERE IS SOMEONE LYING ON EARTH

IN A SACRED MANNER.

THERE IS SOMEONE—ON EARTH HE LIES.

IN A SACRED MANNER I HAVE MADE HIM TO WALK.

Now the tepee, built and roofed with cloud, began to sway back and forth

as in a wind, and the flaming rainbow door was growing dimmer. I could

hear voices of all kinds crying from outside: “Eagle Wine Stretches is

coming forth! Behold him!”

When I went through the door, the face of the day of earth was appearing

with the daybreak star upon its forehead; and the sun leaped up and looked

upon me, and I was going forth alone.

And as I walked alone, I heard the sun singing as it arose, and it sang

like this:

WITH VISIBLE FACE I AM APPEARING.

IN A SACRED MANNER I APPEAR.

FOR THE GREENING EARTH A PLEASANTNESS

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I MAKE.

THE CENTER OF THE NATION'S HOOP

I HAVE MADE PLEASANT.

WITH VISIBLE FACE, BEHOLD ME!

THE FOUR-LEGGEDS AND TWO-LEGGEDS,

I HAVE MADE THEM TO WALK;

THE WINGS OF THE AIR, I HAVE MADE

THEM TO FLY.

WITH VISIBLE FACE I APPEAR.

MY DAY, I HAVE MADE IT HOLY.

When the singing stopped, I was feeling lost and very lonely. Then a

Voice above me said: “Look back!” It was a spotted eagle that was

hovering over me and spoke. I looked, and where the flaming rainbow

tepee, built and roofed with cloud, had been, I saw only the tall rock

mountain at the center of the world.

I was all alone on a broad plain now with my feet upon the earth, alone

but for the spotted eagle guarding me. I could see my people's village far

ahead, and I walked very fast, for I was homesick now. Then I saw my own

tepee, and inside I saw my mother and my father, bending over a sick boy

that was myself. And as I entered the tepee, some one was saying: “The

boy is coming to; you had better give him some water.”

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Then I was sitting up; and I was sad because my mother and my father

didn't seem to know I had been so far away.

THE BISON HUNT

When I got back to my father and mother and was sitting up there in our

tepee, my face was still all puffed and my legs and arms were badly

swollen; but I felt good all over and wanted to get right up and run around.

My parents would not let me. They told me I had been sick twelve days,

lying like dead all the while, and that Whirlwind Chaser, who was Standing

Bear's uncle and a medicine man, had brought me back to life. I knew it

was the Grandfathers in the Flaming Rainbow Tepee who had cured me;

but I felt afraid to say so. My father gave Whirlwind Chaser the best horse

he had for making me well, and many people came to look at me, and there

was much talk about the great power of Whirlwind Chaser who had made

me well all at once when I was almost the same as dead. Everybody was

glad that I was living; but as I lay there thinking about the wonderful place

where I had been and all that I had seen, I was very sad; for it seemed to

me that everybody ought to know about it, but I was afraid to tell, because I

knew that nobody would believe me, little as I was, for I was only nine

years old. Also, as I lay there thinking of my vision, I could see it all again

and feel the meaning with a part of me like a strange power glowing in my

body; but when the part of me that talks would try to make words for the

meaning, it would be like fog and get away from me.

[From this point much of Black Elk's narrative is taken up with the

description of the suffering that his people endured at the hands of the

“Wasichus” or White Men. By the time Black Elk was sixteen years old his

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tribe had been decimated, and what remained of his people would soon be

subjected to living on the terms of the White Man, on what were to become

Indian reservations. All during this time Black Elk avoids speaking of his

vision to anyone, although he often draws strength from it privately.

Eventually, however, his uncertainty about its significance and the

continued secrecy begin to be too much for him.]

THE COMPELLING FEAR

I was sixteen years old and more, and I had not yet done anything the

Grandfathers wanted me to do, but they had been helping me. I did not

know how to do what they wanted me to do.

A terrible time began for me then, and I could not tell anybody, not even

my father and mother. I was afraid to see a cloud coming up; and whenever

one did, I could hear the thunder beings calling to me: “Behold your

Grandfathers! Make haste!” I could understand the birds when they sang,

and they were always saying: “It is time! It is time!” The crows in the day

and the coyotes at night all called and called to me: “It is time! It is time! It is

time!”

Time to do what? I did not know. Whenever I awoke before daybreak and

went out of the tepee because I was afraid of the stillness when everyone

was sleeping, there were many low voices talking together in the east, and

the daybreak star would sing this song in the silence:

IN A SACRED MANNER YOU SHALL WALK!

YOUR NATION SHALL BEHOLD YOU!

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I could not get along with people now, and I would take my horse and go

far out from camp alone and compare everything on the earth and in the

sky with my vision. Crows would see me and shout to each other as though

they were making fun of me: “Behold him! Behold him!”

When the frosts began I was glad, because there would not be any more

thunder storms for a long while, and I was more and more afraid of them all

the time, for always there would be the voices crying!: “Oo oohey! It is time!

It is time!”

The fear was not so great all the while in the winter, but sometimes it was

bad. Sometimes the crying of coyotes out in the cold made me so afraid

that I would run out of one tepee into another, and I would do this until I

was worn out and fell asleep. I wondered if maybe I was only crazy; and my

father and mother worried a great deal about me. They said: “It is the

strange sickness he had that time when we gave the horse to Whirlwind

Chaser for curing him; and he is not cured.” I could not tell them what was

the matter, for then they would only think I was queerer than ever.

I was seventeen years old that winter.

When the grasses were beginning to show their tender faces again, my

father and mother asked an old medicine man by the name of Black Road

to come over and see what he could do for me. Black Road was in a tepee

all alone with me, and he asked me to tell him if I had seen something that

troubled me. By now I was so afraid of being afraid of everything that I told

him about my vision, and when I was through he looked long at me and

said: “Ah-h-h-h!,” meaning that he was much surprised. Then he said to

me: “Nephew, I know now what the trouble is! You must do what the bay

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horse in your vision wanted you to do. You must do your duty and perform

this vision for your people upon earth. You must have the horse dance first

for the people to see. Then the fear will leave you; but if you do not do this,

something very bad will happen to you.”

So we began to get ready for the horse dance.

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THE HORSE DANCE

There was a man by the name of Bear Sings, and he was very old

and wise. So Black Road asked him to help, and he did.

First they sent a crier around in the morning who told the people to camp

in a circle at a certain place a little way up the Tongue from where the

soldiers were. They did this, and in the middle of the circle Bear Sings and

Black Road set up a sacred tepee of bison hide, and on it they painted

pictures from my vision. On the west side they painted a bow and a cup of

water; on the north. white geese and the herb; on the east. the daybreak

star and the pipe; on the south, the flowering stick and the nation's hoop.

Also, they painted horses, elk. and bison. Then over the door of the sacred

tepee, they painted the flaming rainbow. It took them all day to do this, and

it was beautiful.

They told me I must not eat anything until the horse dance was over, and

I had to purify myself in a sweat lodge with sage spread on the floor of it,

and afterwards I had to wipe myself dry with sage.

That evening Black Road and Bear Sings told me to come to the painted

tepee. We were in there alone, and nobody dared come near us to listen.

They asked me if I had heard any songs in my vision, and if I had I must

teach the songs to them. So I sang to them all the songs that I had heard in

my vision, and it took most of the night to teach these songs to them. While

we were in there singing, we could hear low thunder rumbling all over the

village outside, and we knew the thunder beings were glad and had come

to help us.

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My father and mother had been helping too by hunting up all that we

should need in the dance. The next morning they had everything ready.

There were four black horses to represent the west; four white horses for

the north; four sorrels for the east; four buckskins for the south. For all of

these, young riders had been chosen. Also there was a bay horse for me to

ride, as in my vision. Four of the most beautiful maidens in the village were

ready to take their part, and there were six very old men for the

Grandfathers.

Now it was time to paint and dress for the dance. The four maidens and

the sixteen horses all faced the sacred tepee. Black Road and Bear Sings

then sang a song, and all the others sang along with them, like this:

FATHER, PAINT THE EARTH ON ME.

FATHER, PAINT THE EARTH ON ME.

FATHER, PAINT THE EARTH ON ME.

A NATION I WILL MAKE OVER.

A TWO-LEGGED NATION I WILL MAKE HOLY.

FATHER. PAINT THE EARTH ON ME.

AFTER THAT THE PAINTING WAS DONE.

The four black-horse riders were painted all black with blue lightning

stripes down their legs and arms and white hail spots on their hips, and

there were blue streaks of lightning on the horses' legs.

The white-horse riders were painted all white with red streaks of lightning

on their arms and legs, and on the legs of the horses there were streaks of

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red lightning, and all the white riders wore plumes of white horse hair on

their heads to look like geese.

The riders of the sorrels of the east were painted all red with straight

black lines of lightning on their limbs and across their breasts, and there

was straight black lightning on the limbs and breasts of the horses too.

The riders of the buckskins of the south were painted all yellow and

streaked with black lightning. The horses were black from the knees down,

and black lightning streaks were on their upper legs and breasts.

My bay horse had bright red streaks of lightning on his limbs, and on his

back a spotted eagle, outstretching was painted where I sat. I was painted

red all over with black lightning on my limbs. I wore a black mask, and

across my forehead a single eagle feather hung.

When the horses and the men were painted they looked beautiful; but

they looked fearful too.

The men were naked, except for a breech-clout; but the four maidens

wore buckskin dresses dyed scarlet, and their faces were scarlet too. Their

hair was braided, and they had wreaths of the sweet and cleansing sage,

the sacred sage, around their heads, and from the wreath of each in front a

single eagle feather hung. They were very beautiful to see.

All this time I was in the sacred tepee with the Six Grandfathers, and the

four sacred virgins were in there too. No one outside was to see me until

the dance began.

Right in the middle of the tepee the Grandfathers made a circle in the

ground with a little trench, and across this they painted two roads—the red

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one running north and south, the black one, east and west. On the west

side of this they placed a cup of water with a little bow and arrow laid

across it; and on the east they painted the daybreak star. Then to the

maiden who would represent the north they gave the healing herb to carry

and a white goose wing, the cleansing wind. To her of the east they gave

the holy pipe. To her of the south they gave the flowering stick; and to her

who would represent the west they gave the nation's hoop. Thus the four

maidens, good and beautiful, held in their hands the life of the nation.

All I carried was a red stick to represent the sacred arrow, the power of

the thunder beings of the west.

We were now ready to begin the dance. The Six Grandfathers began to

sing, announcing the riders of the different quarters. First they sang of the

black horse riders, like this:

THEY WILL APPEAR—MAY YOU BEHOLD THEM!

THEY WILL APPEAR—MAY YOU BEHOLD THEM!

A HORSE NATION WILL APPEAR.

A THUNDER-BEING NATION WILL APPEAR.

THEY WILL APPEAR, BEHOLD!

THEY WILL APPEAR, BEHOLD!

Then the black riders mounted their horses and stood four abreast facing

the place where the sun goes down.

Next the Six Grandfathers sang:

THEY WILL APPEAR, MAY YOU BEHOLD THEM!

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A HORSE NATION WILL APPEAR, BEHOLD!

A GEESE NATION WILL APPEAR, MAY YOU

BEHOLD!”

Then the four white horsemen mounted and stood four abreast, facing

the place where the White Giant lives.

Next the Six Grandfathers sang:

WHERE THE SUN SHINES CONTINUALLY,

THEY WILL APPEAR!

A BUFFALO NATION, THEY WILL APPEAR, BEHOLD!

A HORSE NATION, THEY WILL APPEAR,

MAY YOU BEHOLD!

Then the red horsemen mounted and stood four abreast facing the east.

Next the Grandfathers sang:

WHERE YOU ARE ALWAYS FACING,

AN ELK NATION WILL APPEAR!

MAY YOU BEHOLD!

A HORSE NATION WILL APPEAR,

BEHOLD!

The four yellow riders mounted their buckskins and stood four abreast

facing the south.

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Now it was time for me to go forth from the sacred tepee, but before I

went forth I sang this song to the drums of the Grandfathers:

HE WILL APPEAR, MAY YOU BEHOLD HIM!

AN EAGLE FOR THE EAGLE NATION WILL APPEAR.

MAY YOU BEHOLD!

While I was singing thus in the sacred tepee I could hear my horse

snorting and prancing outside. The virgins went forth four abreast and I

followed them, mounting my horse and standing behind them facing the

west.

Next the Six Grandfathers came forth and stood abreast behind my bay,

and they began to sing a rapid, lively song to the drums, like this:

THEY ARE DANCING.

THEY ARE COMING TO BEHOLD YOU.

THE HORSE NATION OF THE WEST IS DANCING.

THEY ARE COMING TO BEHOLD!

Then they sang the same of the horses of the north and of the east and

of the south. And as they sang of each troop in turn, it wheeled and came

and took its place behind the Grandfathers—the blacks, the whites, the

sorrels and the buckskins, standing four abreast and facing the west. They

came prancing to the lively air of the Grandfathers' song, and they pranced

as they stood in line. And all the while my bay was rearing too and prancing

to the music of the sacred song.

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Now when we were all in line, facing the west, I looked up into a dark

cloud that was coming there and the people all became quiet and the

horses quit prancing. And when there was silence but for low thunder

yonder, I sent a voice to the spirits of the cloud, holding forth my right hand,

thus, palm outward, as I cried four times:

HEY-A-A-HEY! HEY-A-A-HEY! HEY-A-A-HEY! HEY-A-A-HEY!

Then the Grandfathers behind me sang another sacred song from my

vision, the one that goes like this:

AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH,

BEHOLD A FOUR-LEGGED.

THEY HAVE SAID THIS TO ME!

And as they sang a strange thing happened. My bay pricked up his ears

and raised his tail and pawed the earth, neighing long and loud to where

the sun goes down. And the four black horses raised their voices, neighing

long and loud, and the whites and the sorrels and the buckskins did the

same; and all the other horses in the village neighed, and even those out

grazing in the valley and on the hill slopes raised their heads and neighed

together. Then suddenly, as I sat there looking at the cloud, I saw my vision

yonder once again—the tepee built of cloud and sewed with lightning the

flaming rainbow door and, underneath, the Six Grandfathers sitting, and all

the horses thronging in their quarters; and also there was I myself upon my

bay before the tepee. I looked about me and could see that what we then

were doing was like a shadow cast upon the earth from yonder vision in the

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heavens, so bright it was and clear. I knew the real was yonder and the

darkened dream of it was here.

And as I looked, the Six Grandfathers yonder in the cloud and all the

riders of the horses, and even I myself upon the bay up there, all held their

hands palms outward toward me, and when they did this, I had to pray, and

so I cried:

GRANDFATHERS, YOU BEHOLD ME!

SPIRITS OF THE WORLD, YOU BEHOLD!

WHAT YOU HAVE SAID TO ME,

I AM NOW PERFORMING!

HEAR ME AND HELP ME!

Then the vision went out, and the thunder cloud was coming on with

lightning on its front and many voices in it, and the split-tail swallows

swooped above us in a swarm.

The people of the village ran to fasten down their tepees, while the black

horse riders sang to the drums that rolled like thunder, and this is what they

sang:

I MYSELF MADE THEM FEAR.

MYSELF, I WORE AN EAGLE RELIC.

I MYSELF MADE THEM FEAR.

MYSELF, A LIGHTNING POWER I WORE.

I MYSELF MADE THEM FEAR,

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MADE THEM FEAR.

THE POWER OF THE HAIL I WORE,

I MYSELF MADE THEM FEAR,

MADE THEM FEAR!

BEHOLD ME!

And as they sang, the hail and rain were falling yonder just a little way

from us, and we could see it, but the cloud stood there and flashed and

thundered, and only a little sprinkle fell on us. The thunder beings were

glad and had come in a great crowd to see the dance.

Now the four virgins held high the sacred relics that they carried, the herb

and the white wing, the sacred pipe, the flowering stick, the nation's hoop,

offering these to the spirits of the west. Then people who were sick or sad

came to the virgins, making scarlet offerings to them, and after they had

done this, they all felt better and some were cured of sickness and began

to dance for joy.

Now the Grandfathers beat their drums again and the dance began. The

four black horsemen, who had stood behind the Grandfathers, went ahead

of the virgins, riding toward the west side of the circled village, and all the

others followed in their order while the horses pranced and reared.

When the black horse troop had reached the western side, it wheeled

around and fell to the rear behind the buckskins, and the white horse band

came up and led until it reached the north side of the village. Then these

fell back and took the rear behind the blacks, and the sorrels led until they

reached the east. Then these fell back behind the whites, and the

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buckskins led until they reached the south. Then they fell back and took the

rear, so that the blacks were leading as before toward the western quarter

that was theirs. Each time the leading horse troop reached its quarter, the

Six Grandfathers sang of the powers of that quarter, and there my bay

faced, pricking up his ears and neighing loud, till all the other horses raised

their voices neighing. When I thus faced the north, I sent a voice again and

said: “Grandfather, behold me! What you gave me I have given to the

people—the power of the healing herb and the cleansing wind. Thus my

nation is made over. Hear and help me!”

And when we reached the east, and after the Grandfathers had sung, I

sent a voice: “Grandfather, behold me! My people, with difficulty they walk.

Give them wisdom and guide them. Hear and help me!”

Between each quarter, as we marched and danced, we all sang together:

A HORSE NATION ALL OVER THE UNIVERSE,

NEIGHING, THEY COME!

PRANCING, THEY COME!

MAY YOU BEHOLD THEM.

When we had reached the south and the Grandfathers had sung of the

power of growing, my horse faced yonder and neighed again, and all the

horses raised their voices as before. And then I prayed with hand upraised:

“Grandfather, the flowering stick you gave me and the nation's sacred hoop

I have given to the people. Hear me, you who have the power to make

grow! Guide the people that they may be as blossoms on your holy tree,

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and make it flourish deep in Mother Earth and make it full of leaves and

singing birds.”

Then once more the blacks were leading, and as we marched and sang

and danced toward the quarter of the west, the black hail cloud, still

standing yonder watching, filled with voices crying: “Hey-hey! hey-hey!”

They were cheering and rejoicing that my work was being done. And all the

people now were happy and rejoicing, sending voices back, “hey-hey, hey-

hey”; and all the horses neighed, rejoicing with the spirits and the people.

Four times we marched and danced around the circle of the village, singing

as we went, the leaders changing at the quarters, the Six Grandfathers

singing to the power of each quarter, and to each I sent a voice. And at

each quarter, as we stood, somebody who was sick or sad would come

with offerings to the virgins—little scarlet bags of the chacun sha sha, the

red willow bark. And when the offering was made, the giver would feel

better and begin to dance with joy.

And on the second time around, many of the people who had horses

joined the dance with them, milling round and round the Six Grandfathers

and the virgins as we danced ahead. And more and more got on their

horses, milling round us as we went, until there was a whirl of prancing

horses all about us at the end, and all the others danced afoot behind us,

and everybody sang what we were singing.

When we reached the quarter of the west the fourth time, we stopped in

new formation, facing inward toward the sacred tepee in the center of the

village. First stood the virgins, next I stood upon the bay; then came the Six

Grandfathers with eight riders on either side of them—the sorrels and the

buckskins on their right hand; the blacks and whites upon their left. And

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when we stood so, the oldest of the Grandfathers, he who was the Spirit of

the Sky, cried out: “Let all the people be ready. He shall send a voice four

times, and at the last voice you shall go forth and coup [hit] the sacred

tepee, and who shall coup it first shall have new power!”

All the riders were eager for the charge, and even the horses seemed to

understand and were rearing and trying to get away. Then I raised my hand

and cried hey-hey four times, and at the fourth the riders all yelled “hoka

hey,” and charged upon the tepee. My horse plunged inward along with all

the others, but many were ahead of me and many couped the tepee before

I did.

Then the horses were all rubbed down with sacred sage and led away,

and we began going into the tepee to see what might have happened there

while we were dancing. The Grandfathers had sprinkled fresh soil on the

nation's hoop that they had made in there with the red and black roads

across it, and all around this little circle of the nation's hoop we saw the

prints of tiny pony hoofs as though the spirit horses had been dancing while

we danced.

Now Black Road, who had helped me to perform the dance, took the

sacred pipe from the virgin of the east. After filling it with chacun sha sha,

the bark of the red willow, he lit and offered it to the Powers of the World,

sending a voice thus:

“Grandfathers, you where the sun goes down, you of the sacred wind

where the white giant lives, you where the day comes forth and the

morning star, you where lives the power to grow, you of the sky and you of

the earth, wings of the air and four-leggeds of the world, behold! I, myself,

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with my horse nation have done what I was to do on earth. To all of you I

offer this pipe that my people may live!”

Then he smoked and passed the pipe. It went all over the village until

every one had smoked at least a puff.

After the horse dance was over, it seemed that I was above the ground

and did not touch it when I walked. I felt very happy, for I could see that my

people were all happier. Many crowded around me and said that they or

their relatives who had been feeling sick were well again, and these gave

me many gifts. Even the horses seemed to be healthier and happier after

the dance.

The fear that was on me so long was gone, and when thunder clouds

appeared I was always glad to see them, for they came as relatives now to

visit me. Everything seemed good and beautiful now, and kind.

Before this, the medicine men would not talk to me, but now they would

come to me to talk about my vision.

From that time on, I always got up very early to see the rising of the

daybreak star. People knew that I did this, and many would get up to see it

with me, and when it came we said: “Behold the star of understanding!”

THE POWERS OF THE BISON AND THE ELK

I think I have told you, but if I have not, you must have understood, that a

man who has a vision is not able to use the power of it until after he has

performed the vision on earth for the people to see. You remember that my

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great vision came to me when I was only nine years old, and you have

seen that I was not much good for anything until after I had performed the

horse dance near the mouth of the Tongue River during my eighteenth

summer. And if the great fear had not come upon me, as it did, and forced

me to do my duty, I might have been less good to the people than some

man who had never dreamed at all, even with the memory of so great a

vision in me. But the fear came and if I had not obeyed it, I am sure it would

have killed me in a little while.

It was even then only after the heyoka ceremony in which I performed my

dog vision, that I had the power to practice as a medicine man, curing sick

people; and many I cured with the power that came through me. Of course

it was not I who cured. It was the power from the outer world, and the

visions and ceremonies had only made me like a hole through which the

power could come to the two-leggeds. If I thought that I was doing it myself,

the hole would close up and no power could come through. Then

everything I could do would be foolish. There were other parts of my great

vision that I still had to perform before I could use the power that was in

those parts. If you think about my great vision again, you will remember

how the red man turned into a bison and rolled, and that the people found

the good red road after that. If you will read again what is written, you will

see how it was.

To use the power of the bison, I had to perform that part of my vision for

the people to see. It was during the summer of my first cure that this was

done. I carried the pipe to Fox Belly, a wise and good old medicine man,

and asked him to help me do this duty. He was glad to help me, but first I

had to tell him how it was in that part of my vision. I did not tell him all my

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vision, only that part. I had never told any one all of it, and even until now

nobody ever heard it all. Even my old friend, Standing Bear, and my son

here have heard it now for the first time when I have told it to you. Of

course there was very much in the vision that even I cannot tell when I try

hard, because very much of it was not for words. But I have told what can

be told.

It has made me very sad to do this at last, and I have lain awake at night

worrying and wondering if I was doing right; for I know I have given away

my power when I have given away my vision, and maybe I cannot live very

long now. But I think I have done right to save the vision in this way, even

though I may die sooner because I did it; for I know the meaning of the

vision is wise and beautiful and good; and you can see that I am only a

pitiful old man after all.

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BLACK ELK SPEAKS

“Right over there,” said Black Elk, indicating a point of rock, “is where I

stood in my vision, but the hoop of the world about was different, for what I

saw was in the spirit.”

Having dressed and painted himself as he was in his great vision, he

faced the west, holding the sacred pipe before him in his right hand, Then

he sent forth a voice: and a thin, pathetic voice it seemed in that vast space

around us:

“Hey-a-a-hey! Hey-a-a-hey! Hey-a-a-hey! Hey-a-a-hey! Grandfather,

Great Spirit, once more behold me on Earth and lean to hear my feeble

voice. You lived first, and you are older than all need, older then all prayer.

All things belong to you — the two-leggeds, the four-leggeds, the wings of

the air and all green things that live. You have set the powers of the four

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quarters to cross each other. The good road and the road of difficulties you

have made to cross; and where they cross, the place is holy. Day in and

day out, forever, you are the life of things.

“Therefore I am sending a voice, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, forgetting

nothing you have made, the stars of the Universe and grasses of the Earth.

“You have said to me, when I was still young and could hope, that in

difficulty I should send a voice four time, once for each quarter of the Earth,

and you would hear me.

“Today I send a voice for a people in despair.

“You have given me a sacred pipe, and through this I should make my

offering. You see it now.

“From the west, you have given me the cup of living water and sacred

bow, the power to make live and to destroy. You have given me a sacred

wind and the herb from where the white giant lives — the cleansing power

and the healing. The day-break star and the pipe, you have given from the

east; and from the south, the nation's sacred hoop and the tree that was to

bloom. To the center of the world you have taken me and showed the

goodness and the beauty and the strangeness of the greening Earth, the

only mother — and there the spirit shapes of things, as they should be, you

have shown to me and I have seen. At the center of this sacred hoop you

have said that I should make the tree to bloom.

“With tears running, O Great Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather — with

running tears I must say now that the tree has never bloomed. A pitiful old

man, you see me here, and I have fallen away and have done nothing.

Here at the center of the world, where you took me when I was young and

taught me; here, old, I stand, and the tree is withered, Grandfather, my

Grandfather!

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“Again, and maybe the last time on this Earth, I recall the great vision

you sent me. It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.

Nourish it then, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds. Hear

me, not for myself, but for my people; I am old. Hear me that they may

once more go back into the sacred hoop and find the good red road, the

shielding tree!”

We who listened now noted that thin clouds had gathered about us. A

scant chill rain began to fall and there was low, muttering thunder without

lightning. With tears running down his cheeks, the old man raised his voice

to a thin high wail and chanted: “In sorrow I am sending a feeble voice, O

six Powers of the World. Hear me in my sorrow, for I may never call again.

O make my people live!”

For some minutes the old man stood silent , with face uplifted, weeping

in the drizzling rain.

In a little while the sky was clear again.

“You are part of everything! You are part of the fire, you are part of the

water, you are part of the green, you are part of the stars, and you are

related to everything. You are related to the stones, to the trees, to the fish,

to the creepy-crawlers, to the ones that fly, to the ones that walk on all

fours, and to the ones that walk on two legs. Everything is sacred and,

therefore, you are sacred too. That's what we mean when we say,

Mitakuye oyasin”.

"You have been given four things: Wisdom, Knowledge, Power, and Gift.

These things that I am telling you may take years to digest in your minds

before they begin to make sense. You must honor these four blessings by

having good thoughts, good words, showing kindness to others. When you

do this, you will begin to understand what I am talking about."

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"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within

the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with

the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of

the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka (the Great Spirit), and that this center is

really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the

others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made

between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two

nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be

peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I

have often said, is within the souls of men."

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GRANDMOTHER MONA

"Generations of grandparents prayed for the great-great-great-great-great

grandchildren they would never see, but knew were coming. They prayed

for us to be praying people, to continue the prayer, and to recognize

through a prayer when you are blessed. The way I have been taught in

walking this road is to always take time to acknowledge our ancestors,

those who were here before us and were the ones who made the prayers

that made it possible for to be here. In order for me to be able to stand or

kneel on mother earth, to make a prayer, it's because of them."

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Grandmother Mona Polacca believes that her origins are as important as

her name, Polacca, which means butterfly in the Hopi language. On her

father's side, she is a Hopi-Tewa from the sun and the tobacco clans. It

was her paternal grandfather who named her. In Hopi lore, the butterfly

symbolizes man's spiritual transformation.

Grandmother Mona learned her Indian ways from her paternal

grandmother who lived to be 102. She often prayed and talked to Mona

about being a good person. "'Be kind. Be nice to one another. Love your

brothers and sisters; they are all you have.' she'd say, 'in Indian way, this

is the way to be, this is the way to do things.'"

On her mother's side, Grandmother Mona is Havasupai, the people of the

blue green water, from the Grand Canyon area in Arizona. Grandmother

Mona's maternal grandfather and great-grandfather were the last chiefs of

the Havasupai nation. She believe their prayers helped make a way for her

in this world.

Although her maternal grandmother passed away before she was born,

Grandmother Mona keeps her photo by the door. "I tell her I am going to

be away from here for a while, look after things home for me. When I come

back into my home, I receive the welcome of my grandmother looking at

me. Though I've never met her, I have this connection with her."

Grandmother Mona lives her life according to her mother's teachings

and takes great care with her speech and actions. "You are not here just

for yourself," Grandmother Mona's mother taught her. "Wherever you go,

you are a representative of our family ... Our tribe, our people." Today,

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when Mona travels, she always returns with a small gift for her mom — a

shell, stone, or something simple.

For almost 30 years, Grandmother Mona Polacca has worked in the

field of alcoholism and substance abuse. In the 1970s, she was given the

job to develop substance-abuse programs for tribal youth. She organized

inside her culture with youth programs led by elders who shared traditions

and life stories. Kids learned traditional songs and games which gave them

a greater sense of identity, purpose, and direction.

One evening, a Mohave elder stood up and offered his prayer beside

the sacred fire. "You know, there is something really special about this.

Nonnatives so often build a huge bonfire, so big that everyone has to stand

back. Natives build a small fire, so that everyone has to come close."

Grandmother Mona says this is the way Indian people work — close

around the fire so people hear each other and share the warmth.

Soon the young people became involved in running the conferences.

"The youth learn these ways are accessible, not meant to be just seen

under glass in a museum where you can only stand and look,"

Grandmother Mona says. "Their hands can hold the traditional ways. It's

not just our history, but an essential part of our life today."

Grandmother Mona has helped with several important studies about

addictive behavior. One study reveals that the most important way for

native women to overcome substance abuse is the threat of taking away

their children. Another study proves that native youth respond positively to

programs with cultural components like sweat lodges, singing, and

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drumming. Even those living far from their reservations can maintain

sobriety through a close connection with the ceremonies.

Today Grandmother Mona lives in Arizona and has a son, two

daughters, and seven grandchildren. She is now working on her Ph.D. at

the interdisciplinary justice studies department of Arizona state university.

When Grandmother Mona first addressed the grandmothers council, she

embraced them as "beautiful relatives of the world." she then explained

that the Hopi way of greeting those from other nations is to reach out an

open hand to show one has come in peace. She also paid honor to

grandfather, represented by the fire lit from the original flame of peace.

"There was once a time as indigenous people when we didn't have any

maps or road signs, yet we were able to make our way. We were able to

journey," Grandmother Mona explained. "We had the sacred fire so that

when there was a moment when we felt we lost our sense of direction,

when we were lost and disoriented, not knowing which direction to go, we

would sit down before this grandpa fire. In poor health physically, mentally,

spiritually, we would sit down before grandpa fire and say our prayers. In

that way we would be shown the direction we needed to go, the things we

needed to do. We would be given the signs through grandfather fire. Our

hearts would be filled with warmth love, and compassion. That's the way

this grandfather fire is. Always respect it, always look to it, let it be there to

help you."

"Indigenous people have come through a time of great struggle, a time of

darkness. The way I look at it is like the nature of a butterfly. In the cocoon,

a place of darkness, the creature breaks down into a fluid and then a

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change, a transformation, takes place. When it is ready and in its own time,

it begins to move and develop a form that stretches and breaks away from

this cocoon and emerges into this world, into life, as a beautiful creature.

We grandmothers, we have emerged from that darkness, see this beauty,

see each other and reach out to the world with open arms, with love, hope,

compassion, faith and charity."

"I'd like to acknowledge the sacred fire that is here today. There was a

time in our lives as indigenous people that we were walking upon this earth.

We didn't have maps. We did not have road signs, yet we were able to

journey. When we felt like we were lost, we would sit down and we would

say our prayers in front of this grandpa fire. We would be shown the

direction to go. All of these grandmothers that have come together in this

good way, seeking something good not only for yourself, but for all of the

world, always respect it, always look to it. Let it be there to help you."

"I believe it's the creator, guiding everyone together to be part of a very,

very special and sacred energy."

“We all have sacred places within ourselves and wherever we might be.”

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The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers

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SMOHALLA

Native Americans have found numerous ways to resist complete

assimilation and retain elements of their traditional cultures (although these

cultures were themselves changing in myriad ways). One method was the

practice of religion. In 1850 the Wanapum prophet Smohalla experienced

his first visionary dream that encouraged all Indians to live according to

their old customs and ways. This and other visions became the basis,

during the later 19th century, for a prophetic religion among natives of the

Northwest. Smohalla and his many followers believed that if natives

adhered to old ways and resisted white ways, they could hasten the arrival

of some sort of cataclysm that would remove non-Indians from the land and

restore to the world the harmony supposed to exist before whites arrived.

This vision, which resembled those of other Indians in North America, was

the key to the new "dreamer" religion among many native peoples of the

Northwest during the later 19th century, which took root on the Colville

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reservation and among other Indian groups. Instructed by their faith to

follow traditional ways, the so-called Dreamers resisted pressures on them

to acculturate to white ways.

Smohalla's birth name was Wak-wei or Kuk-kia, which means "Arising

from the Dust of the Earth Mother," but at various times during his life he

was called Yuyunipitqana, the "Shouting Mountain," and Waipshwa, the

"Rock Carrier." He did not take the name Smohalla, which is Shahaptian for

"dreamer," until later in life when he had become a spiritual leader of his

people.

Although there is little record of Smohalla's early life, he is known to have

been a hunchback at birth and physically unremarkable throughout life.

Whites who had met him described Smohalla as being "peculiar" and "not

prepossessing at first sight." He did, however, develop oratorical skills and

reportedly could hold his followers spellbound with his "magic manner." As

a young man Smohalla experienced a religious revelation which had a

profound influence on his life and the Wanapums. Concern over increasing

white influence on Wanapum culture prompted Smohalla to journey to La

Lac, a sacred mountain of his people, in search of his wot, or guardian

spirit. While awaiting the appearance of his spirit he fasted and meditated,

and according to legend, died on the mountain. However, his spirit was

refused entry into the "land of the dead" and Smohalla was ordered to

return to his people and save them from cultural extinction, which could

only be prevented by rejecting white influences and returning to the

traditional sacred beliefs and doctrines of the Washani religion.

Washani is a Shahaptian word for "dancers" but it can also be translated

as "worship." Inherent in the faith is the concept of the "dreamer-prophet."

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A dreamer holds a sacred place in Wanapum culture because it is believed

that he has experienced a temporary death, followed by a visit to the spirit

world, and a subsequent return to earth with a message from the Creator.

This temporary death has sometimes been described as a "vision." Over

the centuries the Washani religion has gone through three phases: the

aboriginal or pre-European phase, a Christianized variation related to the

coming of the Europeans, and finally a revitalized version, with Smohalla

and other dreamer-prophets of the mid to late nineteenth century. A

dreamer-prophet is said to appear amongst the Wanapums during a time of

crisis, which is often a precursor to the end of the Wanapum world. This

prophetic crisis may be natural phenomena, such as an earthquake or

flood, or it may be precipitated by intruders such as white settlers. The

dreamer-prophet, through his teachings and example, prepares the

Wanapums for a subsequent renewal of life following the crisis.

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WOVOKA

Near the end of the 1800s, the Indians were being forced onto

reservations. The buffalo had been slaughtered almost to extinction by the

whites. The entire life way of the Indians was passing away. Their only

hope came from their religious beliefs and their medicine men who,

throughout the Plains, were trying to dream the whites out of existence.

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Many Indians believed that the Messiah had come to the white man first,

and he was killed for his trouble. The Messiah said he would return and He

had, as a Paiute of the Fish Eaters camp in Nevada. The Messiah, the

Wanekia (“One Who Makes Live”) the Christ, as many believed, was called

Wovoka. The whites called him Jack Wilson.

In 1888, during an eclipse of the sun, Wovoka died, and an eagle carried

him to the sky. When he returned to earth he was alive again and said he

had a message from God. He said, “You must not hurt anybody or do harm

to anyone. You must not fight. Do right always.”

Hundreds of miles to the east a Sioux shaman, Kicking Bear, heard a

voice which commanded him to travel toward the setting sun. He did so,

accompanied by his friend, Short Bull.

In Nevada they were greeted by two Paiutes who told them that Christ

had returned as an Indian. Hearing this, they followed the friendly Paiutes

to the camp of Wovoka where they met hundreds of other pilgrims of

different tribes. All had come to see this new Messiah.

“I have sent for you and am glad to see you,” Wovoka said. “I am going

to talk to you after a while about your relatives who are dead and gone. My

children, I want you to listen to all I have to say to you. I will teach you how

to dance a dance, and I want you to dance it. Get ready for your dance,

and when the dance is over, I will talk to you.” And they danced the Ghost

Dance during which many participants would faint or enter into a trance

where they would see and speak to their dead relations.

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The Oglala Sioux sent three wise men to meet with this Messiah. They

were Good Thunder, Brave Bear and Yellow Breast. They returned with

prophecies and stories of miracles. Black Elk remembered it this way:

“These three men all said the same thing, and they were good men.

They said that they traveled far until they came to a great flat valley near

the last great mountains before the big water, and there they saw the

Wanekia who was the son of the Great Spirit, and they talked to him.

Wasichus called him Jack Wilson, but his name was Wovoka. He told them

that there was another world coming, just like a cloud. It would come in a

whirlwind out of the west and would crush out everything on this world

which was old and dying. In that other world, there was plenty of meat, just

like old times; and in that world all the dead Indians were alive, and all the

bison that had ever been killed were roaming around again.”

Wovoka's message of peace and brotherhood was overshadowed by his

prophecy of the disappearance of the whites and the return of Indian

traditions. The whites and some Indians ignored his message of peace

while taking literally the idea that the Ghost Dance movement would, one

way or another, make the whites vanish.

The U.S. government's interest in, and fear of, the Ghost Dance

movement peaked in December of 1890 at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

There, nearly 300 Indians en route to a Ghost Dance gathering were

massacred. That event, it was assumed, put an end to Wovoka's vision.

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ROLLING THUNDER

Rolling Thunder, a spiritual leader of the Cherokee and Shoshone tribes.

explained the Indian's view of chaos through ecological imbalance.

“When you have pollution in one place, it spreads all over. It spreads just

as arthritis or cancer spreads in the body. The earth is sick now because

the earth is being mistreated, and some of the problems that may occur,

some of the natural disasters that might happen in the near future are only

the natural readjustments that have to take place to throw off sickness. A

lot of things are on this land that don't belong here. They're foreign objects

like viruses or germs. Now, we may not recognize the fact when it happens,

but a lot of the things that are going to happen in the future will really be the

earth's attempt to throw off some of these sicknesses. This is really going

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to be like fever or like vomiting, what you might call a physiological

adjustment.

“It's very important for people to realize this. The Earth is a living

organism, the body of a higher individual who has a will and wants to be

well, who is at times less healthy or more healthy, physically and mentally.

People should treat their own bodies with respect. It's the same thing with

the earth. Too many people don't know that when they harm the earth they

harm themselves, nor do they realize that when they harm themselves they

harm the Earth...

“It's not very easy for you people to understand these things because

understanding is not knowing the kind of facts that your books and teachers

talk about. I can tell you that understanding begins with love and

respect. It begins with respect for the Great Spirit, and the Great Spirit is

the life that is in all things — all the creatures and the plants and even the

rocks and the minerals. All things — and I mean all things — have their

own will and their own way, their own purpose; this is what is to be

respected.

“Such respect is not a feeling or an attitude only. It's a way of life. Such

respect means that we never stop realizing and never neglect to carry out

our obligation to ourselves and our environment.”

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LAME DEER

The Ghost Dance prophecy was not buried at Wounded Knee. The

hippies, with their long hair and beads, the ecology, back-to-the-earth, and

the New Age movements among the whites, are all, according to believers,

evidence of the fulfillment of the prophecy.

Lame Deer, a 20th century shaman among the Sioux, had this vision of

America's future. “Listen,” he said, “I saw this in my mind not long ago: in

my vision the electric light will stop sometime. It is used too much for TV

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and going to the moon. The day is coming when nature will stop the

electricity. Police without flashlights, beer getting hot in the refrigerators,

planes dropping from the sky, even the President can't call up somebody

on the phone. A young man will come, or men, who'll know how to shut off

all electricity. It will be painful, like giving birth. Rapings in the dark, winos

breaking into the liquor stores, a lot of destruction. People are being too

smart, too clever; the machine stops and they are helpless, because they

have forgotten how to make do without the machine. There is a Light Man

coming, bringing a new light. It will happen before this century is over. The

man who has this power will do good things too — stop all atomic power,

stop wars, just by shutting the white electro-power off. I hope to see this,

but then I'm also afraid. What will be, will be.

“I am trying to bring the ghost dance back,” Lame Deer said, “but

interpret it in a new way. I think it has been misunderstood, but after eighty

years I believe that more and more people are sensing what we meant

when we prayed for a new earth and that now, not only the Indians, but

everybody has become an endangered species. So let the Indians help you

bring on a new earth without pollution or war. Let's roll up the world. It

needs it.”

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SUN BEAR

As recently as 1979 we were offered another vision, this time from Sun

Bear of the Bear Tribe Medicine Society. In the Native American earth

awareness magazine, Many Smokes, Sun Bear wrote: “I saw people living

together in groups sharing and helping each other, Indian and non-Indian

alike. I saw the Earth Mother being healed as people began to show real

love for the land. But first I saw whole cities become desolate because

there was no way left for people to support themselves. I wondered at this

when this nation seemed to be all-powerful. Then I saw the vision of the

great drought years, a time when the Earth Mother would withhold all

increase...

“I saw camps of people around natural water, such as rivers, creeks, and

springs, working hard to produce their food, but thankful to be alive, for only

here and there were small bands of people alive, and they were thankful to

the Great Spirit that they were. When people came together they embraced

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with love, even those who were strangers before that moment, because

they knew.

“There were only a few people surviving these changes. I've seen major

destruction, and people fleeing great cities, and other people dying from

pollution, and cities abandoned, and I wondered how, until these last few

years when I see California and other places which no longer have the

water, electricity, or natural gases to care for their cities.

“Then I understood what I saw before. We were told that our people

would lay as if dead in the dust, and then we would rise up on the land

again. We were told that the sons and daughters of the possessors of our

land would come to us and accept our ways, and that we would live

together as one people sharing the land and sowing love and

understanding for each other.”

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6. THE GREAT SPIRIT OF NATIVE AMERICANS

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CHIEF NOBLE RED MAN

CALLING GREAT SPIRIT (CALLING GOD)

Chief Noble Red Man (Mathew King)

I'm an Indian. I'm one of God's children.

It's time Indians tell the world what we know . . . about Nature and about

God. So I'm going to tell what I know and who I am. You better listen.

You've got a lot to learn.

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I'm a full-blood Indian from the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota.

My Indian name is Noble Red Man. That was my grandfather's name.

White Man mistranslated his name as "King," so they call me Mathew King.

But my real name, my Lakota name, is Noble Red Man.

I speak for the Lakota people. You call us "Sioux." But that's White Man's

name for us.

Our real name is "Lakota." That means "People together," or "Allies."

That's what we call ourselves.

And that's what God calls us.

Call me a chief of the Lakota. I'm a speaker for the chiefs. I say what I

have to say. That's my duty. If I don't say it, who's going to say it for me?

I'm a prophet of the Indian people. I can see what's coming. I prophesy

what's going to happen. I walk with the Great Spirit, with God. Wakan-

Tanka, that's what we call him in Lakota. I talk to Him. The Great Spirit

guides me in my life.

Sometimes He comes to me and tells me what to say. Other times I just

speak for myself, for Mathew King.

THE GREAT MYSTERIOUS

You can call Wakan-Tanka by any name you like. In English I call Him

God or the Great Spirit.

He's the Great Mystery, the Great Mysterious. That's what Wakan-Tanka

really means ・the Great Mysterious.

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You can't define Him. He's not actually a "He" or a "She," a "Him" or a

"Her." We have to use those kinds of words because you can't just say "It."

God's never an "It."

So call Wakan-Tanka whatever you like. Just be sure to call Him.

He wants to talk to you.

TALKING TO GOD

When we want wisdom we go up on the hill and talk to God. Four days

and four nights, without food and water. Yes, you can talk to God up on a

hill by yourself. You can say anything you want. Nobody's there to listen to

you. That's between you and God and nobody else.

It's a great feeling to be talking to God. I know. I did it way up on the

mountain. The wind was blowing. It was dark. It was cold. And I stood there

and I talked to God.

LISTENING TO GOD

When I go up on the hill to pray I don't just talk to God. I try to get the

talking over quick. Mostly I'm listening.

Listening to God — that's praying, too.

You've got to listen. God's talking to you right now. He's telling you all the

words you've got to speak and all the things you've got to do in this life. If

you don't listen, you don't hear what God's saying, and then you don't know

what God wants you to say and do.

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So that's how you pray to God.

You listen.

PRAYER

I pray, pray, and pray before I go to bed. Every time I wake in the middle

of the night I pray to God. I thank Him for the life He gives me. I ask Him for

understanding. During the day there's things I have to do. People come to

me, they ask me to go out and talk. I do it when I can. Otherwise I like to

stay home and study, pray, and clean my Peace Pipe.

Maybe some think I should be doing something else. But God knows I'm

doing the right thing.

There's only one time to pray, and that's now. There's no better time to

pray than now. Now is the only time you need to pray. You can't pray any

other time than right now!

VISIONS, DREAMS, AND MIRACLES

We live by visions. We live by dreams. We live by miracles. Miracles

come to us in our everyday lives, in our ceremonies, in our prayers. Every

day is a miracle to us.

Many times I've seen the eagle come out of the empty sky and circle

over our heads when we blow the eagle-bone whistle. The eagle is the

witness of the Great Spirit, the eyes of God.

Once I had an eagle dream. I left my bed and flew with the eagle out

below the sun and above the clouds. After we circled around up there ten

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times, I flew back down to my bed. The eagle came down with me and flew

around my head four times, then flew away.

Now, whenever the eagle joins us in our ceremony, I always say a

friendly hello to him.

He remembers me, and I remember him.

We keep an eye out for each other.

The eagle's my symbol. In our Way, you always have a symbol. That's

your power. It reminds you of God. It reminds you to do good.

Some missionaries came to one of our ceremonies. They watched us

while we danced. I told them, "Everybody, look up in the sky. See, the

eagle's come to join us!"

The eagle came over and flew right down into our ceremony. He stood

there on one foot, with one leg up in the air. He carried two feathers in his

claw and he put them on his head like a crown. Then he started dancing.

We danced with him.

We all cried to see the eagle dance. Even the missionaries cried. "We

can't believe it!" they said. "It can't be happening!"

But it happened.

God danced with us!

I've seen the spirits of our ancestors come join us when we sing the

spirit-songs. They sing with us all night. They take our hands and dance

with us until they fade away with the morning.

I've sat down with the buffalo and they don't bother me. They know I'm

an Indian. They nurse their calves beside me and let me be. Any white man

try that and the only miracle'd be if he got out of there alive.

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I've gone up on the mountain praying for a vision and talked to Crazy

Horse. I've talked to Red Cloud and Noble Red Man. They teach me things

the living have forgot, things the White Man can never know or understand.

GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS

White Man came to this country and forgot his original Instructions. We

Indians have never forgotten our Instructions.

God gives His Instructions to every creature, according to His plan for the

world. He gave His Instructions to all the things of Nature. The pine tree

and the birch tree, they still follow their Instructions and do their duty in

God's world. The flowers, even the littlest flower, they bloom and they pass

away according to His Instructions. The birds, even the smallest bird, they

live and they fly and they sing according to His Instructions.

Should human beings be any different?

RESPECT

Our Instructions are very simple ・to respect the Earth and each other,

to respect life itself. That's our first Commandment, the first line of our

Gospel.

Respect is our Law ・respect for God's Creation, for all the living beings

of this Earth, for our mother the Earth herself.

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We can't harm the Earth or the water because we respect their place in

the world. We could never kill all the buffalo because that shows no respect

for why the buffalo are here.

You need to respect the animal you kill. It's following God's Instructions.

You must respect other people's dreams. Respect their dreams and

they'll respect your dreams.

We need to have respect even for those not yet born, for the generations

to come. They have their rights, too. We must respect them.

That is our religion and our Law. That is our Way. Those are our

Instructions.

We Indians haven't forgotten them and we never will.

GOODNESS

Goodness is the natural state of this world. The world is good! Even

when it seems evil, it's good. There's only goodness in God. And that same

goodness is in us all. You can feel it in yourself. You know when you feel

good inside.

Yes, you're God's child, too. You are good. You are sacred. Respect

yourself. Love the goodness in yourself.

Then, put that goodness into the world. That's everybody's Instructions.

God made you so you feel good when you do right. Watch when you feel

good and follow that good feeling. The good feeling comes from God.

When you feel good, God feels good, too. God and you feel good together.

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EVERYONE IS SACRED

Everyone is sacred. You're sacred and I'm sacred. Every time you blink

your eye, or I blink my eye, God blinks His eye. God sees through your

eyes and my eyes.

We are sacred.

GOD'S MERCY

God shows His mercy every day. Whether you're wrong or whether

you're right, He still loves you. He loves what He has created.

SHARING

We Lakota people have our giveaways. When something important

happens we celebrate by sharing what we have. There's nothing we like

more than to give gifts to others, to share with others. Even the poorest of

us share what we have.

We are a sharing people.

The more you share the more you're given to share. God gives you more

of his goodness to share with others. When you share with others you

share with God. God loves a sharer.

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GOD MADE EVERYTHING SO SIMPLE

God made everything so simple. Our lives are very simple. We do what

we please. The only law we obey is the natural Law, God's Law. We abide

only by that.

We don't need your church. We have the Black Hills for our church. And

we don't need your Bible. We have the wind and the rain and the stars for

our Bible. The world is an open Bible for us. We've studied it for millions of

years.

We've learned that God rules the Universe and that everything God

made is living. Even the rocks are alive. When we use them in our sweat

ceremony we talk to them . . . and they talk back to us.

GOD'S TABERNACLE

The Universe is the tabernacle of God. When the wind blows, that's the

breath of God.

When you or I breathe, that's also the breath of God.

God gave us peace. Go up on a hill early tomorrow morning and look out

into the valley. See how peaceful it is. Everything's quiet. All you hear is

birds singing, praising God.

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LEON SHENANDOAH’S SPEECH TO THE UNITED NATIONS

Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations

Delivered October 25, 1985, by Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho,

Haudenosaunee.

"Listen to the words of the Creator given to the first United Nations —

the Haudenosaunee — over 1,000 years ago.

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The Chiefs of the Haudenosaunee shall be mentors of the people for all

time. The thickness of their skins shall be seven spans, which is to say that

they shall be proof against anger, offensive action, and criticism. Their

hearts shall be full of peace and good will, and their minds full of a yearning

for the welfare of the people. With endless patience, they shall carry out

their duty. Their firmness shall be tempered with a tenderness for their

people. Neither anger nor fury shall find lodging in their minds, and all their

words and actions shall be marked by calm deliberation.

In every nation there are wise and good people. These should be

appointed Chiefs. They should be the advisors of their people and work for

the good of all the people, and their power comes from the "Great Peace."

A chief must never forget the Creator of mankind, never forget to ask the

Creator for help. The Creator will guide our thoughts and strengthen us as

we work to be faithful to our sacred trust and restore harmony among all

peoples, all living creatures, and Mother Earth.

"We were instructed to carry a love for one another and to show a great

respect for all the beings of this earth... In our ways spiritual consciousness

is the highest form of politics. When people cease to respect and express

gratitude for these many things, then all life will be destroyed, and human

life on this planet will come to an end."

These are our times and responsibilities. Every human being has a

sacred duty to protect the welfare of our Mother Earth, from whom all life

comes. In order to do this we must recognize the enemy — the one within

us. We must begin with ourselves.

We must live in harmony with the Natural World and recognize that

excessive exploitation can only lead to our own destruction. We cannot

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trade the welfare of our future generations for profit now. We must abide by

the Natural Law or be victims of its ultimate reality.

We must stand together, the four sacred colors of humans, as the one

family we are, in the interest of peace.

We must abolish nuclear and conventional weapons of war.

When warriors are leaders, then you will have war. We must raise

leaders of peace.

We must unite the religions of the world as the spiritual force strong

enough to prevail in peace.

It is no longer good enough to cry, "Peace." We must act peace, live

peace, and march in peace in alliance with the people of the world.

We are the spiritual energy that is thousands times stronger than nuclear

energy. Our energy in the combined will of all people with the spirit of the

Natural World, to be of one body, one heart and one mind for peace.

We propose, as a resolution for peace, that October 24th be designated

as a Day of Peace, and a world cease-fire take place in honor of our

children and the Seventh Generation to come."

A PROPHECY BY LEON SHENANDOAH, TADADAHO OF THE

SIX NATIONS

"It is prophesied in our Instructions that the end of the world will be near

when the trees start dying from the tops down. That's what the maples are

doing today. Our Instructions say the time will come when there will be no

corn, when nothing will grow in the garden, when the water will be unfit to

drink.

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We were instructed to carry a love for one another and to show great

respect for all beings of the earth. In our ways, spiritual consciousness is

the highest form of politics. We must live in harmony with the Natural World

and recognize that excessive exploitation can only lead to our own

destruction. We cannot trade the welfare of our future generations for profit

now. We must stand together, the four sacred colors of man, as the one

family that we are, in the interest of peace. We must abolish nuclear and

conventional weapons of war.

We must raise leaders of peace. We must unite the religions of the world

as the spiritual force strong enough to prevail in peace. We are the spiritual

energy that is a thousand times stronger than nuclear energy. Our energy

is the combined will of all people with the spirit of the Natural World, to be

of one body, one heart, and one mind for peace."

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CHIEF OREN LYONS’ SPEECH TO THE UNITED NATIONS

Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper, Chief Oren Lyons addressing delegates to

the United Nations Organization opened "The Year of the Indigenous

Peoples" (1993) in the United Nations General Assembly Auditorium,

United Nations Plaza, New York City, December 10, 1992. This is

(verbatim) that opening statement:

."For all of us. I am Oren Lyons, Hau de no sau nee, and speaking on

behalf of the Indigenous People of North America, this Great Turtle Island.

Mr. President, distinguished delegates, Chiefs, Clan Mothers, Leaders and

Members of the World's Indigenous Nations and Peoples, we thank you,

The General Assembly, for the recognition and the proclamation of "1993,

The International Year of the Indigenous Peoples," for the theme of,

"Indigenous Peoples, a New Partnership." We thank Madam Chairman

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Repal Chur of the Working Group for Indigenous Populations for

consistent, enthusiastic support, and Diaz. And at this time, we recognize

the inspiration and spiritual force of Augusto Williamson Diaz, for his vision

of such a day as this, and our gratitude to those leaders of Indigenous

Peoples and people who also had the vision of this day for our people, who

put their blood, their sweat and their tears into this moment. And to those

who are no longer here, our profound gratitude and appreciation.

This proclamation brings home inspiration and renewed dedication to our

quest for self-determination, justice, freedom and peace in our Homelands

and our Territories. Indeed, the quest is a renewal of what we enjoyed

before the coming of our White Brothers from across the sea. We lived

contentedly under the Gai Eneshah Go' Nah, The Great Law of Peace. We

were instructed to create societies based on the principles of Peace,

Equity, Justice, and the Power of Good Minds.

Our societies are based upon great democratic principles of the authority

of the people and equal responsibilities for the men and the women. This

was a great way of life across this Great Turtle Island and freedom with

respect was everywhere. Our leaders were instructed to be men of vision

and to make every decision on behalf of the seventh generation to come; to

have compassion and love for those generations yet unborn. We were

instructed to give thanks for All That Sustains Us.

Thus, we created great ceremonies of thanksgiving for the life-giving

forces of the Natural World, as long as we carried out our ceremonies, life

would continue. We were told that `The Seed is the Law.' Indeed, it is The

Law of Life. It is The Law of Regeneration. Within the seed is the

mysterious force of life and creation. Our mothers nurture and guard that

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seed and we respect and love them for that. Just as we love I hi do' hah,

our Mother Earth, for the same spiritual work and mystery.

We were instructed to be generous and to share equally with our

brothers and sisters so that all may be content. We were instructed to

respect and love our Elders, to serve them in their declining years, to

cherish one another. We were instructed to love our children, indeed, to

love ALL children. We were told that there would come a time when

parents would fail this obligation and we could judge the decline of

humanity by how we treat our children.

We were told that there would come a time when the world would be

covered with smoke, and that it would take our elders and our children. It

was difficult to comprehend at the time, but now all we have to do is but to

walk outside to experience that statement. We were told that there would

come a time when we could not find clean water to wash ourselves, to cook

our foods, to make our medicines, and to drink. And there would be

disease and great suffering. Today we can see this and we peer into the

future with great apprehension. We were told there would come a time

when, tending our gardens, we would pull up our plants and the vines

would be empty. Our precious seed would begin to disappear. We were

instructed that we would see a time when young men would pace back and

forth in front of their chiefs and leaders in defiance and confusion.

There are some specific issues I must bring forward on behalf of our

Nations and Peoples.

North America. The issue of nuclear and toxic waste dumps on our

precious lands; the policy of finding a place for the waste with the poorest

and most defenseless of peoples today. This brings the issue of the

degradation of our environment by these waste dumps, over-fishing, over-

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cutting of timber, and toxic chemicals from mining processes throughout

our lands.

Treaty violations. We have with the United States and Canada 371

ratified Treaties and Agreements. The Ruby Valley Treaty of the Western

Shoshone is a prime example of what the violation of treaties brings:

human rights violations, forced removals, disenfranchisements of traditional

people with confiscations of their property and livestock.

The refusal to recognize and support religious freedoms of our people

and the decisions by the [U.S.] Supreme Court which incorporates this

attitude into Federal Law. This translates into the violation of Sacred Sites.

Mt. Graham in the Apache Country is now a project site for an observatory,

causing great stress to the Apache People who have depended upon the

spiritual forces of this mountain for survival. Ironically, a partner in this

project is the Vatican. And even further, it has proposed to name this

project `Columbus.'

The appropriation of our intellectual properties is continuous and

devastating. Land is the issue. Land has always been the issue with

Indigenous Peoples. Original title is a problem for all of you. We must try to

reach an agreement on a more level playing field that allows us to, at least,

a chance for survival.

Out brother, Leonard Peltier, has been too long in prison, In 1993, to

signal a new attitude — and what better than his release after 16 years —

symbolic of the exercise of dominion over our Peoples.

All this has come from across the seas. The catastrophes that we have

suffered at the hands of our brothers from across the seas has been

unremitting and inexcusable. It has crushed our people, and our Nations

down through the centuries. You brought us disease and death and the

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idea of Christian dominion over heathens, pagans, savages. Our lands

were declared `vacant' by Papal Bulls, which created law to justify the

pillaging of our land.

We were systematically stripped of our resources, religions and dignity.

Indeed, we became resources of labor for goldmines and canefields. Life

for us was unspeakable, cruel. Our black and dark-skinned brothers and

sisters were brought here from distant lands to share our misery and

suffering and death.

Yet we survived. I stand before you as a manifestation of the spirit of our

people and our will to survive. The Wolf, our Spiritual Brother, stands

beside us and we are alike in the Western mind: hated, admired, and still a

mystery to you, and still undefeated.

So then, what is the message I bring to you today? Is it our common

future? It seems to me that we are living in a time of prophecy, a time of

definitions and decisions. We are the generation with the responsibilities

and the option to choose the The Path of Life for the future of our children.

Or the life and path which defies the Laws of Regeneration.

Even though you and I are in different boats, you in your boat and we in

our canoe, we share the same River of Life. What befalls me, befalls you.

And downstream, downstream in this River of Life, our children will pay for

our selfishness, for our greed, and for our lack of vision.

500 years ago, you came to our pristine lands of great forests, rolling

plains, crystal clear lakes and streams and rivers. And we have suffered in

your quest for God, for Glory, for Gold. But, we have survived. Can we

survive another 500 years of "sustainable development?" I don't think so.

Not in the definitions that put `sustainable' in today. I don't think so.

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So reality and the Natural Law will prevail; The Law of the Seed and

Regeneration. We can still alter our course. It is NOT too late. We still have

options. We need the courage to change our values to the regeneration of

our families, the life that surrounds us. Given this opportunity, we can raise

ourselves. We must join hands with the rest of Creation and speak of

Common Sense, Responsibility, Brotherhood, and PEACE. We must

understand that the law is the seed and only as true partners can we

survive.

On behalf of the Indigenous People of the Great Turtle Island, I give my

appreciation and thanks. Dah ney' to. Now I am finished. ."

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THE PROPHECY OF THE WHITE EAGLE

A VISION OF A RAINBOW WARRIOR (2008)

I am within a sphere ship of some kind, very small, just enough room for

myself and an angel guide. It is transparent so you can see in all

directions. What I see at first is not very cheerful. I look up and see lines

of dark shapes floating overhead. Are they planes? Dark spirits? Astral

entities? I look downward at the land below and it is also grim in

appearance. It looks like the aftermath of a battle or attack; all is in ruins

with many individual persons beaten and broken down lying in the rubble. I

look upward again and a majestic bird of light: The White Eagle. He soars

over the dark flying entities, and they give way, dissolving to disappear.

The White Eagle is very Native American in appearance, like some great

work of living art. Concentric Circles of White Light radiate from him.

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There is an energy or feeling of profound sacredness and commanding

power about the eagle. He swoops over the landscape and the circlets of

light flow to pass over and bless the scenery and the spirits below. The

atmosphere becomes brighter and shades of color tint all there is. The

persons here begin to stir and move with life. Following the same

inspiration, they move into circles of small groups and join hands and begin

a dance where they move together, and like a wheel they move their circle

in round in one direction together. They are speaking the name of the

Great Spirit, and a short Native American chant. The White Eagle soars

upward from the spirit world into the mortal one, straight up towards the

sun. We follow along. He seems to enter right into the sun and becomes

too bright to see. A burst of brilliant energy radiates from the Sun into lines

and swirls of iridescent colors, blessing the land and its peoples. My guide

speaks:

From the ancient ages, the lands of my ancestors, fathers and mothers,

great grandfathers, great grandmothers, the drum beats and soul chants

sound once more. For more than Ten Thousand Years times Two the

Spirit of our Peoples has been alive, though unknown and a mystery to

most the world’s peoples. Our Culture of the Soul and Spirit, Rainbows in

the Sky, The Great Circle of Four Directions, Sacred and Filled with Love,

lives yet onward and is Immortal. We take now our Medicine from our

Heavens, from the Great Spirit of the Skies, of the Waters, of the Earth,

and bestow it now upon all in our world. We know now that is why our

people came to be on this planet, this Wilderness Garden of the Universe.

We bring down the Sacred Dance of Unity to this world, mortals of every

people and culture. The whole world shall now dance the Sacred Dance,

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breathe the Holy Fire, sing the Mystic Words of Beauty that Live in the

Hearts of our Peoples. Oh Great Father of the Heavens, O Great Mother of

the Earth, we, your Children of Earth and Spirit, dance to honor and thank

you and to bring the big peace that shall not ever end. The White Eagle

soars now over us!

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NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN TRADITIONAL ETHICS

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1. Each morning upon rising, and each evening before sleeping, give

thanks for the life within you and for all life, for the good things the Creator

has given you and for the opportunity to grow a little more each day.

Consider your thoughts and actions of the past day and seek for the

courage and strength to be a better person. Seek for the things that will

benefit others (everyone).

2. Respect. Respect means "To feel or show honor or esteem for someone

or something; to consider the well-being of, or to treat someone or

something with deference or courtesy". Showing respect is a basic law of

life.

a. Treat every person from the tiniest child to the oldest elder with respect

at all times.

b. Special respect should be given to Elders, Parents, Teachers, and

Community Leaders.

c. No person should be made to feel "put down" by you; avoid hurting other

hearts as you would avoid a deadly poison.

d. Touch nothing that belongs to someone else (especially Sacred Objects)

without permission, or an understanding between you.

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e. Respect the privacy of every person, never intrude on a person's quiet

moment or personal space.

f. Never walk between people that are conversing.

g. Never interrupt people who are conversing.

h. Speak in a soft voice, especially when you are in the presence of Elders,

strangers or others to whom special respect is due.

i. Do not speak unless invited to do so at gatherings where Elders are

present (except to ask what is expected of you, should you be in doubt).

j. Never speak about others in a negative way, whether they are present or

not.

k. Treat the earth and all of her aspects as your mother. Show deep

respect for the mineral world, the plant world, and the animal world. Do

nothing to pollute our Mother, rise up with wisdom to defend her.

l. Show deep respect for the beliefs and religion of others.

m. Listen with courtesy to what others say, even if you feel that what they

are saying is worthless. Listen with your heart.

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n. Respect the wisdom of the people in council. Once you give an idea to a

council meeting, it no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the people.

Respect demands that you listen intently to the ideas of others in council

and that you do not insist that your idea prevail. Indeed you should freely

support the ideas of others if they are true and good, even if those ideas

are quite different from the ones you have contributed. The clash of ideas

brings forth the Spark of Truth.

3. Once a council has decided something in unity, respect demands that no

one speak secretly against what has been decided. If the council has made

an error, that error will become apparent to everyone in its own time.

4. Be truthful at all times, and under all conditions.

5. Always treat your guests with honor and consideration. Give of your best

food, your best blankets, the best part of your house, and your best service

to your guests.

6. The hurt of one is the hurt of all, the honor of one is the honor of all.

7. Receive strangers and outsiders with a loving heart and as members of

the human family.

8. All the races and tribes in the world are like the different colored flowers

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of one meadow. All are beautiful. As children of the Creator they must all

be respected.

9. To serve others, to be of some use to family, community, nation, and the

world is one of the main purposes for which human beings have been

created. Do not fill yourself with your own affairs and forget your most

important talks. True happiness comes only to those who dedicate their

lives to the service of others.

10. Observe moderation and balance in all things.

11. Know those things that lead to your well-being, and those things that

lead to your destruction.

12. Listen to and follow the guidance given to your heart. Expect guidance

to come in many forms; in prayer, in dreams, in times of quiet solitude, and

in the words and deeds of wise Elders and friends.

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THE END