We Are All One In Spirit. May We All Stay On The Red Path
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" An Animal Totem "
:
Is an important symbolic object used by a person to get in touch with specific
qualities found within an animal which the person needs, connects with, or
feels a deep affinity toward.
You can have several animal guides through out your life. Sometimes an animal
guide will come into your life for a short period of time, and then be
replaced by another depending on the journey or direction you are headed
toward. Your guide will instruct and protect you as you learn how to navigate
through your spiritual and physical life. When you find an animal that speaks
strongly to you or feel you must draw more deeply into your life, you might
fill your environment with images of the animal to let the animal know it's
welcome in your space. Animal guides can help you get back to your Earthly
roots, and reconnect with nature by reminding you that we are all
interconnected. To first do this you need to know what your Animal Totem is.
If You Don't Know:
If you don't know what your Animal Totem is there are several questions you
can ask yourself. All of the questions below are designed to get you thinking
about a prominent animal in your life. There are no right or wrong answers.
Only you can truly know which Animal Totem(s) are right for your journey.
Since we are drawn to that which resonates with us, what animal, bird, or
insect are you drawn to?
When you go to the park, forest, or zoo what animal are you most interested
in seeing?
What animal do you most frequently see when you're out in nature or in the
city?
What animals are you currently interested in learning about?
Which animal do you find most frightening or intriguing?
Have you ever been bitten or attacked by an animal?
Is there a recurring animal in your dreams or do you have one you have never
forgotten?
Still Uncertain?
If you are still uncertain which animal is your totem, here a few exercises you
can do to come closer to the answer. You must not try to force the animal to
come, it can pick up on that energy and be put off. Being patient and doing
the following exercises will draw your animal totem to you.
Ask yourself what animal has played a meaningful part in your world?
If you're unsure, make a list of animals that have drawn your interest or have
left a deep impression on you from paintings, photographs, stories, movies,
carvings, etc.
Which animal shows up in your life most frequently? Keep a journal of the
animals present in your dreams or that you encounter through the day for
the next month. How did the animal behave? Did you interact with the animal?
Find a place where you can be alone to meditate.
Sit quietly and ask your animal to make it's nature known to you.
Feel free to use tools such as incense, smudge, and candles to help you.
Don't give up, sometimes your animal totem is nearby watching to see if you're
serious about connecting with it. Keep doing the above exercises until your
animal totem makes itself known to you.
" QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT WOLVES "
1. What are the species of wolves?
There are three species of wolves in the world: the gray wolf (Canis lupus),
the red wolf (Canis rufus) and the Ethiopian (or Abyssinian) wolf,
(Canis simensis). Some researchers believe the Ethiopian wolf is not a wolf,
but actually a jackal.
2. What are the subspecies of the gray wolf?
The gray wolf, Canis lupus, lives in the northern latitudes
around the world. There are five subspecies of the gray wolf
in North America and seven to 12 in Eurasia.
The currently recognized subspecies in North America are:
* Canis lupus baileyi, commonly referred to as the Mexican wolf or lobo.
* Canis lupus nubilus, referred to as the Great Plains or buffalo wolf.
* Canis lupus occidentalis, known as the Rocky Mountain wolf or Mackenzie Valley wolf.
* Canis lupus lycaon, commonly referred to as the eastern timber wolf.
* Canis lupus arctos, known as the arctic wolf.
Subspecies are often difficult to distinguish from one another.
This is because they interbreed where their ranges overlap
so that their populations tend to blend together rather
than form distinctive boundaries. The different traits we see
in subspecies are likely the result of geographic range, available habitat,
and prey base. Skull dimensions, overall size, fur color,
and the length of appendages are some of the characteristics
that differ between subspecies of gray wolf.
3. What is a pack of wolves?
Wolves usually live in packs which consist of the adult parents,
referred to as the alpha pair, and their offspring of perhaps
the last 2 or 3 years. The adult parents are usually unrelated
and other unrelated wolves may sometimes join the pack.
4. How many wolves are in a pack?
Pack size is highly variable because of birth of pups, dispersal,
and mortality. Generally, a gray wolf pack has from six to eight wolves,
but in Alaska and northwestern Canada some packs
have over 30 members.
5. What is a pack territory size?
Territory size is highly variable. Gray wolf territories in Minnesota
range from about 25 to 150 square miles, while territories in Alaska
and Canada can range from about 300 to 1,000 square miles.
Red wolf territories can be from 10 to 100 square miles,
but the territories of red wolves reintroduced into North Carolina
have been 38 to 87 square miles.
6. When do wolves breed?
Wolves breed at slightly different times, depending on where they live.
For example, gray wolves in the Great Lakes Region breed in February
to March, while gray wolves in the Arctic may breed slightly
later in March to April.
Red wolves usually breed in January or February.
7. What is the gestation period of a wolf?
The gestation period of gray and red wolves is usually around 63 days.
8. How many pups are born in a pack each year?
A pack normally has only one litter of pups each spring,
but in areas of high prey abundance more than one female
will give birth in each pack. An average litter size for gray
and red wolves is 4 to 6, but several may die if natural prey
is not readily available.
9. How much do wolf pups weigh?
Gray wolf pups weigh 1 pound at birth,
while red wolf pups weigh less than a pound at birth.
10. How much do adult wolves weigh?
Adult female gray wolves in northern Minnesota weigh between
50 and 85 pounds, and adult males between 70 and 110 pounds.
Gray wolves are larger in the northwestern United States, Canada,
and Alaska where adult males weigh 85 to 115 pounds
and occasionally reach 130 pounds.
Adult female red wolves weigh 40 to 75 pounds,
while males weigh from 50 to 85 pounds.
11. How big are wolves?
The average length (tip of nose to tip of tail) of an adult female
gray wolf is 4.5 to 6 feet; adult males average 5 to 6.5 feet.
The average height (at the shoulder) of a gray wolf is 26 to 32 inches.
The average length (tip of nose to tip of tail) of an adult red wolf is 4.5
to 5.5 feet. The average height (at the shoulder)
of an adult red wolf is about 26 inches.
12. How big is a gray wolf's track?
The size of a wolf's track is dependent on the age and size of the wolf,
as well as the substrate the track was made in.
A good size estimate for a gray wolf's track size is 4 1/2 inches long
by 3 1/2 inches wide. In comparison, a coyote's track will be closer
to 2 1/2 inches long by 1 1/2 inches wide.
Only a few breeds of dogs leave tracks longer than 4 inches
(Great Danes, St. Bernards, and some bloodhounds) .
13. How many teeth does an adult wolf have?
Adult gray and red wolves have 42 teeth, while adult humans have 32.
14. How strong are a gray wolves' jaws?
The massive molars and powerful jaws of a wolf are used to crush
the bones of its prey. The biting capacity of a wolf is 1,500 pounds
of pressure per square inch. The strength of a wolf's jaws
makes it possible to bite through a moose femur in six to eight bites.
In comparison, a German shepherd has a biting pressure
of 750 pounds per square inch. A human has a much lower biting
pressure of 300 pounds per square inch.
15. What do wolves eat?
Gray wolves prey primarily on large, hoofed mammals such as
white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk, caribou, bison, Dall sheep,
musk oxen, and mountain goat. Medium sized mammals,
such as beaver and snowshoe hare, can be an important secondary food
source. Occasional wolves will prey on birds or small mammals.
Red wolves primarily prey on white-tailed deer, raccoons,
rabbits and rodents.
16. How much do wolves eat?
Gray wolves can survive on about 2 1/2 pounds of food per wolf per day,
but they require about 5 pounds per wolf per day to reproduce
successfully. The most a gray wolf can eat in one sitting
is about 22.5 pounds.
Red wolves eat an average of 5 pounds of food per day,
but have been known to eat up to 12 pounds in one sitting.
17. How many prey do gray wolves kill per year?
In Minnesota, wolves kill the average equivalent of 15 to 20
adult-sized deer per wolf per year. Given the 1997-98 estimate
of 2,450 wolves in Minnesota, that would equal about 36,750
to 49,000 deer killed by wolves. In comparison, from 1995-1999
hunters killed between 32,300 to 78,200 deer each year in Minnesota's
wolf range. In addition, several thousand deer
are killed during collisions with vehicles each year.
18. How long do wolves live?
Gray wolves in the wild have an average life span of 6 to 8 years,
but have been known to live up to 13 years in the wild and 16 years
in captivity. Red wolves in the wild have an average life span
of 8 to 9 years, but have been known to live up to 12 years
in the wild and 16 years in captivity.
19. What do gray wolves die from?
The natural causes of wolf mortality are primarily starvation,
which kills mostly pups, and death from other wolves because
of territory fights. While not usually a big problem, disease such
as mange and canine parvovirus can be a concern in small
and recovering populations. Injuries caused by prey results in some
deaths. Human-caused mortality including legal, illegal, and accidental
causes, can be high in some populations.
Pup mortality rates are highly variable, but approximately
40 to 60% of wolf pups die each year.
20. How fast can gray wolves run?
Wolves will travel for long distances by trotting at about five miles
per hour. They can run at speeds of 25 to 35 miles per hour
for short bursts while chasing prey.
21. How far can gray wolves travel?
Wolves may travel 10 to 30 miles each day in search of food.
Dispersing wolves, those leaving packs in search of their own mate,
have been known to travel distances of 550 miles away form
their home territory.
" THE LUMBEE LOGO "
The circular shape of the Lumbee Logo is symbolic of the Circle of Life and it emphasizes the importance of each Lumbee being a whole person. The four parts of the circle represent the four qualities of a balanced life: the spiritual, the emotional, the physical, and the intellect.
The colors and location of the colors represent the four directions - East (yellow), South (red), West (black) and North (white). It is the belief that together they not only represent a well-balanced individual, but also a complete human being. This balance and completeness is universal and represents the equality of all humankind, thus the colors - red, yellow, black and white.
The Lumbee Pine Cone Patchwork surrounding the Circle of Life represents the pride, power and will of the Lumbee Tribe.
The four directions, colors and Lumbee Pine Cone Patchwork are central features of the Lumbee Logo and portray the coming together of the old and new traditions in one symbol of unity for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
" What's In A Wolf's Howl "
Ask anyone about wolf vocalizations and the howl invariably springs to mind. Even though wolves bark, woof, whine, whimper, yelp, growl, snarl and moan a lot more often than they howl, it is howling that defines the wolf, and fascinates us. So why do wolves howl?
The center of a wolf's universe is its pack, and howling is the glue that keeps the pack together. Some have speculated that howling strengthens the social bonds between packmates; the pack that howls together, stays together. That may be so, but chorus howls can also end with nasty quarrels between packmates. Some members, usually the lowest-ranking, may actually be "punished" for joining in the chorus. Whether howling
together actually strengthens social bonds, or just reaffirms them, is unknown.
We do know, however, that howling keeps packmates together, physically. Because wolves range over vast areas to find food, they are often separated from one another. Of all their calls, howling is the only one that works over great distances. Its low pitch and long duration are well suited for transmission in forest and across tundra, and unique features of each individual's howl allow wolves to identify each other. Howling is a long distance contact and reunion call; separate a wolf from its pack, and very soon it will begin howling, and howling, and howling...
THE LUMBEES
(and the "Lost Colony")
When Sir Walter Raleigh made his first attempt at establishing a colony in the "New World" in 1584, explorers were sent to investigate the nature of the lands granted to Raleigh by Queen Elizabeth I. The area explored was a parcel of land known as Roanoke Island, in the tidewater coastal area of North Carolina . This was promptly named "Virginia" in honor of England's virgin queen. Some of the Natives of the area were hostile and this, combined with bickering among the English and a shortage of supplies, soon drove the original settlers back to England.
Determined to establish a permanent English "nation" in the New World, Raleigh sent a second group of settlers one year later. Under the guidance of Governor John White, 117 men, women and children sailed for the New World, and stopped precisely where Raleigh had specifically instructed them NOT to stop; Roanoke Island.
The second colonists landed in the middle of summer. It was too late to plant crops to see them through the winter, and there was not enough food left in the supplies brought from England to feed the group until a spring crop could be planted and harvested. John White agreed to return to England for additional supplies. The settlers remained behind — on Roanoke Island. Before he left, White and his group agreed that, if they moved inland away from the open sea, markings would be left behind indicating the direction they traveled. If they fled in haste, or were in danger, they were to carve a cross in a prominent place to be easily seen.
Unfortunately, when White arrived in England he found the country at war with Spain, and the circumstances of that war would prevent him from returning to America for 3 years. When he did arrive at Roanoke Island, he found not one member of the group he had left behind. This group became known as the "Lost Colony", and remains so known today. One North Carolina scholar wrote: "When the colonists receded from White's view, as he left the shores of Virginia, they passed from the domain of history, and all we know is that misfortune and distress overtook them; and that they miserably perished, their sad fate being one of those deplorable sacrifices that have always attended the accomplishment of great human purposes."
How incredible that historians have always blindly accepted, and continue to accept, this naive assumption in spite of the weight of evidence to the contrary.
Based on his own writings and his personal account of his return to Virginia, White was not overly worried about the missing people. They had left his personal possessions behind along with other items which would have been too awkward or too heavy to carry on a long trip. These things had been buried for safekeeping until they could be reclaimed later. As he had instructed, White found the letters "C.R.O." carved on a tree, and the word "CROATOAN" carved on a gatepost. THERE WAS NO CROSS, the agreed upon sign of danger.
At the time of the first attempt at settlement, a Native leader named Manteo, of the Hatteras Nation, had befriended these strangers to his shores. In his records, White wrote "I greatly joyed that I had safely found a certain token of their being at Croatoan, which is the place where Manteo was born, and the savages of the island our friend." White embarked on a search for Croatoan, but his search was cut short by a sailing captain who insisted that he must leave for the West Indies. To add to the confusion, White could not have known that the word "Croatoan" referred to a large hunting area used by the Hatteras, and not to a specific location or village.
As the stream of Europeans continued to flow into this country, many took up the search for The Lost Colony. Amazingly enough, their reports and findings have been continually and consistently ignored by modern historians. Following the founding of Jamestown, Captain John Smith wrote, in 1608, that two explorers had been told by Natives in the area of men who dressed like Englishmen. In 1613, an official of the Virginia Colony wrote of Native reports that White's people had moved inland, built 2-story stone houses, and lived with the Natives for some 20 years. With the settling of Jamestown, they had moved with their Native families further south, into Lumbee territory.
The reports became more detailed as explorers continued their journeys southward. In 1660, a minister told of being overtaken by friendly Natives who spoke English. The very careful and detailed accounts of the adventures of a German explorer who traveled south from Virginia tells of his meetings with "a powerful nation of bearded men".
John Lawson, often referred to as the "first North Carolina historian", wrote of a Native guide he hired who knew about "talking books and speaking paper", and who asked to see a Bible Lawson had with him. This guide asked Lawson to take his son and educate him in the ways of the whites, and showed a true affection for the English. The guide also spoke of his ancestors, the Hatteras, SOME OF WHOM WERE WHITE, and of his relatives with gray eyes. Lawson also tells of being given chickens by friendly Natives - a clear indication of the survival of the English since there was no domestic fowl on this continent until introduced by the English.
The Natives of this swampy, tidewater area of North Carolina have always referred to themselves as "The Lumbees - The People of the Lumbee River". White governments, always confused by this group of "talkative Indians", have called them just about everything else until 1953 when they were finally, "officially" named The Lumbee.
Convinced of the accuracy of their genetic ties to The Lost Colony, a state legislator introduced a bill in 1888 to name the Indians Of Robeson County (as they were known at that time) The Croatoan in honor of the place he believed The Lost Colony had settled. The future governor stated that, after an exhaustive examination, his opinion was that these Natives were the descendants of Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony.
Still later, a professional historian of national respect, after an examination of the oral and written evidence existing, concluded, in 1891: "The Croatoans of today claim descent from The Lost Colony. Their habits, disposition and mental characterists show traces of Indian and European ancestry. Their language is the English of 300 years ago, and their names are in many cases the same as those borne by the original colonists. No other theory of their origin has been advanced, and it is confidently believed that the one here proposed is logically and historically the best, supported as it is both by external and internal evidence. If this theory is rejected, then the critic must explain in some other way the origin of a people which, after the lapse of 300 years, show the characteristics, speak the language, and possess the family names of the second English colony planted in the western world."
Investigations continued, but none disputed the earliest records of history. In 1914, the Secretary of the Interior was sent by the U.S. Senate to investigate the tribal rights of the Indians of Robeson County. The findings included statements like, "There is a tradition among these people at the present time that their ancestors were The Lost Colony, amalgamated with some tribe of Indians. This tradition is supported by their looks, their complexion, color of skin, hair and eyes, by their manners, customs and habits, and by the fact that while they are, in part, of undoubted Indian origin, they have no Indian names and no Indian language." His further search revealed that there were 95 different surnames which came from the original 117 settlers of The Lost Colony. He was able to account for 41 of those direct surnames among the Lumbee, and still more that had been altered in some manner. The Secretary's investigation validated that the Lumbee were, indeed, descendants of The Lost Colony.
Were the Lumbee given tribal rights following this investigation? NO. Without exception, every attempt to gain recognition for these Natives has been rejected by Congress. Why? Well, because they don't LOOK Indian according to the standards for appearance that had been set, they don't ACT Indian (whatever that means), they don't TALK Indian (no language of their own), they don't have Indian names, so they clearly are NOT Indian.
It is generally accepted by acknowledged historians and scholars of past generations that The Lost Colony was taken in by a Native tribe (probably the Hatteras) who moved south along the Lumbee River (called Lumber by the whites) in Robeson County, North Carolina. Yet, our history books have never been corrected. It is the position of our elected officials that the Lumbee have been so acculturated into English ways that nothing of their Native traditions exist, and that their Native blood has been so diluted by European blood that they are no longer "red".
So what of the Lumbee of today? Even though they do not officially exist, the Lumbee Nation is the largest of the Eastern bands. Numbering approximately 50,000, they acquired their ancestral lands the "white" way; they bought it. The social center of the Lumbees is still Robeson County, North Carolina, and their political seat is the town of Lumberton. They own and control their own businesses, schools, churches, and other public and private enterprises. They are governed by elected officials of their own Nation. Yet, with all this power, the Lumbee citizen cannot secure a CDIB registration card because they are not a "recognized tribe". The Lumbee is just one more of the thousands of Native nations who have never been acknowledged by the U.S. Government and who, therefore, do not exist in the eyes of the laws which control this land.
As late as 1992, yet another bid for tribal recognition was rejected by Congress. Their logic? The Lumbee do not have the required "percentage of Native blood" necessary to be accepted. (Read more about events with the Lumbee in "The Un-Real, Un-Red and Un-Dead People" here on Innerspace.) They are very prosperous and self-governing. They do not need the control of the government, the subsidies, the allotments and the handouts. There is nothing the government "can do" for the Lumbee, so "there is no reason to grant them tribal standing." The point has been missed . . . again.
The Lumbee seek tribal recognition because they are among the First Peoples of our land, because they are real and do exist, and because their heritage and their traditions are very much alive in their lives and in their hearts.
" A Blackfoot Legend "
~ How the Thunder Pipe Came ~
You have heard the Thunder, for he is everywhere. He roars in the mountains, and far out on the prairie is heard his crashing. He strikes the high rocks, and they fall to pieces; a tree, and it is broken in slivers; the people, and they die. He is bad. He does not like the high cliff, the standing tree, or living man. He likes to strike and crush them to the ground. Of all things he is the most powerful. He cannot be resisted. But I have not told you the worst thing about him. Sometimes he takes away women.
Long ago, almost in the beginning, a man and his wife were sitting in their lodge when Thunder came and struck them. The man was not killed. At first he lay as if dead, but after a time he lived again, and, standing up, looked about him. He did not see his wife.
"Oh," he thought, "she has gone to get wood or water," and he sat down again. But when night came he went out of the lodge and asked the people about her. No one had seen her. He looked all through the camp, but could not find her. Then he knew that the Thunder had taken her away, and he went out on the hills and mourned. All night he sat there, trying to think what he might do to get back his wife.
When morning came he rose and wandered away, and whenever he met any of the animals he asked if they could tell him where the Thunder lived. The animals laughed, and most of them would not answer.
The Wolf said to him, "Do you think that we would look for the home of the only one we fear? He is our only danger. From all other enemies we can run away, but from him no one can run. He strikes and there we lie. Turn back; go home. Do not look for the place of that dreadful one."
The man kept on and travelled a long distance. At last, after many days, he came to a lodge -- a strange lodge, for it was made of stone. Just like any other lodge it looked, only it was made of stone. This was the home of the Raven chief. The man entered.
"Welcome, friend," said the chief of the Ravens; "sit down there," and he pointed to a place. Soon food was placed before the poor man.
When he had finished eating, the Raven chief asked, "Why have you come here?"
"Thunder has stolen my wife," the man answered. "I am looking for his dwelling-place that I may find her."
"Are you brave enough to enter the lodge of that dreadful person?" asked the Raven. "He lives near here. His lodge is of stone like this one, and hanging in it are eyes -- the eyes of those he has killed or taken away. He has taken out their eyes and hung them in his lodge. Now, then! Dare you enter there?"
"No," answered the man, "I am afraid. Who could look at such dreadful things and live?"
"No man can," said the Raven; "there is only one old Thunder fears; there is but one he cannot kill. It is we. It is the Ravens. Now I will give you some medicine, and he shall not harm you. You shall enter there and try to find among those eyes your wife's, and if you find them tell the Thunder why you came and make him give them to you. Here, now, is a raven's wing. Point this at him and he will be afraid and start back; but if that should fail, take this arrow. Its shaft is made of elk horn. Take this, I say, and shoot it through the lodge."
"Why make a fool of me?" the poor man asked. "My heart is sad. I am crying." He covered his head with his robe and wept.
"Oh," said the Raven, "you do not believe me. Come outside, come outside, and I will make you believe."
When they stood outside the Raven asked, "Is the home of your people far?"
"A great distance," said the man.
"Can you tell how many days you have traveled?"
"No," he replied, "my heart was sad; I did not count the days. Since I left, the berries have grown and ripened."
"Can you see your camp from here?" asked the Raven.
The man did not answer. Then the Raven rubbed some medicine on his eyes and said, "Look!" The man looked and saw the camp. It was near. He saw the people; he saw the smoke rising from the lodges; he saw the painting on some of the lodges.
"Now you will believe," said the Raven. "Take, then, the arrow and the wing, and go and get your wife." The man took these things and went to the Thunder's lodge. He entered and sat down by the doorway.
The Thunder sat at the back of the lodge and looked at him with awful eyes The man looked above and saw hanging there many pairs of eyes. Among them were those of his wife.
"Why have you come?" said the Thunder in a dreadful voice.
"I seek my wife," said the man, "whom you have stolen. There hang her eyes."
"No man may enter my lodge and live," said the Thunder, and he rose to strike him. Then the man pointed the raven wing at the Thunder, and he fell back on his bed and shivered; but soon he recovered and rose again, and then the man fitted the elk-horn arrow to his bow and shot it through the lodge of stone. Right through that stone it pierced a hole and let the sunlight in.
"Wait," said the Thunder; "stop. You are the stronger, you have the greater medicine. You shall have your wife. Take down her eyes."
The man cut the string that held the eyes, and his wife stood beside him.
"Now," said the Thunder, "you know me. I have great power. In summer I live here; but when winter comes I go far south. I go south with the birds. Here is my pipe. It has strong power. Take it and keep it. After this, when first I come in the spring you shall fill this pipe and light it, and you shall smoke it and pray to me; you and the people. I bring the rain which makes the berries large and ripe. I bring the rain which makes all things grow, and for this you shall pray to me; you and all the people.
Thus the people got their first medicine pipe. It was long ago.
" APACHE TEAR DROP "Apache tear drop is a form of black obsidian. It is a calming translucent stone, found in Arizona and other parts of the US. It is composed of feldspar, hornblend, biotite, and quartz. It was formed by rhythmic crystallization that produces a separation of light and dark materials into spherical shapes, and is a form of volcanic glass.
There is a haunting legend about the Apache tear drop. After the Pinal Apaches had made several raids on a settlement in Arizona, the military regulars and some volunteers trailed the tracks of the stolen cattle and waited for dawn to attack the Apaches. The Apaches, confident in the safety of their location, were completely surprised and out-numbered in the attack. Nearly 50 of the band of 75 Apaches were killed in the first volley of shots. The rest of the tribe retreated to the cliff’s edge and chose death by leaping over the edge rather than die at the hands of the white men.
For years afterward those who ventured up the treacherous face of Big Pacacho in Arizona found skeletons, or could see the bleached bones wedged in the crevices of the side of the cliff.
The Apache women and the lovers of those who had died gathered a short distance from the base of the cliff where the sands were white, and for a moon they wept for their dead. They mourned greatly, for they realized that not only had their 75 brave Apache warriors died, but with them had died the great fighting spirit of the Pinal Apaches.
Their sadness was so great, and their burden of sorrow so sincere that the Great Father imbedded into black stones the tears of the Apache women who mourned their dead. These black obsidian stones, when held to the light, reveal the translucent tear of the Apache. The stones bring good luck to those possessing them. It is said that whoever owns an Apache tear drop will never have to cry again, for the Apache maidens have shed their tears in place of yours.
The Apache tear drops are also said to balance the emotional nature and protect one from being taken advantage of. It can be carried as an amulet to stimulate success in business endeavors. It is also used to produce clear vision and to increase psychic powers.
Black obsidian is a powerful meditation stone. The purpose of this gemstone is to bring to light that which is hidden from the conscious mind. It dissolves suppressed negative patterns and purifies them. It can create a somewhat radical behavior change as new positive attitudes replace old, negative, egocentric patterns.
"CHEROKEE PROPHECIES"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.
At the beginning of this cycle of time, long ago, the Great Spirit made an appearance and gathered the peoples of this earth together, and said to the human beings. "I'm going to send you to four directions and over time I¹m going to change you to four colors. I'm going to give you some teachings, and you will call these the Original Teachings; 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. 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 them upon the ground. If any of the sisters and brothers 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 are 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 heal. Then, when we came back together with the other sisters and brothers, 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 us 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 the elements, being the most humble and the most powerful. The elders have told me that 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 sisters and brothers 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 Third Mesa. 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 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 colors.
The stone tablets of the yellow race of people are kept by the Tibetans. 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, and they still know the symbols, some of them. Each of these four peoples happen to live in the mountains.
Each of the four races went to their directions and learned their teachings. It was in Newsweek not long ago that eight out of ten foods that people eat on the earth are developed here in the western hemisphere because that is our Guardianship -- to learn the teachings of the earth and the things that grow from the Earth. We were given a sacred handshake to demonstrate, when we came back together as sisters and brothers, that we still remember the teachings.
It was indicated on the stone tablets that the Hopis had that the first sisters and brothers who would come back to them would come as turtles across the land. They would be human beings, but they would come 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.
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 armor, 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 mountains to have visions 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. 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. 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, if we had not come together as a human family, the Great Spirit would grab the earth with His hand and shake it.
The elders on the west coast prophesied that 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 it¹s 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 was 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 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.
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 didn¹t want the reservations to become more and more separate. They didn¹t 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 it. 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 (the swastika of the Nazis). It would come with the sun. But the sun itself would rise one day, not in the east but in the west (the rising sun of the Japanese Empire).
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 will know that the Great Death is to come upon the earth. Now is when 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 of Japan. These two symbols are carved in stone in Arizona. When the elders saw these two flags, they knew that 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. The atomic bomb, the gourd of ashes, it was the best-kept secret in the history of the US. The elders wanted to speak about it in 1920.
They would have spoken of it and foretold its coming if they could have entered into the League of Nations. The elders tried to contact President Roosevelt to 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.
So they knew after the Second Shaking of the Earth when they saw the gourd of ashes fall from the sky, 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 said this time we¹d 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 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. 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. 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 we¹re going to have a gathering. We¹re going to call these the White Roots of Peace Gatherings."
They began to have these around 1950. And they authorized certain people 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 Banyaca. He was authorized to speak in English about what was on the stone tablets, and he has dedicated his life to doing this. And they began to tell us at these gatherings, "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.
The elders said long ago, "They will release these things, and 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. "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. They¹ll begin to reappear."
"You're going to see a time when the eagle will fly its highest in the night, and it will land upon the moon. And at that time, many of the Native people will be sleeping, which symbolically means they have lost their teachings. We're at that time now. The Eagle has landed on the moon, 1969. When that spaceship landed, they sent back the message, "The Eagle has landed."
Traditionally, Native people from clear up in the Inuit region have shared with us this prophecy, clear down to the Quechuas in South America.
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 shaken a third time. The Great Spirit has shaken 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.
Now they are talking about the sign for the Third Shaking of the Earth. They said they¹re 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.
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 that, 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 it¹s 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.
They say there¹s 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, there¹s 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 toward us will have changed by then.
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.
The prophecies are always either/or. We could have come together way back there in 1565, 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 so it won't be quite as bad. How do we do this? We do this by sharing the teaching that will reunite us.
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